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The Writer's Apprenticeship: A Two-Year, Self-Paced MFA

The Writer's Pact: Discipline, Routine, and the Commitment to the Craft

15 min read

Year 1, Semester 1, Week 1

Estimated Time Commitment: 2-3 hours

1. Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Articulate the difference between a writing hobby and a writing practice.
  • Design a personalized and sustainable weekly writing schedule.
  • Identify your primary obstacles to consistent writing and develop strategies to overcome them.
  • Draft a personal "Writer's Pact" to serve as a mission statement for your writing journey.

2. Written Lecture

The Professional Amateur

Welcome to your apprenticeship. The first, and most critical, lesson has nothing to do with plot, character, or prose. It has to do with commitment. Before you are a storyteller, you must first be a worker. The muse, contrary to popular myth, does not visit the idle. She rewards the dedicated.

Many writers wait for inspiration to strike. This is the amateur's way. The professional understands that inspiration is a byproduct of effort, not a prerequisite for it. You do not write when you feel like it. You write at your scheduled time, every time. You treat it like a job. You show up, punch the clock, and put in the hours. Some days the words will flow; other days they will feel like carving stone. It does not matter. You show up anyway.

Your goal this week is to transform your mindset. You are not someone who writes. You are a writer. The distinction is action.

Building Your Writing Sanctuary

Your practice needs a time and a place. It must be sacred. This does not mean it needs to be silent or beautiful. Stephen King famously wrote his early novels in the laundry room of a trailer. Your "sanctuary" is simply the space where you have given yourself permission to do nothing but write.

Time: Look at your week with brutal honesty. Where can you carve out an hour? It might be at 5 AM before the house wakes up. It might be during your lunch break. It might be late at night after everyone else is asleep. Find the time, and guard it ruthlessly. It is non-negotiable.

Place: Find a corner, a desk, a specific chair. When you are there, you are at work. Eliminate distractions. Put your phone in another room. Use an app to block social media. This space is for the words and nothing else.

3. Reading Assignment

Primary Reading: Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, the section titled "C.V." through to the end of "What Writing Is".

Secondary Reading: The chapter "Shitty First Drafts" from Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.

Reading Questions:

  1. King insists on a daily word count (2,000 words a day, every day). What is the psychological function of this rigid goal? Do you find it inspiring or intimidating?
  2. Lamott gives you permission to write a "shitty first draft." How does this concept liberate you from the pressure of perfectionism that often prevents writers from starting at all?

4. Writing Assignment

Primary Exercise: The Writer's Pact

Draft a one-page mission statement for your writing life. This is a contract with yourself. It must include the following four sections:

My Writer's Pact

1. My Goals: What do I want to achieve with my writing in the next two years? (Be specific: "Finish a novel draft," not "Become a better writer.")

2. My Schedule: When and where will I write? State the exact days, times, and location. (e.g., "Mon-Fri, 6 AM to 7 AM, at the kitchen table.")

3. My Rules: What will I do to protect my writing time? (e.g., "My phone will be off," "I will not check email before my session is over.")

4. My Promise: A one-sentence declaration of your commitment to the craft, to be revisited when you feel discouraged.

9. Key Takeaways & Next Steps

Essential Concepts:

  • Discipline precedes inspiration.
  • A sacred time and place are essential for a sustainable writing practice.
  • Permission to be imperfect in the first draft is the key to productivity.

Preview: In Lesson 2, now that we've established our discipline, we will build the engine of all narrative: Character. We will learn how a character's deep-seated motivations create a plot that is both inevitable and surprising.