The Law of Habit states that it is inevitable that you will be published if you cultivate good habits and break bad habits. —Elizabeth Lyons
Habits are established customs. Psychologically, and for writers, it means an automatic pattern of behavior that can be good or not so good when placing words on a page. For example—
Procrastination is an undesirable habit. (The do it later syndrome.)
Writing every day is a good habit. (Word counts or pages are achieved.)
When it comes to procrastination, it's considered a deliberate act of finding or creating an excuse not to write.
Then there is Writer's Block. It comes in the form of the fear of a blank page or the fear of deadlines, either ones self-imposed or a publication's. Writer's Block can also be the fear of failure, telling one's self that the writing isn't good enough or perfect enough for publication so why complete a novel or submit something for publication?
And yet, cultivating the good habit of writing every day can be extremely difficult. Life intrudes— Jobs. Family. Kids. Pets. Holidays. Hobbies. Emergencies. Weather disasters—and a host of other issues take their toll on one's desire and ability to write that poem, that memoir, that essay, that short story, that novel, or that saga.
No one answer fits all situations.
Maybe it's all a matter of desire. As Brihadaranyaka Upanishad said, As your desire is, so is your will. So—
What do you desire to achieve as a writer?
Do you have the willpower to form good habits that will get you to that goal?
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1 comment:
Valuable advice, Catherine. In the morning I crawl out of bed, slip into my bathroom, and sit at my desk to write before I do anything else. My writing time has increased to two or three hours a stretch The habit may take as many as 66 days to establish but is easy to keep once established.
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