I have survived a week so far since my self-imposed deadline for The Curse Merchant. And I’m happy to report that I have been meeting, and most often beating, my minimum word counts every night. I’ve only missed one day’s goal thanks to a game night on Skype, but I made up for it the following day.

All of this calls to mind the words of Kim Harrison on her June 24th blog entry “An Open Letter to ‘I Am Special’ Writers”:

“Write every day, same time, same place, even if it’s only for 20 minutes.  This will train your creativity to turn on at a drop of a hat.  Two weeks of agony, and you will start to notice you will not be staring at a blank page when you sit down, but writing immediately.”

This is precisely what has happened for me over the past ten days. Not long ago, I found myself answering the call of the muse, and forsaking my efforts when I didn’t feel “in the mood”. Now, I can certainly attest that writing is a habit to develop, not subject to whim. Much like exercise, one can decide to get to work despite one’s lethargy or mental state. And in doing so, one can condition one’s creative muscles to engage, create, and produce.

I’m finding as I dedicate my hour’s worth of writing each night, that I come away with a kind of “runner’s high”. There is a mild euphoria that lingers after meeting and exceeding my target, applying myself to a goal, and overcoming the “I don’t wanna’s”. It’s actually putting me in a good mood overall.

Moreover, I like how this bodes for future projects. I’m showing myself that I’m deadly serious about getting these manuscripts completed and in top shape. Once I believe in myself, the rest is all about getting the job done.

A little luck doesn’t hurt, either!