Writing discipline (Or how to get from here to there)
I've received a blog topic request: Writing discipline. This is probably the biggest problem for aspiring authors (and published ones, too).
I no longer have a problem with putting my butt in my chair in front of my laptop and writing until the work gets done.
But I used to.
I've been writing since I was about six, but it was only in my college days that I decided I wanted to be a published author. Back then I'd write only when I "felt like it" or when I felt "inspired." I thought this would be enough. It wasn't. I wasn't getting anywhere, but more importantly, I wasn't becoming a better writer.
Then I read in one of the many writing books that were crowding my bookshelves, that if you wanted to get better, you had to write more often, like every day. You had to write regardless of how crappy you felt, regardless of your mood, regardless of your workload. The authors of those books (who also happened to be the authors of many other books) said there was always time to squeeze in a few minutes.
They were right.
I have a full-time job, so carving out time to write wasn't (and still isn't) easy, but I really wanted to be published, so I found the time. I started writing on a more regular schedule, and I could see the improvement. And when I saw the improvement, I wanted to write more. With that came confidence and a determination to reach my goal.
I'd still be writing even if I wasn't published, because writing isn't just what I do -- writing is who I am. It's like an addiction, you can't stop, and you don't want to. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. When I'm writing, I'm happy. When I'm between projects, I can get a little cranky. Just ask my fabulous (and patient and supportive) husband.
So writing dicipline isn't something you have, it's something you have to grow.
I no longer have a problem with putting my butt in my chair in front of my laptop and writing until the work gets done.
But I used to.
I've been writing since I was about six, but it was only in my college days that I decided I wanted to be a published author. Back then I'd write only when I "felt like it" or when I felt "inspired." I thought this would be enough. It wasn't. I wasn't getting anywhere, but more importantly, I wasn't becoming a better writer.
Then I read in one of the many writing books that were crowding my bookshelves, that if you wanted to get better, you had to write more often, like every day. You had to write regardless of how crappy you felt, regardless of your mood, regardless of your workload. The authors of those books (who also happened to be the authors of many other books) said there was always time to squeeze in a few minutes.
They were right.
I have a full-time job, so carving out time to write wasn't (and still isn't) easy, but I really wanted to be published, so I found the time. I started writing on a more regular schedule, and I could see the improvement. And when I saw the improvement, I wanted to write more. With that came confidence and a determination to reach my goal.
I'd still be writing even if I wasn't published, because writing isn't just what I do -- writing is who I am. It's like an addiction, you can't stop, and you don't want to. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. When I'm writing, I'm happy. When I'm between projects, I can get a little cranky. Just ask my fabulous (and patient and supportive) husband.
So writing dicipline isn't something you have, it's something you have to grow.
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:27 AM
4 Comments:
Very true. Schedule writing in daily and commit one's self to learning how to do it better and faster.
;)
That's the part I'm learning now --write faster. I had plenty of time to write MLTF (no publishing contract at that time). Once you're under contract, you're under deadline. Armed & Magical was my first experience with "speed writing." I found out I function really well under pressure -- and I lost eight pounds sitting on my butt at my laptop. ; ) How great is that?
I wrote twelve science articles in about four weeks, while working a day job. I managed to make all my deadlines and I made a few thousand dollars off the project. That's my only experience with deadlines. I was writing like a crazy woman.
Nowadays, I write for about an hour and a half every night. At this pace, I was able to finish the 1st draft of my last novel in 11 months, and have almost finished my current novel in the past six months.
Wow; eight pounds! You must have hardly paused to eat.
Actually I was eating like a horse. I think working that fast just sent my metabolism from human to hummingbird. ; )
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