Thursday, April 12, 2007

The Discipline of Writing


Every writer faces this ... every writer has techniques that work - and then days that don't. 'How to' books are filled with tips and techniques ...

Yet in the end, the journey of writing is laced with very personal ways and means to deal with the act of discipline. Not the whip brandishing kind, but the 'just sit there and write' kind.
The main enemies of a writer's life are procrastination, distraction and lack of passion - and all writers suffer these from time to time.

The difference between a productive day and an unproductive day is huge. You feel different at the end of the day and the cycle of each is hard to break. Productive doesn't only mean how many words you write - it can be linked to research and experiencing things that are essential to the art of what you are writing too. I think it's really important to remember that reading, listening to others, trying new things and sometimes, especially if you write fiction, sometimes just day dreaming is a part of the writers productive tool kit ...

Of course in the end you still have to face that blank page or computer screen ...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for this post. I happened to "google" some words of encouragement, and was lucky enough to find you. Reading that every writer suffers from "procrastination, distraction and lack of passion" was exactly what I needed today!
I also browsed your other entries and enjoyed! Will return! Thanks again for the inspiration that was so desparately needed!