D is for Discipline and Determination

There is no doubt that to make it as a writer you need to have a lot of discipline and determination.

Discipline

Image courtesy of Grotuk / Flickr.com

"You need three things to become a successful novelist: talent, luck and discipline. Discipline is the one element of those three things that you can control, and so that is the one that you have to focus on controlling, and you have to hope and trust in the other two." Michael Chabon

This has to be the hardest area for me and something that I am working on daily. I go through phases when I am super disciplined and get up early to write before everyone else wakes up and meet a daily word count goal, and then at other times I just juggle and try to fit it all in when and where I can.

I know which one produces the best results and that having a writing schedule and limiting the time spent on social media is pretty important in getting that novel written, but sometimes life throws you a curve ball or you just need a lie in for once (seriously, does anyone like getting up at 5am?).

I think the important thing is to make sure you are doing something on a daily basis that will move you further towards your goal, even if it's just a couple of sentences or brainstorming the next scene.

Determination

Image courtesy of Dana Lookadoo - Yo! Yo! SEO / flickr.com

"Writing is most of all an exercise in determination." Tom Clancy

Writing is a pretty unforgiving career and you will likely receive countless knock-backs and rejections before finally getting that publishing deal. You have to be a pretty determined individual to carry on in the face of criticism, but I am sure you have all heard the countless tales of famous authors and how many rejections they received before hitting the big time. Had any of them lacked the determination some of the most loved novels of all time may never have seen the light of day.

There are plenty of other people outside of the writing world who can also knock us back. It can be hard to cope with those in our lives, whether friends, family or acquaintances, who just don't 'get' why we do what we do. Our own internal voices telling us we just aren't good enough have a big impact to. It takes determination to silence all these voices (internal and external) and push on anyway.


Do you have the discipline and determination to make it? Is there anything you need to work on to help you? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.