Wednesday Wisdom - Discipline

It's Wednesday Wisdom, when I pretend to be an expert and you pretend to listen.

A side note - This post is late getting online. It's my fault. And that's quite a coincidence given the topic for this week's Wednesday Wisdom.

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Ask any given writer what the most important part of the writing process is and they’re likely to cite such romantic notions as imagination, inspiration, or coffee. And while most of these things are important in every writer’s life, none of them answers the question.

A seasoned author will tell you: it’s all about discipline.

Too often, we creative types fall victim to distractions or, even worse, procrastination. The muse comes singing her sweet and tantalizing song; but we shrug our shoulders and say, “Go away. I’ve got other stuff to do.” And what do we do?

We browse the internet, Tweet at some friends, watch television, play a video game, read a book, stare at the blank screen with only a few minutes left in the day and say to ourselves, “Darn. Maybe I’ll write tomorrow when I have more time.”

The problem is we never let ourselves have more time.

This is where discipline comes into play. Our time is one of the few things we actually own; what we do with it is a direct reflection of how much we care about ourselves and the projects we hope to finish. When we carve away the day’s minutes, we have no one but ourselves to blame.

Discipline involves more than just saying, “I’m going to write.” Being disciplined means we are strict and we know how to manage our lives in a way that is most productive for the creative process, even if that means you set aside a half hour in the morning or an hour before bed.

The difference between a lazy writer and a disciplined writer is simple: the lazy writer lets time tick away. The disciplined writer makes the best of each fleeting moment.

Your Wisdom

Are you a disciplined writer? How do you avoid distractions and seek out those valuable minutes instead of letting them slip away?