My writing habits have tanked in the last few months. Two separate manuscripts sit on my desk right now and I haven't touched them in...weeks. (Insert sad face here) I don't know what pushed me away from my desk or why I'm ignoring projects that I love, but it's time to bring the hammer down. I'm bringing back the basic writer rules.
- 1. Ass in Chair. The simplest of writer rules and the hardest one to follow. I know if I just walk into the little office on the side of my house I'll write. Getting there is where most writers fail.
- Turn off the Distractions. No facebook, twitter, TV, or phone. Another super simple rule. A writer needs a cave. A place to shut out the world. Stephen King once said he wrote in the laundry room of his trailer when he first started out. If he can go into a laundry room, I can go to my cave, too.
- Just write. Good or bad, as long as the writer is writing, amazing things can happen. Believe it.
- Be religious about your writing time. Carve out those hours and don't let anything interfere with it. It's a job. Go to it.
- Seek other writers. Visiting their blogs, reading articles about writing, and going to writing groups keep a writer motivated. Being with your people centers a you, encourages you and can bring you back to productivity.
So those are my writer rules. For the next eight hours I have to go to the day job, but tonight I go to my cave.
Write on, my friends, protect your writing time and get your ass in the chair. That's my plan.
1 comment:
I've found that I'm not slacking so much from writing in the summer, but that's because I don't have to go to my other job. Amazing what some rest will do for one's creativity
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