Writing discipline

Posted by Simon on 14th, August 2009 at 17:31:02

A question arrives, about how I discipline myself to write a book.

The answer is that I don't have to.  I enjoy writing immensely and think of it as my hobby.  The fact that people seem to enjoy it too, and want to know more about the adventures of Dan and Adam just makes it even better. 

I don't even set myself a target of how many words to write in a day or a week.  I've found that to be counterproductive.  It puts me under pressure, which is a sure way to scare off any creativity or inspiration.  I just try to relax and let it flow.

It's a tough lesson to learn, but writing is a fickle mistress.  Some days it just works easily and I can write good sections of a book with little real apparent effort.  On other days the muse simply refuses to come, and she can be very obstinate.  Those are the most difficult, and used to leave me frustrated.  Nowadays I've come to accept they happen and can walk away, knowing that the next day will be different.

Or hopefully anyway!

Where I have had to discipline myself is in writing thetvdetective blog.  It's new to me - I'm rather old media, when it comes to technology - so I've had to try to set aside time for it in my writing week.  I'm hoping I've just about got the hang of it now and am enjoying it - I think it makes for a good way of having a conversation. 

And finally for this posting, as for the people who keep asking me about what happens in The Judgement Book, you'll have to be patient!  It's less than a month until it comes out now...

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