Consistency
I read an excellent post by the author Maggie Stiefvater titled The Giant Butt-Kicking How to Write a Novel Post. It boils down to this quote:
“All of these questions are really one question: “How do I write a book?”
And the answer, which I will explain in depth, is a simple two-parter:
1 – You decide to.
2- Butt in Chair.”
There’s a lot more to it, of course. You should go read it. But that’s the essence. Want to write a novel? Tell yourself you’re going to do it, set aside consistent time, and stick to it.
Amen.
Now, I didn’t always agree with this. I remember the first time I listened to the audiobook of Steven King’s “On Writing” I took exception to the part where he talks about setting a daily wordcount goal and sticking to it. A few short years ago I spent more time planning, rewriting, re-plotting, etc., then actually writing. I sure as heck wasn’t consistent.
In my experience over the last year, though, butt-in-chair is the most important rule of all. Everyone has different schedules, everyone has different methods of pre-planning, different tricks to keep themselves going, and so on. But one thing every professional writer that I’ve heard discuss this has in common is that they have either a consistent schedule or consistent goals that they hold themselves to. I know that making a habit of writing at certain times every day has been the best thing I could’ve done for my writing.
Speaking of habits, I’m still doing my five-minute warmup with mindless solitaire, and I’ve added a consistent piece of music with it. I’ve been doing more 30-minute sessions than 15-minute lately: I think I’m getting my brain trained to concentrate on it better. And getting my creative muscles a little stronger.
I’ll leave you with another quote, one from J.A. Konrath’s Newbie’s Guide to Publishing blog, from a post that I had printed out by my computer for a while. (I’d link to the post but it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.)
“Write.
Even if you have other things to do.
Even if it sucks.
Even though it’s hard.
Even though there are no guarantees.
Even if no one else cares. …
You’re a writer. Act like one.”