Habits

I am a person who is very good and maintaining old (and usually bad) habits, but I struggle with creating new habits for myself.  Perhaps this is normal and all of you can relate.  Or perhaps some of you are reading this thinking, "What a lazy bum!  He needs to learn some self-discipline and get up off his derrier and put in some solid effort."  If you are one of the latter individuals, thank you.  I needed that.

Now that we all know where we stand on this issue, let's get to the true reason behind this post.  In order for me to accomplish something with my writing and in order for me to complete the manuscripts I want to complete, I need to create some new habits.  I discovered through the process of writing The Lantern of Rahela that the way by which I find success in writing is following the path of the tortoise.  "Slow and steady wins the race."  In light of that, I'm devoting myself to writing a little each day.  Some days that may mean simply writing for 5-10 minutes when I have a quick break.  Or putting in a minute here and a minute there (like I'm doing with this blog post).  But when I am lucky, I get to sit down in a moment of peace and quiet to write uninterrupted for 30 minutes to an hour (or maybe even more).  But in truth, how often does that ever happen?  With two kids under 5?....NEVER!

So....I chip away at it.  A little here and a little there.  It requires some consistency and determination.  It also requires patience, since I do not ever get as far in a day as I want.  But it is important for me to continue writing.  It is important to make writing a habit because writing is my outlet.  It allows me to leave my own world and enter into a new and different one...one that I create and shape while also being shaped by it.  The story is the place where I can pour out all the stress and emotion of the day.  I can unpack my baggage onto the characters in my story instead of placing that onto the people in my life.  The characters become my friends and companions when I feel lonely.  Writing is the salve for many of my wounds.  If I can cultivate this habit, it will be a wonderful thing!

What habits do you want to cultivate?  Is writing one of them?  If so, how do you do your writing?  What are the habits that help inspire your creativity?  Perhaps we can all help cultivate some good habits together...both writing and otherwise.