Stephanie H. Warner

In his keynote addresses at #RealmMakers2016, “Thomas Locke” …aka Davis Bunn… affirmed a lesson I learned from my dad: having discipline frees you to create.

When Dad teaches on this, he likes to use the piano as an example. Becoming good at the piano requires countless hours of monotonous practice before you build the skills necessary to sit at the piano and play whatever you want. Apply this concept to any skill.

Davis Bunn’s wisdom was a great reminder to intentionally develop discipline around my writing life. Let me flesh out this idea with some more thoughts inspired by the conference:

1. To find freedom in your writing, create a boundary of time and space, every day, no matter where you are.
   1. Write every day.
   2. Write in a creative closet – make it inviting and distraction free.
   3. Create triggers that return you from “life” into your writing mind.
      • music you only listen to when you write
      • an author you only read before you write
      • a run you always take before you write
      • etc.
   4. “Write like no one will ever read this.”  – Tosca Lee’s #1 Rule of Writing
   5. “Write your first draft with confidence and your second with doubt.” – Davis Bunn
2. Accept the divide between your calling and the market’s response.
   1. You can give in to the stress or you can continue with the creative process, but you can’t do both.
   2. Seek the Joy regardless of the outcome.

I especially love that last one: Seek the Joy regardless of the outcome.

I’ll continue processing the conference next week, and I’ll be sure to dig a little deeper into some of these concepts as the blog continues.

For now, I’m curious. Comment below and let me know which thought resonates with you the most.

Did you remember to follow the Beast’s journey on Facebook and Instagram? We certainly had lots of fun with tons of friends! 🙂