This is the question I get all the time. Being a writer is like giving yourself homework, every day.
I practiced this a lot before I met my husband. I used to wear a promise ring on my hand that I would write everyday to be a writer. In fact when I met my husband he asked about the ring on my finger as I forgot to take it off the night of our date. (Whoops.) Then after my daughter was born, I took this writing way more seriously.
So now that I just received my letter for RWA recognizing my 25 novels accomplished I have to say most of the work was done because I work at it everyday. I am not a writer that can say ‘I wrote a novel in a week.’ I know I built my endurance up through sprints and daily goals.
So my answer to this question that people always ask me is simple. I work hard. There is no science or special formula. I wish I was as talented as Margaret Mitchell who wrote Gone with the Wind and never wrote another book in her life. It’s not in my character to analyze and create with so much precision that I’m paralyzed to do anything else. I actually find pleasure in working hard on a book and it relaxes me to spend time with loved ones, be happy at work and a million other things as I don’t define myself on others. So if anyone asks you for a secret formula for what you do everyday that seems like you leap mountains, tell them your truth. Mine is hard work, sweat and my own tears to make everything move forward. I wish I had a fairy dust that gets things done, but that fairy dust is from my sweeping away the dirt and working to scrub and polish. (So not exciting.)
