If you want to talk about discipline and motivation, according to Leonard Bishop (Dare to Be a Great Writer, Writer's Digest Books, 1988) you must first establish the foundation upon which to build the writer’s character. He says: "Commitment, ambition, desperation, a passion for creating, willingness to sacrifice average gratification and expectations, are all part of the writer's character. Having all this in your character will still not get you to your desk every day and keep you there. FAITH IN SELF MUST DOMINATE IT ALL. Believe your writing is important to the world, and your faith has begun . . .. Faith in self gives you the writer's character. Writing through all adversity, depression and rejection is proof that your self-faith is well founded. Publication is erratic, transient. CHARACTER IS CONSTANT." It is character that will move you to put words down, whether it's the best or the worst thing you have to do at the moment.

This idea is seconded by romance author Robyn Amos (http://www.erols.com/robyna) who says: "Your friends and family may not understand this need you have to put words on paper . . .. People may look at you funny when you jot notes on scraps of paper or cocktail napkins. It may take years for you to receive the recognition and appreciation you feel your work deserves. If you don't believe in yourself, you won't survive."

Everything--setting and reaching goals, motivation, self-discipline--is tied up in this one prerequisite. You must believe in what you are doing.

Okay, so you cultivate the faith, build the writer's character, and then it gets easy to write? Wrong. Easier, maybe....

Any author will acknowledge that there will be "those" days when we don't believe in ourselves or in our work. That's part of life and will occur no matter what we chose to do. Author Sherry Garland (Writing For Young Adults, Writer's Digest Books, 1998) says that much of the time, "getting my bottom in place and my fingers typing" is comparable to "dragging the cat to a flea dip."

What incentives can we use to handle these times when our faith ebbs?

Garland says that for her, the idea that there is no pay, hence no food if she doesn't write, is a strong motivation. This was true also with author Mary Higgins Clark. When she was left a widow with five children to feed, writing was an employment alternative that would pay the bills and still allow her to be home with her children. She was strongly motivated to make it work. And she has.

What if your income doesn't depend on your selling your work? Then you have to reach into the character for the motivation and discipline. There are a few different tools you might help you do that reaching:

Try the affirmations that we spoke about when we were setting goals--those positive statements that we can read or recite to can change a negative mindset to a positive one. Some ideas might be:

I am a talented writer.

I know I will succeed; setbacks are temporary.

Images and words always come when I sit down to write.

Writing daily feeds my excitement, enthusiasm, and confidence.

Every day I'm getting better and better.

Perhaps a system of self-reward would motivate you. Rewards can be as simple as a chocolate chip cookie or a bubble bath at the end of a particularly difficult writing session to as major as a new laptop when you sell your book. Re-read your essays about your perfect writing area and look for things you could hold out for yourself as a reward when you've reached a goal--either a page goal on a day when it seems impossible to write, or when you've reached a major milestone.

For others it is motivating to imagine success. In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Reaching Your Goals, (Alpha Books, 1998), Jeff Davidson devotes an entire chapter to the benefits of visualizing. Among the many examples of how visualizing boosts success is this one anecdote about author Mark Victor Hanson, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Davidson reports:

"...Before they created the title, they envisioned what Mark called a 'million dollar title.'

"After many weeks, the title Chicken Soup for the Soul emerged. Mark took a copy of the New York Times best seller list and, using the same font and point size, pasted "Chicken Soup for the Soul, by Mark Victor Hanson and Jack Canfield," over the number-one position for nonfiction books.

"Mark then posted his "best-seller" list on the wall, where he saw it all the time, and from which he continually drew dynamic energy."

So visualize success--and it doesn't have to be just long term success. Envision yourself engrossed in your work, fingers flying over the keyboard. Use all your senses: Hear the clicking of the keys. Feel the weariness in your fingers as you conclude your writing for the day. Smell the ink on paper as the printer spits out page after page of your draft.

Of course, envisioning long-term success, as Mark Hanson did, is worth it, too. Remember to use all the senses here as well, from the chatter of fans at your book signing, to the feel of the completed book manuscript in your hands. Create a dust jacket. Imagine reading the remarks from your agent or editor.

Visualizing can help you kindle sparks of excitement and energy. It has also been observed that we tend to become what we dwell on. Remember talking about that "self-fulfilling prophesy"? If you dwell on the successful completion of your goals, you automatically move in that direction.

Motivation can also be squashed by overkill--setting goals that are out of sync with your character and style. If you find that thirty minutes in a chair kills you, then perhaps 3 10-minute sessions would be a better way to approach it. Work with your faults as well as your virtues and work around your limitations. Be careful that self-imposed limits don't stifle your creativity.

According to Lee Silber (Time Management for the Creative Person, Three Rivers Press, 1998) some experts believe the maximum time a person can focus at peak is 5 minutes. Most say the maximum time you can productively stay on task is no more than 90 minutes. Your own ability to focus will also hinge on interest level. But in general, short bursts of activity, followed by a change of pace or project, are most effective.

You probably have gotten the drift by now that waiting for inspiration to hit isn't going to get the job done. Dylan Thomas said that he wrote only when he was inspired. But the more he wrote, the "inspireder" he got. Action often precedes motivation, rather than following it. Don't wait for inspiration. Make it happen by doing the work.

Good writing habits must be cultivated. Just as you can't throw a packet of seeds on the ground and expect a spectacular garden, neither can you be haphazard about setting aside the time to do the writing and expect to accomplish much. Leonard Bishop is adamant about writing every day. He says that some "may try to soften, sweeten, doctor, or rationalize" but there are no paid vacations for writers. He mentions all those distractions that we know so well: "family, employment, depressions, entertainment, feelings of futility, . . . bowling leagues, church picnics, television, etc." and insists that the only way to stop the distractions is with an impregnable structure of writing habits. "There is no other way," he says. "Writing time must become so vital and intrinsic that whatever attempts to distract becomes a vicious threat to your welfare. This may seem fanatic, inconsiderate, ruthless. It is NOT.... The writers must develop such strict, unchangeable writing habits.... It must become more difficult for him NOT TO WRITE."

While I have a tendency to believe that a day or two off as a reward for a major finish isn't going to dowse all your writing hopes, I can see that the day or two should come after the regular writing habit is well entrenched. Remember, we have to convince our sub-conscience that the new status quo is a steady flow of new words. Once the sub-conscience is trained in that regard (21 days! <G>), it will do it's own nudging when you've let the writing go for too long.

The good news is that "writing" doesn't always mean a productive polished chapter to add to your novel manuscript every time you get your bottom in that chair. There are days when, to stick with your goal of writing daily, you have to allow yourself to write badly or to merely "play" with the words. This is not wasted time or a haphazard "excuse" for writing; it is practice. A person learning to play the piano does not sit down and play a concerto every time she sits at the piano. Sometimes she'll do finger exercises or practice scales. And sometimes, she may sit down with another student and bang out crazy duets just for fun. Writers can have that kind of fun and learn, too.

There are as many different ways to approach practice as there are writers. These suggestions I found useful are from Natalie Goldberg's book Writing Down the Bones (Shambhala Publications, Inc., 1986)

Time your writing practice. You may want to start small (10 minutes) and work up (an hour), or you may want to establish a minimum time period and add to it on better days. It's up to you. The amount of time doesn't matter as much as the fact that whatever amount of time you choose for a particular session, you must commit yourself to the writing for that entire period.

Then follow these rules:

1. Keep your hand moving. (Don't pause to reread the line you have just written. That's stalling and trying to get control of what you're saying.)

2. Don't cross out. (That is editing as you write. Even if you write something you didn't mean to write, leave it.)

3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar. (Don’t even care about staying within the margins and lines on the page.)

4. Lose control.

5. Don't think. Don't get logical.

6. Go for the jugular. (If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.

Goldberg believes these rules to be important because the aim is to burn through to first thoughts where the energy is unobstructed by the internal censor. The internal editor usually squelches first thoughts, and we live in the realm of second and third thoughts, ones tempered by social politeness or logic. First thoughts wild and unbridled, undirected by anything but the present moment.

Avoid thinking of the writing practice as a notch below "real writing." If it's all you do during the day, then you have accomplished a worthwhile part of your goal. However writing practice can be a good warm-up for anything else you might want to write afterward. This is where your true voice will become most evident, and you can draw on that for any type of writing you chose to do. The writing practice will keep you in touch with your voice.

What topics do you use for writing practice? It is a good idea to have a page where you jot down ideas of topics to write about. It could be phrase you overheard, a flash of memory, the day your little brother was born, or simply the way the light falls on the table where you are writing. The list can help you start noticing material for writing in your daily life. And whenever you sit down for writing practice, you just grab a topic and get underway, which is helpful toward cutting through any resistance you may be facing for a particular writing session.

Exercises:

Do you have some affirmations or quotes that you would like to share with the group that gets you writing on those days when you aren't feeling particularly like an author?

Look back through your essay about your ideal writing spot. Are there items it contains that you can promise yourself as rewards for reaching certain goals? Give this some thought and jot down rewards that might motivate you when the going gets tough.

Let's develop a group list of topics for writing practice. I'll start with five and each one posting can add a few to it.

Using that "21 day" standard we discussed in the goals workshop, let's see if we can write something everyday for the next 21 days and develop within ourselves that "impregnable structure of writing habits." Each day I'll post a new thread with the subject "Writing Practice" and the date. Then we can each sign in when we've completed our writing for the day. If you want to make any comments about how it went or any changes you notice in the structure of your habits, I'm sure the group would find such comments motivating. Starting on December 3, that will take us through December 24. Are you game?