Being a writer isn't easy. Oh, the writing itself is easy enough for most of us, it's the discipline and consistency that are tough. It's a solitary activity. There's no one to report to except your computer, no weekly paycheck that will be affected by you being there or not being there, no coworkers to miss you if you miss a day. There's only you and your computer or typewriter or paper and pencil. It becomes so easy to miss a day or to putter around with other things so much that you might as well have missed the day. And it becomes easy to let changes in schedule or location to interfere with your writing. In the end, it's often easier not to write.

One of the hardest things for me has been consistency. Reading my writing journal is like reading about a roller coaster of progress and lack of progress. One day I am right on and do 3000 words, the next I'm lucky to get 500 down. It's not that I don't try on those days where I only manage 500 words - I always try. And it's not that I don't have good reasons for not doing well on those days - many times there are good reasons for missing the mark. But I also know that some days there is no excuse for my lack of progress, and I honestly could not tell you why I was having so much trouble getting the writing done.

Until recently, that is.

One thing that seems to be hard for every writer is getting back into the writing habit if they've been out of it for any length of time longer than, say, a day or two. When I moved from California to Georgia, I really fell out of my habit for nearly two months. So when it came time to get settled back into it again, I found it very hard to do so. I've had a "writing ritual" - habits that help get me ready to write - for over a year now and even that wasn't helping me to get back into my writing habit.

I finally decided I needed to look through my writing journal and see what kinds of things contributed to my success as a writer - what got me into writing, what made my days successful, and what made a day a total bomb when it came to writing. Once I had a list of those things that helped me write and those things that interfered with my writing, I went through my entries again to try to find the ones that had the most profound impact. When I narrowed all the positives and negatives down to the most influential, I came up with three keys for a successful writing day for me: bed before 3 am the night before, taking my medication for my ADHD, and breaking my weekly goals down into daily goals.

A light went on. I've been making sure to do these three things since the day I realized they are the make it or break it requirements for a successful writing day for me. Yes, there are other things that help contribute to my success as well, but those three are the absolute musts, and they have helped me get back into my writing habit.

I believe every writer can create an environment for success, they just have to find their own keys. This environment is more than just the physical setting, although that is definitely a part of it. I need an organized (not necessarily spotlessly clean, but neat) desk, the books I access the most nearby, and loud, alternative rock playing. I also prefer to have the rest of my work area fairly neat, but am learning to work around it since we're still living out of boxes because of lack of furniture. An environment created for writing success also includes whatever rituals you need to get yourself ready to write - whether cleaning the kitchen or checking your email and online forums before getting started. And, finally, an environment for success includes making sure to do those things that contribute to a good writing day, whatever they may be.

Every writer is different, and every writer will need to create an environment specific to him or her. Many writers try to set their environments up intuitively, but this approach has its problems. First, a writer who doesn't have a clear idea of everything s/he needs risks missing one of his/her keys to success and not doing as well as s/he could that day. Second, we often associate an environment with a particular place - my old apartment in California, for example. Taking the time to discover and write down what our needs are makes it less likely to miss a key item and makes it a lot easier to take that environment with us when we need to.

Every career has its needs - mechanics work in garages with their tools nearby, child care workers create rooms that have everything they and their kids need, and so on. Writing is no different. We need our tools, we need our environments. And we need to create those environments with the same care as the child care worker does - knowing the needs of children and the tools of the trade. They study for the field, taking classes in early childhood studies, intern in classrooms, and so on, so they can do the best for the children in their care. How can we do any less for the stories in ours?