Lesson Six: A.I.C.

There is no greater basic lesson in writing than A.I.C. I believe the axiom is credited to Nora Roberts, the prolific romance writer, who said the most basic lesson for any writer is Ass In the Chair. You have to sit down, crank up the computer and do what you love to do, i.e. create. It must be a daily habit. All the other lessons revolve around this one.

There are different answers to what qualifies as proper A.I.C. Some novelists sit and create for hours. I know Joe Lansdale spends just a couple of hours a day, and maybe three, and turns out maybe three pages. But those three pages are created, tuned and revised during that session. String together enough of those sessions and you have a novel, or a great short story, or a novella, and your revisions are already done. What works? To each his own.

My own A.I.C. has been challenged at times. Two jobs takes a lot of time and energy, but I am getting better at forcing A.I.C. moments into my day. There are moments just like this one. I will get better at putting me ass in the chair on a daily basis. This dream of being a published author means that much to me.

Next: Lesson Seven: Think Big

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