Writer’s Quote Wednesday: George Singleton

 

Thanks to Colleen over at Silver Threading for facilitating this weekly community event.

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Image Credit: Gratisography

Keep a small can of WD-40 on your desk – away from any open flames – to remind yourself that if you don’t write daily, you will get rusty.”

George Singleton’s words serve as a reminder that being successful at developing a writing habit requires reminders, commitment and even consistency.

Reminders such as the can of WD-40 or alarms on our electronic devices prompt us into doing an activity, usually rote that we are trying to make a habit in our daily routines.  Whether it is exercising, reading, writing, eating healthy or playing the cello, we often times need to be cajoled or prompted into doing the things we claim to want to do or know we should do.

Writing daily like any other daily routine except maybe a daily Starbucks run takes discipline.  It is a discipline that I so often lack.  I go through spurts of activity and commitment with many things in my life – exercising, healthy eating, saving money and writing to name just a few.

There are tools that even I have been known to utilize to prompt me in to doing any of the above and other dreaded activities (like the sink full of dishes waiting for my attention in my kitchen).  For example, I save automatically into a Christmas club year round (except this year, which was a huge mistake since I’m unemployed – that was the reason for not saving but I really should have saved $10 a week instead of breaking the habit).

I need to establish some prompts and tools that will help me to make writing an established part of my daily routine.  And with all due respect to George Singleton, I am afraid a can of WD-40 on my desk (which I no longer have) so on my dining room table will not necessarily be the reminder I need.

I believe for me that this leads me back to establishing and using an editorial calendar.  What tools and prompts do you use to make writing part of your daily routine?  Leave a comment and tell me what works for you.  Trust me, I need all the help  I can get.