The Discipline of Writing

I’m in the early stages of writing a novel and I’m surprised at how hard it is! I am learning exactly what is meant by “it takes a lot of discipline to write.” It’s not easy to sit down and write, much less get in the “zone” when I do.

I had a couple of extra hours today – hours that I could have used to make real progress on my book. Instead I watched mindless celebrity gossip shows on E!. When I finally fired up the laptop to write, I found I wasn’t focused and I was yearning to play mindless computer games. I get so frustrated! It’s as if I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to writing.

There are so many distractions; it is easy to go a few days without writing anything. Some of those distractions are my own doing and not necessarily negative. I think it’s important to get wired into the world of writing, so I joined Twitter (I’m still figuring out how it works) and I started this blog. I’m hoping that by having alternative writing venues (that are much shorter than a novel!) I’ll still sit down each day and write something.

Discipline is a precious commodity when you are a writer. With a little persistence, I hope to shore up my reserves.