After suffering a drought of words and barely making any headway for weeks on my current manuscript, I seem to finally have turned the corner. The words are flowing and pages are accumulating.
Part of the problem was that I was letting other pressures and responsibilities impinge on my writing time. I work a full time job, have familial responsibilities etc, so I only have about an hour and a half of actual writing time each day. The other part of the problem was that somehow I started treating my writing as a hobby, not as a job. If I don't want to make enough money to support my family without needing a day job, then it's fine to write when and if I can fit it in. But if I want to support my family and work as a full time writer, then I need to write every day and not let other things get in the way.
A friend was talking about her struggle to exercise on a regular basis. She said, "I hate to exercise but then I hate to go to work and I do that every day." While I don't hate going to work, I like my job, I understood the sentiment behind her words.
So in the future, whenever someone needs me to do something within my scheduled writing time or I don't feel like writing, I'm going to ask myself, which do I want more -- to be able to write full time without needing a job outside the home or to punch a clock for someone else for the next 30 years.
I could really relate to this post, Katherine. I, too, only have about 1.5 hours a day to write, and it is so easy to let other activities eat into that time. We also have a similar goal...to be able to write full-time without needing a second job (although I guess most new writers could say the same thing...)
ReplyDeleteIt really is an issue of discipline, isn't it? Do I really need to watch So You Think You Can Dance (yes, yes, I do, but no, no, I don't).
Good luck with your writing!