Keeping a Habit

One of my goals when I embarked on this honors experience was to have a daily work count goal. I decided on this to keep me accountable and force me to continue to write; the most common piece of advice you'll read from any author is to write and write often. To keep in line with exploring genres and technique, I didn't want to restrict myself to a specific number of pieces in case some got longer than others or I had an idea for a new piece to write.

I've been experimenting with the number of words I'm capable per day- wanting to keep it realistic with my schedule while also making sure I'm accomplishing something. So far I've settled on 300 words per day- it's not as high as I wish it was but I've done a decent job of keeping up with it.

This word count, though, has been the most difficult part of this experience so far. I think it's because, like any other habit, there's going to be times when you don't want to do it. There's going to be times when you're not inspired, when you're tired, when there's other stuff you'd rather be doing. I've heard it all the time from people I know who have turned their passion into their field of study or career: sometimes when you're forced to do something you love, it takes the joy out of it. And some days, especially when I have writers block, that feels like the case.

But I think the moments when I don't want to write are the most essential- the ones that push me the hardest towards success. If you want to get fit but only go to the gym when you feel like it, you're not going to make much progress. This is a similar concept. So many motivational speeches make the distinction between motivation and discipline, and while cliche, I think that applies to my situation too. When it comes down to it, if I want to improve at a writer I'll need to write whether I want to or not. I'm hoping that my work count and daily goals can keep me on track, and while I don't have a solution for lack of motivation on occasion, I'm hoping that remembering why I'm doing this and knowing that it'll help me in the end will keep me going.