It’s not in the beauty of the day that we writer’s toil and strive but in the coolness of night and tiredness of eye. In the struggle of fear and the paralysis of wonder, a yearning writer fights for survival. Exhausted but not spent. Lacking but not empty. Discipline, a writer’s best friend, leads us to accomplishment. It takes us by the hand when challenges abound. Do you look around and see not discipline? Is repetition, frequency, and consistency far away? Grab hold of discipline and renew your passion to write. Discipline makes you a great writer.

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Discipline. Discipline. Discipline.

A nasty word for many but a nugget of gold for the discerning writer.

Why would a word evoke polarizing responses? Why do we appreciate it in others yet run from it ourselves?

The human condition, a fallen sense of knowing what’s right yet afraid to take hold of the effort required to chase it. We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re there right now. Seeing the notion of disciplined writing from a distance, wanting to draw closer to it, craving it’s effect on our life, passions, and pursuit of writing goals, yet standing still.

Discipline has been attributed to success throughout history.

“The first and greatest victory is to conquer self.”

– Plato

How true and difficult it is to conquer self. How easy it is to give up or give in.

Are You Pushing Yourself?

I applaud anyone who wakes up early or stays up late to give sacred time and effort to accomplishing their goals. It’s not easy. It’s not easy to get to a different kind of work after our main work for the day is done. It’s not easy to interrupt our rest (whether needed or not!) and force ourselves out of cozy slumber to a cold, dark work space.

What if you did? What if you tried as hard today as you did yesterday? What if you tried harder? What if you kept going? What if you finished that draft? What if, even when a chapter or line in your manuscript didn’t sound right, you just kept going? What if you didn’t let the fear of disappointing others or yourself keep you from finishing?

What if you put your work out there and shared it with someone? What if you showed up to that critique group? What if you invited feedback? What if you went back to the drawing board and tried to make it better? What if you chose excellence over mediocrity? What if you didn’t “claim” failure? What if you put away those distractions? What if you let your writing take center stage?

What if?

Did you know, discipline ebbs and flows like the sea? During low tide, it’s difficult to overcome our nature to resist hard work. During high tide, it feels like ideas and momentum are low hanging fruit.

“Success is actually a short race – a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over.”

– Gary Keller

Saying all that is easy. Doing it is hard. So how about a story?

Talk is Cheap

I went to a military school for college. Fun, I know. Before college, I wouldn’t have labeled myself an “early bird” as people like to affectionately call someone they presume hates sleep. College life for me was physically exhausting and the days always began early. After college, I became an engineer and quickly learned I wasn’t in complete control of my evening time. Work demands and project deadlines quickly ate up the hours before bed. Mornings, surprisingly, were different. Soon I realized I could spend my mornings doing whatever I liked and the more “me time” I wanted, the earlier I needed to wake up.

That realization launched me into a lifestyle of waking up early, 4:00 AM early. Sometimes even earlier than that. Waking up early was liberating. It was definitely difficult, at first, but incredibly rewarding. I could accomplish so many personal goals in the 2-3 hours before my professional life beckoned.

Fast forward 11 years, it’s usually easy to wake up at 4:00 AM or 4:30 AM. Why? Because through discipline, the short sprint was long enough for the habit to kick in and take over, just like Gary Keller said.

Writing is no different. In fact, discipline is universal. Discipline is critical to success in every field, project, and pursuit. Especially success in writing.

How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

How do you finish your manuscript?

One word at a time. One sentence. One paragraph. One story. One critique. One revision. One more critique. One more revision. One query, for a few. One more query after one more query after one more query, for most.

It takes discipline. It takes consistent, repetitive effort in a focused direction of your goal. Take hold of making writing a habit. Use prompts, challenges, diaries, journals, anything and everything to be a habitual writer.

I love how Leo Babauta phrases it in How to Create the Habit of Writing with 10 very simple steps.

In a position of negative thinking, one might assume it’s not discipline that leads to being a great writer. Surely, ideas and passion are vital ingredients. But what good is the recipe if a key ingredient is missing? Discipline compliments our talents and makes up for our weaknesses. It’s a salt that brings out the flavor of the meal.

Without the discipline to write, our ideas, creativity, and passion is lost forever. Who will draw it out of us if not ourselves? We must write. We must express. We must communicate.

We must be disciplines and train ourselves to try and practice and push through in the hard times. In those hard times, as we exert ourselves to become more than we are now, we will change. Our story will change. Our book will change.

And through the discipline of writing consistently, we will reap the greatest reward of all. Others will be changed forever.

If this post resonated with you, would you consider doing three things?

1. Comment below. What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What’s discipline look like for you? This post is all about you so take a moment to reflect. You can help many people by doing such a simple thing.
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Remember, you have the ability to make today count. You can make tonight count. You can make tomorrow morning count. Sprint hard and fast for two weeks and you’ll notice it getting easier and easier and easier. But when it gets hard again, sprint!

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