One of the best quotes from science fiction humour writer Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, etc) was about deadlines.

"I love deadlines. I like the wooshing sound they make as they fly by."(*)

And he had editors to get him in line! He was always hospitable and friendly with them, but around deadline time I'm sure everyone was miserable.

I know that in building amazing.com, I have had similar problems - it would be much easier to play around on the Internet than do sustained work. But I've also found that working when I'm in a bad mood or unproductive is rarely good either. Often the problem that seemed unsolveable the night before becomes easy when it faces the light of day.

When you feel inspired, leap to it and don't make the fact that it's not the "proper time" for writing bother you. Inspiration is like a Unicorn - it seems to come and go very fast and needs to be grabbed when you see it.

And when I'm not inspired and must be nonetheless, I find that a change of scene helps. In your case, I'd recommend going to Malibu and soaking in the beach. (D'Amore's Pizza Connection serves exceptional pizza.)

If you had a laptop, you could bring it and write when the fancy strikes. I've done some of my best programming and design work in the bath or the car. As long as I write it down as soon as I can, I can save most of it and get the brain working.

Is there anything in particular in your life that inspires you to write? That might be a good starting point. Frankly, I don't think being disciplined is going to help that much. Perspiration beats inspiration only in writing Medicare Bulletins and the like.

Another question is what are the main things competing with you for time?

Hope that helps.

D

(*) See The Guardian article for the quote in context.

Note: You will be prompted to set up an account once done with your message