Climbing out of a black hole after a sickness…..it can be a difficult thing to do….still coughing like a champion smoker..on antibiotics round number 2….wondering what kind of character I’d make in a book. I don’t recall using common illness in fiction. It’s so dull.
Two nights ago, a series I love, Writer’s Confession aired. I’ve blogged about this series before – if you ever have the opportunity to catch some it, do. It gives such a great connection, listening to succesful authors discuss the insanity of the craft. The parts of it that we question, and wonder if this is right – Should I feel this way? From what I’ve noticed writers love to talk about the craft, but they don’t like to talk about how this craft makes them feel.
I happened to catch a discussion about discipline. I was surprised by their answers.
Most said they were not disciplined at all. One author said she was obsessed. This obsession kept her coming back to her book, not discipline. Another said she was addicted to writing. She too claimed no discipline at all. Another voiced his opinion that it’s his innate perfectionism that keeps him going.
I have to admit, I’ve thought this myself. All of the above in truth. Yet……there are moments when the obsession dies, or the addiction abates, or I no longer care about perfection. At those moments, it is discipline that kicks in, that brings me back to my laptop and makes me work.
I could not help but wonder if creative people loathe categorizing their ‘creations’ with work. That by admitting writing is work diminishes the romance of it, the ethereal aspect of it. For me, writing when I don’t want to is work, hard, gut-wrenching work. Teeth pulling work. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Thankfully, those painful moments are few in between, but they exist, and without discipline, well I just wouldn’t write.
What about you – are you a disciplined writer?
Are you an artist or a mule? I’m definitely both.
