I do most of my writing at the dining room table.
From where I sit, if I glance up above my laptop’s screen, I can see through a window and across my backyard to the rear of my neighbor’s home.
Yesterday, my neighbors were having their roof re-shingled. When I sat down at my computer to write at 9 am, half a dozen shirtless men in cargo pants and work boots, bodies bronzed from the sun, were already at work.
I put in three solid hours of writing, and then I called it a day.
In the afternoon, I sat and drank beer in my backyard while my daughter dug in her sandbox and kicked a ball across the grass. Up above us, the roofers continued to work.
When I made dinner that evening, I did so to the sound the roofers still nailing down their shingles.
As my family and I finished up dinner a little past six, the men atop my neighbor’s home finally began to wrap up their day’s work.
The roof was not yet complete, but they had made significant progress on their project. Much more progress than I had made in my writing project that day.
The experience was an excellent reminder: we are lucky to be writers. We aren’t risking our lives up on rooftops. We don’t have to work ten hour days if we don’t want to, but that doesn’t mean we should wrap things up after three hours either.
Being a writer doesn’t mean we get to be lazy.
I can work harder, and so can you.
Kevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He helps authors from around the world get their stories out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers hands. Grab a free copy of his short guide for authors by clicking the image below.
