[ivraatiems]

The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between motivation and discipline. He has been successful into tricking himself into a frequent state of writing motivation. He's very lucky to have done so.

For the rest of us, who aren't so lucky, discipline will have to do. Writing every day (or every two days, or every week, etc) isn't a about finishing a project or being the best you can be. It's about making writing a permanent fixture in your life. The same goes for any other skill.

People imagine the quality gap between things created in bursts of highly motivated inspiration and things created through slow, at times plodding, hard work is high. It isn't. If it were, there would be markedly fewer books, games, movies, etc. out there. By and large, if you're good at something, you'll still be good at it even if you don't want to be doing it. You might not be as amazing at it, but you will still have the skill. That's what practice is for.

[hoodwink]

"I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp."

-Somerset Maugham

[onion2k]

I don't think I understand that quote. Is that Maugham saying you don't actually need inspiration so you can just sit down and work without it? Or is he sarcastically saying jobs are badly configured because you can't just sit down at nine o'clock and produce something good? It could mean either.

[ggggtez]

It's sarcasm. One possible interpretation is that money is a strong motivator, and writers generally don't make money by not writing.

[greyman]

I think it is the first - that he doesn't rely on the motivation, and instead uses discipline.

[stinkytaco]

Also that discipline begets motivation. Exercise every day. Pretty soon you feel bad if you don't exercise.

[bbctol]

I interpreted it as saying you can train inspiration to arrive, just like anything else, with enough discipline.

[GoToRO]

That quote will not help anyone. The question is WHY it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp? What do you have to do for that to happen? Because that inspiration is just an efect of previous actions.

[thunderbong]

Maugham is basically saying that it's discipline that matters. And once you do it enough number of times, it becomes so routine that you will automatically be able to write at the time you've set for yourself.

[GoToRO]

Yeah. What I want to add, from my own experience, is that you can have discipline (you show up) and still can't do anything (you are not prepared). This kind of dicipline in doing comes from discipline in preparing. At this age this could be even more important because we live in crowded cities that simply are not design for this.

[soyiuz]

> The author doesn't seem to understand the difference between motivation and discipline. He has been successful into tricking himself into a frequent state of writing motivation. He's very lucky to have done so.

In strong agreement with this comment. The idea of writing every day is to create a habit of writing. It is not about motivation. Imagine taking a walk after dinner everyday for many years. It becomes a necessity. Similarly with writing, you want to convert a conscious decision to work, into a visceral feeling that you just have to do it. Consequently, you don't have to dip into your limited willpower supplies.

Source: I just finished writing a book after writing daily for 2+ years. Sitting down to write became much easier when it became a habit.

[jseliger]

the rest of us, who aren't so lucky, discipline will have to do.

Or, enough discipline to get started: http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html. I also like the Seinfeld "Never break the chain" method: https://www.writersstore.com/dont-break-the-chain-jerry-sein... (if "method" is not too strong a word here).