The Discipline of Writing

The Discipline of Writing 

For most of my years working as a veterinarian, I thought that someday I would write. I have always enjoyed telling stories and putting them on paper, and people constantly told me that the experiences I had with animals would make a wonderful book. 

I eventually decided to start writing down brief notes to remind me of interactions with clients and their animals that were interesting enough to be featured in a book. It wasn’t long before I had dozens of story ideas. Late in my vet career, I took a week off and tried writing every day. The experience was exhilarating and soon I found myself putting together stories most weekends. When I retired from vet work, I started writing seriously. Every day I would sit at the computer and write. 

Eventually, I found an agent and a publisher and Creatures of the Rock was born. Since that time, I have considered myself a full-time writer. I have a children’s book (One Brave Boy and His Cat) and a speculative fiction novel (VIRAL) published and a collection of short stories (Bifocal) set to be released soon. There will be many more after these. 

I try to write five days a week. Weekday mornings start with a ten-kilometer run and then I put 1,500 words into a computer. 

Writers have all kinds of different approaches to getting books finished. Some write for a certain number of hours and others have a goal of a specific number of words. All of this can sound a little obsessive, but in order to put out a novel of between 60,000 and 100,000 words, a lot of work is required. Most of us need some kind of structure to meet such a daunting production goal. 

For me, there is a requirement for real discipline. It doesn’t work to say that I will write when I’m inspired. As the artist Chuck Close said “Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up for work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work.” 

There may be those fortunate authors who are just driven to write every day. Then again, maybe they aren’t that fortunate, just obsessive. I think most writers are like me, there are days when there aren’t any great insights or brainwaves. The way to write is to sit down and write. 

This is all a bit like the advice I’ve heard for running. It’s easy to run, all you have to do is put on a pair of running shoes and step outside your front door.

I think writing is quite similar. Once we park ourselves in front of a computer and read over what we wrote the previous day, the ideas will come. Even if they don’t, forcing yourself to put down something that is completely uninspired will often be enough to get the creative juices flowing. 

The problem with the discipline needed for writing is that it must come completely from yourself. When you have a regular paying job, your boss and ultimately your paycheque will inspire you to show up for work every day.

As a writer, it’s a little harder. Of course, it’s important that we want to tell stories and write them down, but getting started each day can be a challenge.

If you ‘ve ever wanted to write but never understood how to start, it’s pretty simple. Turn on your computer or pick up a pen and pad of paper and write. It’s as difficult and easy as that.