By Alycia Morales @AlyciaMorales

If I’m going to be a writer, there are a few disciplines I’m going to have find within myself. They are vital to my writing career. Without them, I probably won’t ever see my work in print. Not because my writing isn’t good, but because I will never finish anything.

1. Time Management: It’s super important to set aside time for writing. We have 500 things on our to-do list. And all of them take away time from our writing. In order to combat that, we need to schedule our writing time as if we were going to a regular part- or full-time job. And then we need to protect that time.
2. The Ability to Say No: It’s very easy for needs to get in the way of personal writing time. My spouse’s needs. My children’s needs. The dogs’ needs. My editing clients’ needs. The needy friend’s needs. Once I’ve scheduled my writing time, I need to be able to tell others that I’m sorry, but I can’t manage their issues during that time.
3. Butt in Chair: Once I’ve scheduled my writing time, I need to make sure I have the willpower to sit in the chair and get it done. Whether I need to write 500 words or write for three hours, I need to write.
4. The Ability to Avoid Distractions: Turn off the phone. Stay off of Facebook. Put the dog in the crate. Put in earbuds and crank up the writing tunes. Do what needs to be done to avoid the things that could easily distract from the goal.
5. Let It Go: Cue Frozen music. When our finger is frozen hovering over the delete button, we must find it within ourselves to let it go. Not every word we’ve written will be necessary or the best. We cannot become so attached to our words that we refuse to follow others’ advice and fight against the professionals. We aren’t writing for ourselves. We’re writing for our readers. It’s time to heed what other readers are saying and let some words go.
6. The Art of the Rewrite: First drafts are not final drafts. They are the beginning of a beautiful process if we’re willing to take the time and make the effort to bring out the fabulous.
7. Send It/Submit It: Knowing when enough is enough is another key discipline. We need to know when we’ve done all we can and we need to submit our manuscripts to the professionals.
8. Patience: Waiting with anticipation and hope is never easy, especially when an editor says they need 90 days to get back me. But I must be patient in hoping. I must not become a nuisance to those who can make or break my career. And I must learn to…
9. Trust the Lord: It’s not always easy for a control-oriented person to trust the Lord or anyone else with their … well, anything. Book. Career. Life. Dreams. Hopes. But it’s something we must learn to do. God has our best interests at heart, and He knows what we need, what we don’t need, and when the perfect timing is for everything in our lives. Trusting the Lord with our writing and our careers is also key.
10. Meet the Deadline: If we are blessed with the opportunity to see our words in print, we must discipline ourselves to meet deadlines. These are extremely important to the publishing schedule, and we need to make sure we’re on time. Not late.
11. Learn New Skills and Work Them: Our job doesn’t end when the publisher releases our book. Part of the publishing process is helping sell the book. We may need to learn creative ways to promote ourselves and our stories, which can be very uncomfortable for some. Stepping out of our comfort zone and pitching in is a must if we want to be successful authors.

What disciplines can you think of that writers need if they want to be successful? [reminder]

Alycia Morales is a freelance editor and writer. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and several compilation books. Thanks to her mad editing skills, her clients have won multiple awards in several national contests. In addition, she’s the prior Conference Assistant for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Alycia is currently working on a nonfiction project while characters are running around in her mind waiting to be released into children’s books and novels. Surviving the Year of Firsts: A Mom’s Guide to Grieving Child Loss released on September 17, 2024.

When she isn’t busy writing, editing, and reading, Alycia enjoys spending time with her husband taking hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Carolinas or running off to the beach with friends. She loves coffee, sweet tea, crafting, and watching crime shows.

Alycia can be found at alyciawmorales.com. She hangs out on Facebook and Instagram.