So last week I told you that our new pup, Kassi, was a natural at sitting on
command. It came easy, just like the
burst of a new idea as it comes to a new writer is natural and exciting. The hard part for both is staying.
Kassi is easily distracted. The world is new, There’s so much to investigate, so much to
see and explore. Same with a new writer. Distractions and avoidance are hard to
overcome, but staying is even more important than sitting as far as I'm concerned. Setting word count goals are helpful. I try for a thousand words a day, but when I’m
starting a new novel it’s less than that and at the end, more.
I also think it’s important to stay at the same time for the same amount of time every day. That’s when the magic happens. Take an hour sit, stay, and write and see what happens. Even if a writer writes one page a day in that span of time, they have a novel at the end of the year. The accumulation of staying pays dividends quickly. The hard part is avoiding the Internet, or reading, or TV. Staring out the window counts as working, so that’s not a worry. Just do whatever it takes to keep writing. Stay in the chair, at the desk, fingers on the keyboard. You'll be glad you did. Just like Kassi, only I can't promise a treat at the end of the exercise. The doing of it has to be the reward.
I think I’ll stay on the dog commands for writers for a
little while. There’s a few more to
explore, and spending time with Kassi is always a pleasure…
2 comments:
Love your insights into both dogs and writing - my most frequent "command" to my dog is "Move it!" (We go for several walks a day along single-person-wide paths, with her "leading" & sniffing at countless bushes and tussocks of grass along the way, while I'm usually fretting to get back to my editing/indexing work.) Sage advice for me in the new year, too *grin*.
Thanks, Lois, glad you're enjoying the blog. Sunny and I walk every day, too. Kassi has to stay behind for now. It's one of the most important parts of our day and I'll have a few posts about walking soon. Good luck with the editing/indexing work in the new year.
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