How many of you (who want to be published) write every day? How many write at least five days a week? Okay, how many write on the weekends, so at least two days a week? One?

Now, by show of hands (;-)), how many only write when inspiration strikes?

Listening for, waiting for, and/or teasing the muse out from under the bed before writing might work for some writers. But what if a writer wants to be prolific?

For me, the muse is a ruse.

The daily habit of writing far outweighs trying to negotiate with something as fickle as a muse. And I’ve learned over my career (being published as a journalist first and then a fiction writer), the more often I write the more often inspiration strikes. Basically, the muse comes out to play more often when I’m already at the keyboard.

Writing every day for six to seven hours a day no matter how I feel pretty much ensures that not every word I write will be inspired. And I want to write the best possible story I can every time, which could create conflict and frustration.

But I’ve learned to push past that discomfort because…

It’s okay to write a less-than-stellar first draft.

For me, waiting for the perfect word or searching for that perfect description slows creativity to a crawl.  In the early stage with a story, I’m focused on getting as much of the storyline on the page as I can. Momentum is key. I’ll write a sentence and then add:  [better]. That’s me giving myself permission to move on from something that I know could be improved. Getting out that first draft and keeping a flow going is an important part of my early-in-the-story process.

The next stage—revisions—is for playing around with descriptions, finding that perfect comeback and/or adding more depth to the story. That’s the stage I let myself tinker with a description or a line for as long as it takes until it’s the best it can be.

How about you?

Tell me if you wait for the muse or just plow through knowing you’ll catch mistakes, plot problems, etc in revisions.