Just do it.

Such simple advice, yet so easy to ignore. I’ve only written 5 blog posts in almost two years. It’s not because of a lack of things to write about. Like most writers, I have tons of ideas. But getting the ideas onto the page (or screen) is the challenge.

It’s frustrating because I’ve started writing many posts in my mind, but I just haven’t gone to the next step to write them out. Why not? There’s no urgency for me to do it. No penalties for not writing.

When I belonged to a writing group and we were each expected to have something every time we met, I was at my most productive. The deadline and expectation forced me to write. The challenge is to find a way to get that expectation when there isn’t an actual one.

Make Commitments, Set Deadlines.

I’ve been chanting that as a mantra for the last couple of days. Most of the plays I’ve written have been helped into development because I was trying to meet a deadline or a commitment. So, I’ve got to go with what works…

For the rest of the year, I’m going to write a blog post a week. That’s ten posts until the end of 2017. I will publish them on Tuesdays.

I will also start work on my next play. It’s still in the gestation stage, so I will commit to having a first draft/rough draft by November 30.  Gulp.

I’ve been frustrated with myself because I haven’t been doing any writing. I always seem to get into a lull after I’ve worked on something and it’s been almost three months since we put The Lost Years on stage. Time to get back to work.

It’s usually the first step that is the hardest one to take. My first step is committing to blogging once a week for the next ten weeks and to get started on my next play. What’s your first step?

© 2017 Peter Gruner