Ayelet Waldman on discipline

Ayelet Waldman, author of two novels and the Mommy Track mysteries, wife of Michael Chabon, quoted in The Writer (July 06):

"The only difference between a writer and someone who wants to be a writer but isn't is discipline. The one thing you have control over is how much time you devote to your work. You have got to get your butt into the chair every day (or five days a week), more or less at the same time, and write. Write anything, write badly, write 1,000 words (or 500 or whatever) and don't stop until you're done. Writing is a habit. It's a physical discipline. People who wait for the muse don't up writing anything but email."