① Harlan Coben believes that if you’re a writer, you’ll find the time; and that if you can’t find the time, then writing isn’t a priority and you’re not a writer. For him writing is a ____1____ job—a job like any other. He has ____2____ it with plumbing, pointing out that a plumber doesn’t wake up and say that he can’t work with pipes today.
② ____3____, like most writers these days, you’re holding down a job to pay the bills, it’s not ____4____ to find the time to write. But it’s not impossible. It requires determination and single-mindedness. ____5____ that most bestselling authors began writing when they were doing other things to earn a living. And today, even writers who are fairly ____6____ often have to do other work to ____7____ their writing income.
③ As Harlan Coben has suggested, it’s a ____8____ of priorities. To make writing a priority, you’ll have to ____9____ some of your day-to-day activities and some things you really enjoy. Depending on your ____10____ and your lifestyle, that might mean spending less time watching television or listening to music, though some people can write ____11____ they listen to music. You might have to ____12____ the amount of exercise or sport you do. You’ll have to make social media an ____13____ activity rather than a daily, time-consuming ____14____. There’ll probably have to be less socialising with your friends and less time with your family. It's a ____15____ learning curve and it won’t always make you popular.
④ There’s just one thing you should try to keep at least some time for, ____16____ your writing—and that’s reading. Any writer needs to read as much and as widely as they can; it’s the one ____17____ supporter — something you can’t do without.