Words to Write By: Writing Through Anything

Another gem from Writer's Digest that I think is absolutely indispensable, especially when I hear too many writers bemoaning that they can't write unless they have a quiet place. Moms who have to use night time and nap time because writing while their kids are up is too distracting. Perhaps because I've always been one of those writers who could sit down for five minutes at a time while the kids are being good and pound out a few words or a paragraph or even just a great sentence, I really clicked with this advice. I believe in it strongly. I think that as a writer, you should think long and hard about working on this if you're not able to do it now.


In the article "7 Steps to Successful Juggling," author Pamela Redmond Satran imparted this wisdom:

"I had a friend who ran a department at a major corporation by day and wrote magazine columns and humor books by night. He was also married, had a preschool-age child, and covered the home bases alone two nights a week to give his wife a break. ... I discovered [his] magic productivity secret: He could write though anything. I mean, we were having an animated conversation, his daughter and a friend were racing around the room, the television was blaring  his wife was issuing instructions for the night and the guy was still sitting there at the dining room table with his lap-top, writing away through all of it."

So, next time your can sit down for a second, just do it. Don't balk or cower because you might only get two minutes in, just try it. Write through it all.