Tactics to Write
“With self-discipline most anything is possible.”
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
I’m trying to write more consistently. Like many writers, this is easier said than done. With many like myself saying no to NaNoWriMo, it’s more important than ever to impose self-deadlines whether it’s a 50,000 word rough draft or jump start in a month without using NaNoWriMo’s platform or a daily word count (or time if that’s your thing).
So, my plan is to have an accountability partner.
Why an accountability partner? Can’t you just man up and do it yourself?
Some days, I can. But, a good chunk of the time, it’s hard to get started. Like anything, it takes practice, time, and a steady commitment. Like I have mentioned in the past, it’s easy to think we have more time than we do. And before you know it, you’re pausing before eventually putting Depends in your shopping cart with no novels to your name (I’d gladly wear Depends if it means I fulfilled a dream of publishing one thing. I’ll even fill them…everyone’s noses be damned.)
So, I am trying something where someone holds me accountable for writing each night. Rather than outsource this to an online service for $25 a month or ask a rando on the worldwide web, I figured I would ask my girlfriend. And thankfully, she didn’t mind at all.
And I think it’s working. I can write knowing that she will ask, and being an obliger according The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin, I will gladly drop everything to do things for other people. (I have a slight rebellious streak to me too sometimes, but most of the time, I’ll be more than glad to assist.) So, having someone to oblige will be the spark to ignite what was there the entire time.
It’s not that I don’t want to write. But fighting resistance as Steven Pressfield has mentioned is like fighting inertia. We are stuck in our ways: eating the same thing or watching the same show because it’s what we know and comforting (which for me lately is pizza and Teen Titans). But we all are capable of more.
For me, that’s writing. It won’t completely replace my old habits for every hour of the day (no burnout for me…thanks.) But some of my habits will be pushed to later or take a backseat while I take full control. Next stop, a consistent writing practice, then a rough draft, and finally (and hopefully) a published novel.