There are days when the world seems to be rushing by or...pushing itself into our writing time. On those days, lack of time or excessive stress can make getting even one word on the page a struggle. But, I find that if I manage to type just one sentence, then I usually just can't leave that one sentence to stand alone. Maybe it's my tendency to think too much or my tendency to rattle on, but one sentence always becomes at least a few. And a few sentences can lead to more. It can at least leave me in a good place to begin the next day.
So, on the bad days when life intrudes into your writing time, strive to write one sentence. If that's all that will come, let it be. It's still one sentence farther into the book than you were the day before. Be forgiving of yourself if there's a lot happening in your life. Sometimes you just have to let life happen.
After all, where do all of our best ideas come from? They come from living.
2 comments:
The same thing holds true for most parts of one's life. I use that philosophy when I don't want to do the mending pile, as usually one item leads to at least half a dozen. I use it when I should be scrapbooking, as one page really means two pages facing each other, and then you need to plan the next page to get the colours right, and the next thing you know, you have at least two pages done there too! I tell myself to walk for ten minutes along a trail, but once I get there, I walk the full hour instead (how could I NOT?).
Mind you, I CAN procrastinate as well. I could be out grocery shopping with a list of ten places to visit, but once I'm on the road, I find reasons why I don't need to stop at various places, just so I can get home quickly (ostensibly to put cold items away). I tell myself I'll go back later in the week, but, invariably, I don't....
Good point on this applying to so many things in life. I have a couple of chores I detest, so I promise I'll just spend a few minutes on them and do them in stages. That never happens. Once I get started I want the whole task off my plate.
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