The Discipline of Writing & NaNoWriMo

I was sitting at a sidewalk table last week, enjoying a cup of coffee, when I overheard a group of twenty-somethings at the next table talking about the writers’ conference that was starting over the weekend. The conversation turned to the art of writing.

“It just takes so long to get inspired…”

“I get stuck making the first paragraph perfect, and never get any farther.”

“I get this great idea, then the phone rings, and it’s my friend, and I end up going out and when I get back the idea is gone, and I don’t have anything to say.”

“There’s just not enough time. I get home from work, and it’s dinner, catch the news, work out, go out with friends, walk the dog, call my mom, whatever. There’s just not enough time to write.”

“When I write, I have to get my music going, light candles, make sure everything’s perfect, then I can get in the the mood, and it will all flow.”

“I can write pages and pages, and I know it’s good, so I don’t even have to go back to read it. Someday, I’m going to sit down and write a whole book.”

Anytime I hear a conversation about writing, I’m fascinated. Writing is my avocation– something I’ve done steadily since childhood, at one level or another. Although I started with some of the same ideas as the young people I overheard, I’ve since learned a few things. Read more