I'm Only Human

Simple Origami-Man origami model based on a design by Hyo Ahn

I haven’t written in forever. I’m supposed to be turning over a new leaf and yet here I am doing exactly what I’ve always done. I’m beating myself up more than anyone else, I’m sure. That doesn’t mean I’m not feeling the punches.

 

Daily writing is not a problem of talent. One does not need to be a great wordsmith in order to write daily. One of my writing gurus, the Mighty Mur Lafferty, is fond of saying, “Give yourself permission to suck.” She goes on to explain that the present quality of your work should not be a barrier to your practicing, and eventually improving, your writing. Don’t continue to suck.

 

Daily writing is not a problem of inspiration. We all have ideas. The trap we fall into is thinking our ideas are precious. I’ve heard many a published author recount many a tale of fans approaching the author with a great idea that the two could work on together. All the author would have to do is write it. It should not come as a shock that the author ALWAYS rejects the proposition. Authors lament that they will not live long enough to write all of their ideas. They don’t need any more. Ideas are cheap.

 

As far as thinking you’re not a “good enough” writer to do your “precious” idea justice. Scrap that! (I actually held back on the profanity there.) As you set down your iffy idea with your terrible writing, something magical will happen. More ideas--more complex and creative than you’ve had before--will flood your brain. Don’t be distracted. Jot them down and keep on your current course. When you’ve finished your current project, you’ll be a better writer and have the beginnings of a better idea to bite into.

 

Let’s try to get back to the original point. What is the problem with daily writing?

 

Scheduling.

 

Writing three to five hundred words a day should take no more than half an hour. On the other hand when is the last time you had a spare half-hour just fall into your lap? Was it today? Yesterday? Anytime this week?

 

A writer needs to intentionally carve out time in his or her day to write. A wise person (probably Mur) once said that time is the currency of adulthood. You may say you have no time to write, but you are caught up on Doctor Who, or you have all the achievements unlocked on Skyrim. We spend our time on what we care most about.

 

Discipline is hard. That’s a no-brainer, but it needs to be pointed out. Like so many things in life, maintaining a blog falls under the umbrella of my favorite idiom. “It’s so easy that anyone can do it, but if it’s so why isn’t everyone doing it?”