This is something you see a lot of when it comes to writing. Because there are plenty of people out there who have a lot of talent... but the person who shows up and writes every day is going to be the one who finishes their projects, and crosses that goal line. Not just once, but over, and over, and over again.
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| You'll get there... eventually... |
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Discipline, Not Passion, Is What Lays Your Foundation
When people think about art, they usually focus on the thrill of creation, and the happy brain chemicals that flow through you when you get do it. Whether it's drawing, sculpting, or writing, the rush of translating something from your mind and onto a page is the part that most folks tend to focus on.
However... that is only a tiny fraction of what actually goes into making art as a craft (to say nothing of doing it as a profession). Because natural ability and the joy of movement and execution is a single facet of a complicated gem. There's also studying other creators, attempting to learn new skills and master new tools, but at the core of it all there is the one thing that really makes a difference... practice.
To paraphrase Bruce Lee, you don't need to fear someone who has tried a thousand different kicks 1 time each. But that fighter who has perfected a single kick, throwing it a thousand times or more? They will be able to execute that maneuver with power, grace, and a precision you do not want to be on the receiving end of.
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| Lock in. Get it done. |
Think of any physically demanding job or task out there, and you probably imagine them doing drills, and going through constant training to stay on top of their game. From soldiers and SWAT teams, to firefighters, athletes, dancers, and others, the idea is that if you want to be at the top of your game then you have to put in the hours to perfect your skills. You can't just pick up a fencing rapier, mess around with it for a few hours, and become a sword master; you need thousands of hours to familiarize yourself with the weight of the sword, the strategies of attack and defense, and so on, and so forth. The same is true with wielding a story and making sure that you can twist it, turn it, and execute it as tightly as possible.
Just as important as the amount of practice you put in, though, is the fact that you need to make sure you don't lose your instincts for it because you let yourself get rusty.
Take a moment and think back to when school was in session during the Fall. You've had 3 months off, and you haven't cracked a textbook, done a math problem, or put together a science experiment. Now you're back in school, and your teachers have to spend the first few weeks of school priming your brain pump and reminding you of all the things you learned last year that you've forgotten. And if you haven't been in school for years, instead of months? Well, you might need entire refresher courses to get your brain back in gear, and performing where it was. The same is true of writing... if you have weeks, months, or even years in between your bouts of work, you're going to find yourself trying to make up progress you lost. Like if you went to the gym, got in shape, and then stopped showing up for the holidays... you're going to notice some of your gains are gone, and you aren't as tight as you were before cookie season.
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| I thought holiday calories didn't count... |
Drive is important. Talent is important. But discipline and dedication are going to be your bread and butter when it comes to writing, because they are the tortoise who puts one foot in front of the other. Because when you practice writing every day, no matter how you feel, whether it's rain or shine, then that is the same as showing up to drill even on your off days. And it's why you're going to be that much faster, that much smoother, and that much more natural than someone who just practices when they feel like it, or when they're in a good mood, or when they don't have anything else to do.
You get out what you put in when it comes to your work. And there's going to be frustrations and annoyances, stumbling blocks and hurdles... but if you want to be able to create, you have to keep coming back every day, stretching, and trying to be just a little bit better than you were yesterday.
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That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!
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