Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The Writing Habit
The Author’s Life
The Writing Habit by Lauren Delaney
At this time of year, the talk inevitably turns to New Year's resolutions. But more than just vowing to exercise more and stay away from the Twinkies, perhaps this is a good time to re-evaluate our writing habits.
Researchers have found that if you do something twenty-one consecutive days in a row, it becomes a habit. And as we look for success and growth as writers in the year ahead, one of the very best things that we can resolve to focus on is the Writing Habit.
To develop ourselves as writers and continue to hone our skills, we need to write consistently. It is far better to carve a small niche of time to write daily, than it is to try and write in a marathon session on the weekends. Sure, we may find that a few ‘marathon sessions’ are needed as a submission deadline looms, but consistent, diligent, patient, determined ‘lose yourself in the story for a little while’ writing, done on a daily basis, will train our elusive Muse to show up more regularly - and more importantly - help to make writing a real ‘habit’ in our lives.
Are you an early bird and at your best as the day begins? Or are you a night owl who still has energy to spare when everyone else is calling it a day? Are you willing to tack on an extra hour at night or get up an hour early in the morning to help cement and develop your writing habit?
Consistently writing four pages a day, five days a week, will find you with a 60,000-word manuscript at the end of three months. A good tip to remember is not to write a scene to completion as your daily writing time draws to a close, but rather stop in the middle of the action. You’ll be surprised to discover how this trick will help you to more easily pick up where you left off when you sit down to write again the next day. Resist the urge to edit as you go.
Some days you will struggle to finish two pages, other days six pages will seem to pour out effortlessly. The important thing is that by writing on a daily basis, you are developing a writing habit, which is key to your success as a writer.
The Muse may seem fickle, but we can train her - and more importantly ourselves - to develop habits that will empower us as writers. And isn’t that a New Year’s resolution worth keeping?
Best wishes for health, love and prosperity for all of you as the New Year begins – and happy writing!
Lauren Delaney
http://laurendela.tripod.com/
Dark Encounter ~ available now as part of the Black Rose line at the Wild Rose Press. http://www.thewildrosepress.com Labels: The Author's Life - The Writing Habit
Posted by Lauren Delaney ::
9:27 AM ::
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