The Importance of Writing Discipline and Patience

Writing has always been a mystery to me. I used to think that writing was a natural talent that only certain individuals were born with. I read books by great writers such as Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie and felt that writing magical realism and phenomenal vocabulary was a pre-requisite to being a writer. However, after taking a writing course, I discovered that writing is not just about complex vocabulary and verbose prose, but it’s also about discipline and the ability to sit and write. The belief that writers only write when they’re inspired or motivated is a myth. The reality is that journalists and newspaper columnists write articles every day, and they don’t wait for inspiration to strike.

I also learned that writing is as much about editing as it is about writing. I once heard a writer mention that they have a daily routine of writing for several hours each morning before starting their day. They wrote twice the acceptable limit of words in a novel, knowing that it could easily be edited down later. This shows the level of commitment and discipline required for serious writing. The job of a painter is to paint, and similarly, the job of a writer is to write. There’s a story about the lyricist Gulzar, who wrote every morning from 6 am to 10 am, even if he wasn’t working on any specific project. He wrote simply because he was a writer.

I started writing when I went to college. I wrote blogs about things I found relevant and showed them to my classmates and teachers. I also kept a journal to record my thoughts. However, I eventually stopped writing. I know many people struggle with this same challenge, but the best solution is to start a personal journal. This journal should have no restrictions or format, and the focus should be on writing a fixed number of words each day. Don’t worry about grammar or making the journal perfect; just let your thoughts flow freely. Writing becomes a conversation between you and the page when you stop judging your thoughts. The more you write, the better the page will understand you, and the better you will become at expressing yourself.

Writing is like meditation, and you may get distracted while writing a long piece, but you must bring your attention back. I often find myself getting distracted and running out of words after writing 400 words, but I’ve overcome this by using a word counter. My goal is to write 700+ words each day, and I don’t leave my desk until I’ve reached it. This has helped me establish a writing discipline.

It’s also crucial not to judge your own writing. Set aside time to write the worst article or journal possible, and don’t let the pursuit of perfection stop you from writing every day. A lot of great writing is done during the editing process, and great books are re-written multiple times. But this requires patience and perseverance.

If reading this article has motivated you to start a blog, don’t look for the perfect medium or platform. You can start by writing in the notepad application on your mobile phone. The goal is to minimize resistance and focus on writing and revising your work. Everything else will fall into place.