Writing habits – what we need to do

They say, "If you do something you enjoy, it will never feel like work." I believe in this, but I don't think it comes that easy. I enjoy playing volleyball, but I have never put in the work required to play more than two or three games and not collapse into a sweaty heap. Maybe a little more effort and dedication would save me from a few days of ice packs and Ben-Gay, but I never put in that time. It didn't seem worth it.

Since this blog is about writing, I will use that to discuss what I hear from a number of workshop members when I prompt them to "keep on writing."

Q: I don’t feel like writing everything all the time

A: I would hope not. Trying to become a writer by constantly writing the Great American Novel might border on the obsessive. But more to the point, it can lead to a boom-bust cycle of massive creation followed by massive burnout. Where’s the fun in that?

The best advice I was given about these habits came with a comparison to working out. I am hardly a fitness guru, and gravity is not my friend – trust me. However, when I started exercising regularly I thought I needed to dive in and work myself ragged whenever I had the chance. This gave me a great rush the first time, followed by stiff, achy joints, a sore back; and second thoughts about the whole scam called “exercise.”

And that’s when I got this life-saving advice. A friend of mine said that it wasn’t about doing as much as possible when I could, but doing something every day whether I wanted to or not. Starting to exercise wasn’t about finding limits, but first generating some discipline. So if I was feeling in the mood, I could follow a warm-up with a whole core routine, upper-body circuits, or whatever I felt I could handle. On days like those, exercise is the easiest thing. But on those days when I didn’t want to even think about extra movement, it was that much more important to spend at least twenty minutes on the treadmill.

As far as writing goes, it’s very similar. I set aside a half-hour which is my writing time. I can do more if I want, but thirty minutes is the bare minimum (finding the time is discussed in another post). When I want to write, I can step right into it. It’s simple, natural, and I don’t have to stretch as much beforehand. But the important part is that when I don’t feel like writing, I still sit down and write something. Anything. A haiku (several, actually), an idea about a character sketch, memories of the home I grew up in. It’s okay if what I write isn’t the best thing I’ve ever committed to words, as long as I create something. If I can’t seem to type something, I force myself to type anything (the problem of Writer’s Block will be covered in its own piece soon enough).

The first part of becoming a writer, therefore, is developing the discipline of a writer. It may sometimes not be as fun as we like, but as our skills improve, it becomes easier, more exciting, and we start realizing our potential as a writer is much greater than we ever knew. In short, as we develop the discipline of a writer, we start convincing ourselves that we are writers. Once we realize that, we create the mental fitness a writer.

And it’s a lot easier on the knees than a treadmill.