A lot of “experts” in the world of writing and authorship will tell others interested in being a part of that world that the best way to release the creative muse and get the words to flow is to put “butt in seat” and write. Just buy a cheap spiral notebook, find a pen you like the feel of, and write words.

But guess what? Making myself sit down to write is really kind of hard as hell. Yep, I said it. You know it. It’s true.

Like a lot of my friends who want to write more, I like to collect paper and pens and scribble notes about things I want to write all over the place, but I rarely make myself sit down and gather those scattered ideas into one place and act on them. So, when a friend of mine who has published a few books and seemingly has her act together in terms of making writing happen for herself announced that she was going to host a writing workshop because she needed to make time to write (um… what??), I figured it was probably a great way for me to make it happen for myself as well.

Two things I have learned (and one I already knew, really) from this experience are: Paying for an opportunity to write, learn from other writers, and complete writing homework is a great incentive to fill some pages. And, being accountable to other people is a must for me.

I had already decided that 2016 is going to be my Fiction Year, and this workshop has been a fantastic first step to that. I received super-supportive and constructive feedback on the five pages I submitted for critique which inspires me to believe I’m headed in the right direction with my baby novel. I have also found that creating time for myself in the morning, before I sit at my desk for the writing I’m being paid to do – to journal or write the beginnings of an essay, or just to put some ideas on paper – has literally opened a floodgate. I have had to make sure I have paper in my purse or my car at all times, because I might have to pull over and jot down an idea.

Now, remember, I said I have a hard time gathering up all the ideas? Yes, that’s still a thing. Working on it.

But what I sat down intending to say here has not as much to do with my gratitude for friends who inspire me to put my “butt in seat”, and more to do with what I said about this year being my Fiction Year. The title of this blog is See Laurie Write – so I am going to start writing about the process I am embarking on of actually writing the first draft of a novel this year. Stay tuned for more… I’ll be sharing a bit about my own writing journey in my next post.

Until then – take a listen (and look) at this beautiful video by two of my favorite musicians… it perfectly captures the mood of my novel-to-be. And, always, thank you for stopping by!