You just have to carve out time from an already busy life and go for it. The other piece of advice I'd give the young me would be not to remain so isolated while trying to learn the craft of writing. When I started, I did it all by myself. No classes, no writing groups, no online support, not even any reference books. It's as though I couldn't tell anyone I was a writer until I had that first book on the store shelf.
Writing is by nature a solitary thing to do.
There's no getting around the fact that it takes thousands of hours with just you and the work. But there's no reason a writer can't reach out for encouragement and practical help. You may regret getting me started. First of all, the publisher has positioned my next book as a summer read, coming out as a paperback original in June 2000. The book's being promoted as a stand-alone thriller, even though those who are following the series will already be familiar with the characters.