It’s one thing to write. It’s another thing to write consistently.
There will always be temptations. Today you are tired. Perhaps the ideas never showed up. There’s been a power outage, and you can’t use your computer to type.
You’re going to look at them and say, they’re valid reasons, and so I really just can’t write today. Writing when tired means you won’t be writing at peak skill. Not having ideas means racking your brain at every sentence, which is brutal. And without notes, let alone writing on paper by candlelight, it’ll be a mistake riddled stinker that will take twice as long, which also has to be retyped later. All fully valid, honest, understandable reasons.
And it doesn’t matter, sit down and write anyway.
Sometimes you are tired. Sometimes you are not tired. Being tired doesn’t change the fact that you need to sit in the chair and write to the best of your ability.
When there’s a blank page in front of you, you fill it with words. It’s hard when you don’t have ideas, but you sit and do it anyway. You’re a writer, and you know what that means. Besides, if you knew you needed to have ideas ready beforehand, why haven’t you sat down and collected a whole pile of ideas so you always have something to work on?
As for the power outage, who cares? Writing is cerebral, and you are literally ninety five percent of the tools. Surely you have something you can scribble out.
If you’re going to be a writer, don’t skip it. Would you call out of your current “real” job for this? The bossman doesn’t care that you have a hangover from a crazy party Sunday; take some aspirin and get to work. For that job and for your real one. If you’ve got the flu, then yeah, maybe you can skip that day — then again, stuck in bed all day is a perfect time to type, or at least read, which means you can edit or research.
Maybe you’re too busy. Let’s be fair, it is possible. Maybe your friend is also starting some new business, but it’s crunch time. Three days until it opens, and you’ve offered to help, twenty-four seven, getting things ready. You are, in fact, too busy to write, for a good reason, too. Fine.
Unless you find a few minutes to check your phone while waiting for the microwave to finish making lunch. Japan has a whole genre novels specifically written on a cell phone. You can find the minutes here and there to get something down. Keep up the flow.
You can’t do great work? That’s why you edit. Nobody’s first drafts are good. But every writer who ever did anything at all still had that first draft. What makes you special?
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