Writing is Homework?

I recently read a quote on Facebook that resonated with me:

“Writing is like giving yourself homework, really hard homework, every day, for the rest of your life. You want glamorous? Throw glitter at the screen.” ~Ketrina Monroe

We all have an image in our minds of the glamorous life of a bestselling author. Book launches with champagne, schmoozing with famous people, our books selling all over the world, movie deals, large royalty cheques…but the reality is that writing is hard work. And that glamorous life? Most authors I know don’t live it.

Most of the time, to me writing truly feels like homework. Many people who don’t write, don’t understand how hard it is to plant oneself at the desk every day to do it. They think I have a cushy job with flexible hours and freedom. To be sure, a writing career does have flexible hours, but nothing gets written if I don’t actually do it. Obvious, right?

So why do I continuously get invitations for coffee or two-hour long phone calls or requests for yet another volunteer task? Maybe it’s because I’m a pushover and readily say yes to coffee, happily stay on the phone, and am eager to help out. However, at the end of most days I berate myself because I did not accomplish what I had hoped to in my writing.

I have actually not written any fiction for several weeks and am disappointed in myself. So today, I’m turning a new page. Today I’m going to be an author again. I’ll begin practicing the word “no” and approach my writing as a job. It’s not my homework, it’s my work. A portion of every day I will sit at the computer, won’t answer the phone, close down my email, and write.

Yikes, I’d better get to work!