The Truth About Discipline

I love writing.  I truly do.  The process of creation and discovery feeds my soul.  Imagination rules my existence.  What I have a problem with, however, is discipline in my craft.  It is often a challenge for me to fit in quality writing time. 

I was always a good student in school.  I received top grades in college.  However, I did tend to procrastinate a lot on my writing assignments.  I know how to work and make the most of my time when I’m at the keyboard.  My issue isn’t that the time doesn’t exist or that I don’t desire to work.  I do fear the white page.  I do fear that the work will be horrible.  These are common writer’s issues that I’ve already learned to deal with.  So really, I’m not exactly sure what the reason is for my apprehension. 
 
I have a job four to five days per week in order pay my bills and rent, eat food and get to and from my job.  That leaves me with 48-72 hours per week that can be dedicated to my work, minus chores and of course sleep (one of my favorite activities; dreams deeply inspire and inform my work).
 
So, what is the deal?  I chalk some of it up to inexperience.  I have never worked seriously on a novel length project before (unless you count the 100+ page manuscript I worked on before studying fiction writing.  It is horribly written but conceptually golden).  It takes a lot of courage to jump into a project and make mistakes.  I have to constantly remind myself of my “shitty first drafts” mantra.  Am I simply a coward finding her courage?  Doubtful.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t be walking down this path in the first place.  Perhaps all I need is some time and consistency.  So far I have been consistent, however slow the pace may be. 

If any other writers out there have advice on how they push themselves to get their work done, I’d love to hear it. I’m always willing to learn and try new techniques.