Discipline

I have had some luck recently with using discipline to write. Not only writing when I feel like it but setting a timer on my phone and writing until it goes off. Or continuing on if I’m on a roll. But at least writing for that amount of time. Even if I have to sit there and wait for something to come to me, I will. 

That doesn’t happen much. Usually, I can just sit down and start writing after a minute or two of thought. I’m also not reworking things as I write. If I write something and I know that I could do more showing instead of telling, I will write myself a note so I can go back to do that later. In the first draft stage that I’m in, I feel like it is more important to get the story out rather than try to make sure it’s perfect from the get-go.

So four to five days a week, I take my laptop, notes, phone, and some sort of drink (coffee, tea, and occasionally an alcoholic beverage) back to my office to write.

But summer typically means visits from family so, my discipline has flown out the window for almost a month. Now that the visits have wound down, it’s time to get back into my routine and back on track with my writing. Starting today, I will be setting my timer again. Maybe I will head back to my office with that alcoholic beverage since it’s just too hot right now to think about drinking a hot drink in the evening.