Discipline is key to succeeding as a writer. This series has explored why discipline matters, how to embrace a discipline mindset and offered tips for developing discipline by focusing on you and your habits. This blog finished the series by looking at external things you can do to develop better a writing discipline.
There are reasons why discipline is difficult for creative people. We tend to be free spirits who eschew structure. The very act of creating is rebellious. It’s a breaking free of the rules and expectations. It’s a more untethered life than the typical nine-to-five affords. It is at its heart an emotional act. On the other hand, discipline is based in thought and rationale. It’s not surprising these two opposites clash. But there are ways to change that.
Habits are mental. They are choices you make every day—choices that require discipline. Yes, that D word that carries some negative connotations. But though discipline isn’t easy to develop, it is far from a dirty word. Rather it is a commitment. Dedication to a dream combined with the will to execute.
This blog will focus on ways to embrace discipline as a writer.
Writing is a creative pursuit. It isn’t like traditional, non-creative, jobs where you punch a clock and pick up a paycheck. There’s no boss to report to or inbox to tackle. It’s less structured than all that. And not. Not if you want to survive.
We’ve all been there—desperately searching for any task to be completed other than writing. There’s nothing like staring at a blank page to make laundry, cleaning the bathroom, mopping or taking out the trash look so good.
Meet procrastination—the habit that keeps writers from writing. It’s what forces us down the rabbit hole of YouTube and what has us launching Netflix instead of working on our pages. It’s why we flee from that insistent cursor that waits for words to pour from our fingers.
Writing is hard. Words don’t flow out easily and land on the page as genius. They need to be selected, ordered, rearranged, swapped, lined up and perfected. Most times they are not cooperative companions though. They are like the unruly child who doesn’t recognize the word “no” even when yelled and accompanied with hands held face out.
There is a reason so many talk about writing instead of doing it. The trick to making it as a writer is not quitting when it gets tough.
Being a writer for hire opens a world of opportunity. There are many places that need good writers. I’ve written about it before. But within those vast opportunities, there is a clear divide between technical and non-technical writing. Choosing between them is a tough decision. Should you follow the emotion or the facts? The story or the money?
Every writer will tell you to get used to rejection. They say it because it’s true. There’s no way around it. For writers, rejection is as common as succeeding and it never gets easier. But that doesn’t mean you can wallow in it your disappointment. You will never get anywhere if you do that. You need to learn how to cope with rejection and keep going.
There’s nothing more nerve-raking as a writer than submitting your work to an agent or editor. There’s that moment before you hit send that makes your heart skid to a halt and then jump back into rhythm. It’s a queasy act of faith before you’re forced to wait and worry. Is my work good enough? Will they like it? What if they don’t?
There are days I don’t want to write. No matter how I struggle, the words don’t want to come. Every syllable I manage on those days feels forced onto the page like Sisyphus with his boulder. Those are the days I wish I had picked another profession, one where I could punch the clock, do my task and go home without another thought. I even look back fondly on those days in college when I worked as a waitress.
Luckily those days are rare.
I’ve written before about not believing Writer’s Block exists. I still don’t. It’s the Sasquatch of our industry. What I do believe in is not having ideas or motivation and not being in the zone, but those aren’t blocks, they are obstacles. Every career has them. And they can be overcome.
There are days when writing is a painful process of flinging words on the page without passion or a clue. We’ve all been there. Flailing about for an idea, any idea. But that’s different than having writer’s block.
If you’re like me, you are probably setting goals for the new year—promises to exercise daily or eat right. It’s the season for starting over and re-committing to good habits. There’s nothing quite like feeling like you have a clean slate and move forward freely into a new and improved you. But while you’re picking good habits, don’t forget your writing.
Writing is a habit like any other. It takes discipline to stick to it, especially when the self-doubt creeps in or the rejections start piling up. The more you can do to create a habit of writing, the better you will be able to handle the vagaries of the craft.