Did you do any writing today? Your competition did.

I have been typing a lot lately. Luckily it is something that I enjoy doing. Even when “the writing” itself isn’t going well, I get a certain, specific pleasure from sitting down, staring at the screen and typing; my fingers can pretty much keep up with the speed of my thoughts, which is pretty handy because, believe me when I tell you, even on my best day, my left-handed pen scratchings are slow, uncomfortable to do, and painful to try to read. What I’m saying is: If you want to be a writer, take a few weeks/months and really learn how to type. No matter what kind of writer you are, it’ll help to speed up and streamline your “process.” I learned how to type back in High School, in a three month class designed for college-bound Seniors. It is the one thing I learned in High School that I still use every day. Sometimes I think my 65+wpm typing ability is my most marketable skill.

Why am I telling you all this? Because today I finished yet another first draft. This time it was a low-budget “thriller”  feature that no one asked me to write, except for the nagging voice in my head that demanded I do it. Where does this urge come from? I’m not always sure. I just know I start feeling a special kind of miserable when I’m not actively writing on something. Let me put that another way, not just writing on “something,” but actively plowing through confusion, self-doubt, dead ends and ennui to actually complete drafts of these projects. Finishing things is important. I know because I have digital folders full of started projects that couldn’t hold my interest, or lost their luster when a shiny “new idea” floated into my head. New ideas are easy to come by. Finishing your work is what separates writers from people who think they would be good writers. That idea that is still “in your head” might be better than Chinatown, or even The Great Gatsby, maybe, but as long as it exists only in your head then it isn’t nearly as good as my completed first draft of ANYthing. You don’t need a new computer. You don’t need $300 worth of “writer’s software.” You don’t need an office. You just have to start stringing words together. Prove me wrong Silent Bob.