Luciano Pavarotti said, “People think I’m disciplined. It’s not discipline. It’s devotion, and there’s a great difference.” Think about that difference!
Many of us have schedules or rituals that we adhere to in our writing practice. All the writing advice points to routinely showing up at the page regardless of what else is going on around us.
This is good advice since discipline is a necessary ingredient in a productive writing life. Discipline brings structure, routine, and regularity. It is the difference between a book that languishes inside the author’s brain and one that shows up on the bestseller lists.
Discipline begets action. Discipline increases word count.
But long stretches of discipline alone can begin to feel confining, constricting, daunting. It can bring a rigor to the work that makes it feel heavy or, in turn, empty and hollow. Word count alone does not mean good writing.
Pavarotti viewed his meticulous adherence to his work not as discipline at all, but as devotion. I feel certain he had both and I believe that both, in fact, are required.
Discipline creates an agenda for the work to get done. But without devotion, discipline is action without heart. Devotion engages the heart, brings soul and spirit, and infuses emotion into the work. Paired with discipline, devotion can even reignite the passion and recommit us to the purpose in our writing.
Are you practicing discipline alone in your writing? Or are you bringing devotion into it as well? Can you reframe your writing discipline as a writing devotion?
This creativity tip was inspired by The 97 Best Creativity Tips Ever! by Dr. Eric Maisel (2011), and is used with his permission.
Gina Edwards is a retreat leader, a certified creativity coach, and a book editor. She is also a writer, so she’s intimately familiar with the challenges and elation that come with being one.
She supports all writers—published and aspiring—who want to write as an act of courageous and necessary self-expression.
Walking the writer’s path hand-in-hand with her clients and students, she helps them establish a writing practice and define a creative life on their own terms.
Discipline makes you show up in the place lightning is most likely to strike, but ultimately,it is the lightning that brings the story to life. You have to be open to the uncontrollable, breath-taking, and inspiring light that seems to come from something much grander than the fact you have repeatedly put your butt in that chair.
Devotion honors, not the time put in, but the spark that gives the effort life.
Beautifully said, Adrian. They are a necessary pairing.