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Jun 25, 2022Liked by Meta Wagner

Hi Meta, I'm so glad to hear someone talk about the difficulty of sitting in the chair, that is, simply the physical difficulty. I think it's my main obstacle and always has been. If I don't feel comfortable (fit, relaxed) I don't like sitting, now being a good example owing to lots of covid inactivity. So I'm going to follow your lead and take frequent short walks--there's a park right outside my house, for god's sake--at the very least, and also do other exercise if for nothing else than to achieve some sense of calm for writing. I have an MFA and I've published a dozen stories in journals, but my life's ambition has always been to publish a book. Now I'm retired, post-25 years at a tech firm (a good job; everybody had to eat and I needed a health plan and a steady pay check) and fortunate enough to be safe at home and with my amazing husband. so WHAT HAS STOPPED ME NOW, THESE LAST TWO YEARS?? Very, very odd, since I have total freedom. I'm so used to thinking there are outside obstacles--unsupportive people, no time--that I find it difficult to shake those things and see that I've got a wide open path now. Oh--plotting is hard, too! And am I thinking that my late mother would be jealous? Yes, I am. But that physical thing is a real, real obstacle for me.

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Hi Meta. I've written two books that are published and have two more in various stages of draft. Thankfully I am quite disciplined. It can be daunting though when you know you're in the beginning stages of what is going to be a lot of work. In one of my drafts I don't have all the answers yet but I have to trust that they will come. I love the phrase "trust emergence." Even though I'm fairly disciplined and can write regularly over the long haul, I wish I could write for longer periods of time - a few hours a day rather than an hour or so. That would make a significant difference to my progress. The people who get a lot of books written, spend a lot of time writing! There is always something to aspire too!

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Jun 22, 2022Liked by Meta Wagner

As I responder here, I am suppose to be writing my book so I think I do lack discipline! I am either all on fire and the words pour from me or "I need to clean the garage and wash my hair."

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