Reverb 10- Writing

First of all, I would like to thank Kristi for showing me Reverb 10, a project which is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. The end of the year is an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. Here on Lost Discoverer, I plan on posting my thoughts and feelings according to Reverb 10's daily prompts.



Today's Prompt: WHAT DO YOU DO EACH DAY THAT DOESN'T CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR WRITING? WHAT CAN YOU DO TO ELIMINATE IT?

Are these people reading my mind/thoughts? I feel like I am being watched! The Boy and I actually just had this conversation- we delved into the reasons why I am sometimes so driven, and more often just not. For some reason, I can be very disciplined when immediate consequences face me- a deadline of some sort. Or when I am excited about something- when I have a new project or idea. Otherwise, my writing will get pushed to the back burner, and any excuse not to write will feel valid: "Oh I can't write right now, because I need to do all my Holiday Shopping" or "Well, I really want to work-out, and if I don't work-out now I won't ever do it"

If I don't have pressure then I just don't do it- a great example would be this blog- I was so excited when I first began that I wrote almost every day, I had plans for new pieces, and I would be angry with myself if I didn't get to work on the blog. Now, I let the rest of life get in the way of my blog and all other writing I set out to do. Family, friends, social events, exercise, grocery shopping, shopping lists, emails, I allow anything and everything to get in my way.

How can I change? What do I need to do differently? I just need to be more disciplined. I need more structure. Hemingway would wake up at the same time every morning, no matter how late he had been out before, and wrote 500 words, without fail. Stephen King, by contrast, writes 10 pages a day, even on holidays. The difference between myself and these two prolific writers is that I have not held myself to anything. In order to be great I need to do that. It is not that I need to eliminate anything from my life in order to accommodate writing, I simply need to commit to writing as part of my routine life, to prioritize it to the point of it's being as integral and natural as my 3 daily meals.

What do you need to make room for in your life? How can you be more dedicated to your passion?