Butt in the chair

I’ve been asked a few times lately for writing tips. There’s a lot of course. I’ve done all the courses, signed up for all the workshops, attended all the retreats, seminars and festivals. But there is one thing above all else that will get the writing done and it’s another butt. The one you sit on. The only way to get the words on the page is to place your butt in the chair and get typing.

I used to wait for the muse. She often never showed, or when she did was cranky and told me that what I’d written was no good anyway.

I used to procrastinate. Of course the floor needs mopping NOW. The writing can wait, right?

I used to wait for the perfect amount of time. You know four hours, two hours, a whole day. Then I discovered the perfect amount of time doesn’t exist. I’ve found that I can turn out around a thousand words in an hour. After that it’s a battle. But if I did that one hour a day every day I’d have a first draft of a novel in 80 days. Wish I’d known that 20 years ago!

So now I do things differently. These days I get my body out of bed and my butt in the chair. It may only be for 15 minutes before I have to get ready for work, but it’s 15 minutes worth of words I wouldn’t have otherwise.

So, pop your butt in the chair, face the screen and write. Oh and close the door on that inner critic - you don’t have time for his constant interruptions!

Here’s to the next 100 words!