The Discipline of Writing by Marian Lanouette

I’m also going to reveal my new cover here so keep reading.

What I’m reading this week. Iris Johansen’s Sleep No More. What are you reading?

A special Happy Birthday today to my friend Gail today.  I hope all your dreams come true.

The discipline of writing

Today, I’m covering a subject close to my heart, the discipline of writing. So often, I hear that a writer finds it difficult to put words to a page for one reason or another. And they’re valid reasons. Reasons such as, the writer has a full-time job and family, medical issues or life in general.  But writing is a discipline that requires dedication, patience and perseverance and a really thick skin.

One of the best parts of writing is the daydreaming and mind wandering before a story is conceived. Once at the beach,  my computer on my lap, someone asked,  “Why aren’t you typing?” My answer, “I’m working. You see, my mind is taking in every little detail for future use.”

Great job, right? You bet. The hazard of the job though is you can take that daydreaming too far. There is a point where you start to put the ideas down on paper and create your characters. Case in point, I finally finished, polished and are now self-publishing a short story, I started on last fall. Why did it take so long? One, I had other projects that needed my attention: Two, it needed a lot of editing and three, I just didn’t know how I wanted it to end. Plus, self-publishing takes money. Money for editing, money for conversions, money for your cover, money for marketing—these are things that a publisher would normally supply that are now your responsibility.  Would I self-publish all my projects? No. I like working with my publisher but I wanted to get the story out there fast, so self-publishing worked in this instance.

I’m unveiling my cover here and showcasing my hard work and discipline. This short story will be out in early December and will be published in both paperback and e-book.

To get back on topic, you need to pick a weekly word count you want to achieve and work toward it. Whether that is on your lunch hour, recording ideas on a tape while you drive or actual typing time in the evening; if you don’t schedule this time you will not write. And I know you have some great stories in your head, pull them out and introduce them to the world.

Remember there is a story in everyone!

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