In the first blog in this series we explored why discipline matters for writers. The second blog looked at how to embrace discipline. Now we are going to tackle how to develop discipline so you can write by looking at the emotional and physical side of the equation. Our next blog will tackle the external factors.
How to Develop Discipline:
Get Out of Your Head and Heart
Focus on your character’s emotions and story, instead of your own drama. Focus on your fictional world and not the real one. This means letting go of self-doubt, fear and worry. Save the emotions for the page.
Identify Your Stressors
Recognize that Procrastination is a stress response. Identify the stress and you will be able to move forward more easily.
Break the cycle
Use reverse psychology on yourself. Agree to write for two minutes and put on a timer. Then sit and write for that amount of time. When the bell rings, set the timer for five minutes. Keep doing that, increasing the time until you are writing in 20 minute increments. You will be amazed at how breaking your work time down into manageable chunks will help move you toward your goal.
Stop Qualifying
Don’t say you want to be a writer. Be a writer. A simple change in how you talk to yourself helps. By accepting a new identity, you allow yourself to claim new habits that support that identity. It removes self-imposed obstacles that are not helping you. Now I’m not saying to embrace things you are not. Keep it general. Don’t go around telling people you are a bestselling author if you have not published anything or have only sold to your mother. But you can tell people you are a writer and are writing a book. It’s about how you identify yourself. Even if you don’t share that identity with anyone.
Know Your Reason
Know why the page calls you and why you want to sit for hours creating worlds out of tiny letters. What is your motivation? What moves you to take this path? Knowing your purpose and motivation will help keep you on the path, especially when that path gets tough.
Enjoy the Journey
Writing isn’t about the final product. It’s not about seeing your book on the shelf. It’s about the act of writing. It’s getting excited about a great line or a new idea for your plot. Writing is tough. There’s no way around that. But if you don’t enjoy the journey, why bother doing it? There are far easier ways to make money or tap into your creative energies than this.
Take Care of Yourself
If you are well-rested and well-fed, you are more likely to have the energy and mental focus required for writing. Feed your imagination. Nourish your body. Exercise your brain and your muscles.
Get Outside
Nature is the perfect leveler. It reduces stress and clears your mind. It also provides vitamin D, which is essential to good health. Take a walk and let your mind wander. Foster ideas and return to your work renewed.
Accept Discomfort
There are going to be days when it feels like torture to sit and write. Embrace that. That’s when discipline is needed. It’s okay to not be comfortable all the time. It’s okay to embrace the suck. The more you do it, the more tolerance you will have for it. And it works across your life. You build tolerance when you jump out of bed at the alarm instead of hitting snooze. You build it when you take the stairs or a cold shower. Learning how to deal with discomfort helps build discipline. It gets you out of taking it easy on yourself.
Reform Your Habits
Small changes reap huge rewards over time. This concept is covered quite well in James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it. The idea is that a 1% change compounds over time. You don’t have to go big to see big changes, but you need to be consistent. It also helps to view goals as a guidepost and rely on building systems to support you instead.
Be Prepared
Writing is an art. It’s not perfect. You may need to write one sentence one hundred times to get it right. There may be an entire chapter that needs to go after several rounds of editing. You have to be ready to let go so better work can happen. Be prepared to write and write and write and edit and edit and edit. Then polish.
Ditch the Excuses
There are no excuses. There is only writing and not writing. You get to choose. You are in charge. Excuses are useless. Either choose to write or to not write. Then move on.
Clear Your Head
Meditation has been scientifically proven to improve focus and concentration. It reduces stress and lengthens attention spans. And it can improve your mental and physical wellbeing. Plus it’s free. You can’t beat that.
Journal
I start my day by writing in my journal. It gets the words flowing in an easy, no stress way. It’s a great warmup for my day and I get a record of my life along the way. Most days I write about what I want to accomplish or ideas I’ve had or upcoming plans. Other days I jot down stories or memories. It always helps.
Be Strong
Rejection happens a lot in this field. It’s part of a writer’s life. It isn’t personal. It’s an opportunity to revise and get better. Don’t personalize it. Learn from it. Wallow for ten minutes and then call on your editor to break down the rejection and see why it happened and what you can do better next time. Most of all, write. Don’t let anyone knock you off course. If they can, then ask yourself whether this is the path for you. If you answer “yes”, then get back to it.
Be Patient—building a client base or an audience takes time. Even bestselling authors often have to publish multiple books to build their base. There are exceptions (looking at Erin Morgenstern here), but don’t count on that. Keep writing. Keep putting your work out there. Keep tilting at your windmills no matter how hard.
The final blog in developing discipline focuses on practical and external tips to help you succeed.