Novelist Sara Gruen ("Water for Elephants") told About.com: Fiction Writing about her writing practice. She has applied the discipline she had as a technical writer to writing novels. She says, "It taught me to sit down and write for eight hours a day, whether I liked it or not."
That doesn't mean she's actually cranking out words for eight hours at a stretch, of course. She says the first 90 minutes are spent rereading what she's written. During this time, she doesn't want any interruptions.
She says, "People don't understand that I'm often having a conversation with somebody else in my head -- because I'm being two different people in writing dialogue. Sometimes I'm having a fight with myself. I can't have a conversation with someone and not be pulled out of the fictional world."
She has two friends who are also bestselling novelists and together they have a writing retreat at their houses half a dozen times a year. The set a goal in the morning, often a minimum word count and "you're not allowed to go play poker and have a martini until you've done that." They also critique each other's work.
Conveniently, she's married to a former editor, so he also goes over her material before she sends it to her agent and editor. (Yes, I'm aware that not all marriages would survive this.) Her new book is "Ape House," and "Water for Elephants" is being filmed starring Robert Pattinson, with a cameo appearance by the author.
Your writing practice may be totally different, but if you're having problems, finding ways to increase the amount of uninterrupted time to write could be crucial. Creating a support group like hers can also make the otherwise solo (and sometimes lonely) process easier as well.
PS: Just had a glance at the dashboard for this blog--this is my 1500th post. Whew! If you like this blog, please pass the word along to any of your friends who might enjoy it, too.
(Check out www.timetowrite.com for more tips on writing.)