Discipline

I wish I were a disciplined writer. But honestly, I'm not a disciplined person. Besides brushing my teeth, I have very few habits that I consistently do. I don't exercise, I don't restrict what I eat, I overindulge in Netflix and sometimes beer. So, why would I ever assume to be more disciplined with my writing? I write when I can. I write when I want to. I write when I have the energy to. When I was writing my first book (still waiting for an agent or publisher), I was disciplined. I worked on it every day - sitting on our front porch after the kids went to bed, or getting up early to bang out a few pages. But I've never been disciplined with my poetry. Now, this does not mean that I have the same philosophy as my middle school poets - waiting for muses. It just means that I write when I can. Sometimes I get hit with "inspiration" and have to jot a line or a poem down - but usually, I am more intentional about that. I don't write everyday, but when I set time aside to write - I do. I don't wait for a muse or divine inspiration - I just grab a pen and start to write. Most of the time it's shit, but some of the time it isn't.