I didn’t feel like brushing my teeth this morning. My mind was on everything I needed to accomplish today, and I wanted to get right to it after breakfast. But years of ingrained dental hygiene habits sent me to the sink regardless.
So far this year, I’ve also had a physical, a mammogram, and yes, a visit to the dentist. I didn’t feel like doing any of those things. But I made appointments, put them on my calendar, and went.
What does this have to do with writing? Plenty.
Nathaniel Tower, who has written over 200 short stories, puts it this way: “Who cares if you don’t feel like writing? This isn’t a good excuse for not writing. Think of all the other things in life you don’t feel like doing. If you didn’t do any of them, you’d probably be dead right now. Just sit down and write. Most of the time, that’s really all there is to it.”
I love my good health enough to keep it, and so I take steps to make it so. I love the results that writing brings me, and so I make sure I write on a regular basis. Sometimes, doing these things is tough, and so I provide myself with some tough love.
It doesn’t usually take long — just a minute or so — to give myself a talking to. “So what if you don’t feel like it? You don’t feel like scooping the litter box, either,” I’ll say. Or, “Who cares if you’ve got other things to do. You always have other things to do.”
The way I look at it, exchanges like these aren’t equivalent to beating myself up. I don’t hand out insults, or scoldings. These notes to myself are stern, but delivered with love. I know that I want the rewards of good health or getting stuff written, and I just need a little extra push to get going.
A moment of tough love can get you started writing, and keep you doing it once you’ve started. And, it can also help get your teeth clean.
