Wait until you feel like writing

And you'll never get anything written. Well, very little, anyway.

Some days you wake up and feel like cranking out words like there's no tomorrow. You don't want to write, you need to write. You've got something to say and until you say it, you're going to be distracted until it gets done. This can be as true of boring old technical documentation (for those who mistakenly think of technical documentation as boring) as it is for the creative types who enjoy writing fiction or poetry. And everything in-between.

Most days, however, you probably won't feel like writing as much as you feel like tending to other things. You'll be distracted by other work you have to do, or it's a nice day outside and it'd be more fun to romp in the outdoors, or you have a TV show you'd rather be watching... whatever.

I was thinking of this right now because lately, I've felt like writing a lot and I've squeezed more writing and blogging into my schedule. Other than being more motivated, though, not much has changed. I could probably have been writing more if I'd been more willing to nail my hands to the keyboard. Figuratively, anyway. I'm pretty sure that nailing my hands to the keyboard would be very bad for my WPM.

People often ask for writing tips. That's the first one: Don't wait until you feel like writing. Make it a priority. Skip a TV show. Resist the temptation to play solitaire or check Twitter. Whatever you need to do to clear some space to write.

If you wait until you feel inspired, you'll probably write very infrequently. And, odds are, your writing won't be as good as it could be. Just like those of us who wait for inspiration to strike to exercise: Good intentions don't burn fat, and they don't make you a better writer or blogger.

I'm not the first, or probably even the 1,000th person to give this advice. But it bears repeating. If you aspire to writing something, whether it's blogging, documentation, or the Great American Novel, the only way to get it done is slog through it. Like any activity, it gets easier with practice and discipline. But the initial slope is pretty steep.