BE SINGLE-MINDED
As well as saying ‘no’ to social
events, do not attempt to become a pillar of the community. Don't tell yourself you are genius at multi-tasking. Research shows that we don't have the mental capacity to focus on more than one thing at a time; we have the capacity to switch from one subject to another very quickly. Good writing needs more focus than a bouncing nano-second.
Let others
take on the mantle of parent governor, chairman of the local film society,
volunteer tennis coach or whatever. If you have a day job, a family,
friends and some kind of domestic situation to sort out, then the time
left over must be dedicated to writing. Someone else can run the tombola stall. You can use your Art to make the world a better place. Where would we be without literature?
