Being Disciplined

When I was younger, and thought I'd grow up to be a novelist, I heard that writing was a discipline that had to be practiced every day.

I heard that some professional writers would set aside time each day to write. Or at least sit at their desk and think about writing, who knows whether they actually wrote anything.

It was not a discipline I pursued. If I was in the mood to write I did and if I wasn't I didn't. Simple enough.

Then after college I didn't really feel like writing fiction any more. Then I eventually got a job where I was paid to write and there was no practicing about it because I was required to write something almost every day.

Maybe because I'm getting older and wiser, or because I am now getting paid to write, but I'm starting to see the wisdom of this being disciplined business. Of viewing writing as an activity that has to be practiced.

It's not actually the act of writing, although my neglect of the blog in recent years would argue otherwise, so much as the style of writing I want to practice.

I feel like these days I'm either writing long articles about technology or sound bites about yarn.

I want to write long things about yarn.

I want to write short things about...anything.

I need to play with styles, and lengths, and topics. Writing is a discipline. It takes mental muscles and they need to be used and stretched.

The well of words is a pump that needs to be primed. haha.

Sitting down and putting words on paper, or screen as the case may be, is a habit that has to be cultivated so it becomes a reflex.

In theory, our new home is peaceful and quite and otherwise conducive to a pursuit such as writing.

Goodness knows I spend enough time goofing off in aimless pursuits that I should have enough time to practices the discipline of writing.

It's a matter of making it a priority.

These means I have to start blogging more regularly and I have to stop neglecting my pen pals.

So, this is me, being disciplined.

But that's enough practice for tonight. I have to go clean the kitchen.