I have been complaining a lot lately about not being able to put in any solid writing time.  I am not referring to finding pockets of time in which to write.  
I am referring to the seemingly constant barrage of interruptions while doing so.

For a sometime now, I found it while sitting on my back deck each evening. I would write while our dog ran and played in the yard under the setting sun.     
I was able to write quite a lot, despite having to periodically stop to call the dog back when he’d gone too far or had gotten into mischief.  Alas, that routine was short lived due to mosquito activity that is far more intense than usual this season.

So, what to do, what to do?

Then I remembered something from way back when I had gone back to school to complete my Bachelors in Nursing.  One semester I had enrolled in an intense Chemistry course that was actually three Chemistry classes rolled up into a single class.  Further, the semester was condensed down from the typical 12 weeks, to a mere 8 weeks.  I had already been a nurse for thirteen years at this time and forgotten more about math than I had probably even learned in the first place.  Yeah, I know that is an impossibility, but stay with me here, because that’s not really the point.  

The point is that I was freaking out, big time.  

If you have never taken Chemistry, let me tell you the one thing you need to know.  Chemistry is math based, so you had better have some descent math skills, or you my friend, are screwed.  

With three young boys at home, I struggled with finding the time to concentrate on my homework or study for  exams.  Anyone who is a parent to sons, knows that they are noisy little people and into one thing after another. One day, my husband had the idea to have me study out in our camp trailer, away from the noise and commotion of the kids and away from, even his well meaning, but unwelcome interruptions.  He was kind enough to get me set up with air conditioning and a nice, cool beverage and then left me all alone.  

Alone

And you know what?  It was worked like a charm.  For the first time in a long time, I was able to think clearly and concentrate on my studies.  In the end, I passed the class and the rest is history.

So today, it hit me.  Why not go outside into my camp trailer and get in some uninterrupted writing time?

Well, I did just that.  I headed out into my low budget Writers Retreat–to, as they say, get her done.   

As I bring this brief blog post to an end, I look around me.
  
Lap top computer?  check  
Comfortable seat?  check  
Air conditioning and cold beverage?  check & check     

I guess that is pretty much all I need to get started.  

During the next few hours, I am hoping to pound out a couple of good chapters, or at least a few good scenes.  If I don’t, well then, I will have no one to blame but myself.  I need to practice being more disciplined in my commitment to becoming a writer and in so many other key aspects of my life.

And that brings me to the subject of discipline.   In my next post, we will explore why discipline can often get you further than talent; but also, why both are required to achieve any significant success.  Alone, each will only get you so far.  Combined, the possibilities are endless.

Next post:  Talent vs. Discipline ….why one is worthless without the other