Friday, December 3, 2010

Procrastination: guilty as charged.

It is now 7:47 P.M. on a Friday. I begin work at Universal Studios for the Grinchmas 2010 season beginning Monday, meaning I will be a permanent slave until January with little to no time to write. The few days I'll have off most likely will be spent either A.) Sleeping B.) Recuperating by declaring a movie and pajama day C.) Slushing through hours and hours worth of hum drum novel submissions and queries or D.) fulfilling my loving but needy family's every wish because I don't have the guts or the brains to ask for one day of solitude.

My friend, Brian, as sweet and charming as he is, has offered me the comfort of his home, claiming that I could sit and write for hours without interruption. This would be swell if it weren't for the charm I previously mentioned, meaning that even if I were to have peace and quiet, more...handsome thoughts with a great smile and winning personality would be on my mind.

So why, at now what the clock reads to be 7:56 P.M. am I not plugging away at the novel I have been working on for over a year now and/or slogging away at the two short stories that are to be submitted by January the 1st? The same reason as every night, I'm afraid. Procrastination.

I ask you, is it near impossible for a woman with a poor attention span to pursue such a career? Why is it that I have such passion about what I'm writing when the thoughts are buzzing around in my brain, but when it comes time to sit before a keyboard, my time is spent surfing the net instead?

I'm starting to think there's no way to win. It's now 8:02 P.M....and my page is still blank. Peachy.

If anyone's reading this, Do you have any weaknesses that lead to procrastination? Any fixes? S.O.S major!

-J.

5 comments:

  1. Hello! You're not alone. Most writers find the actual act of writing the most difficult part of the entire process. It's why most of us force word counts upon ourselves. I use to do 2K a day, but have since switched to 1K. It's way more manageable with my busy life. The holiday's seem to throw everything off track, so a normal writing schedule wont begin for me until January. I'm outlining and kicking around plot idea's to keep myself busy.

    Nice to meet you!

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  2. Anne,

    So glad to hear I'm not alone. It really does make things easier, I must say. You're absolutely right, writing is the most difficult part of the entire process. 1k a day is good...that's what I'm supposed to be doing...but even now i'm procrastinating. Damn my overactive mind.

    Outlining? I'm a pantser myself. I've tried the outline thing...didn't work for me.

    So nice to meet you! :)

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  3. Hi Evelyn,

    Lovely to meet you! Thanks so much for popping over to my blog too. Procrastination can be the devil, some days I can write like a possessed woman, others I need to be coaxed. The postman, coffee, laundry, movies become quite distractive. Sometimes, a quick break, walk, fresh air and reading helps to loosen up the grey cells. Mostly though, I remember that writing is what I want to do full time and that goal pushes me through the slushy bits.

    Good luck!!

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  4. Talei,

    So nice to meet you! I think remembering that writing is what I chose to do and the reason why almost everything else in my life is on hiatus at the moment is a great why to keep myself motivated. Thanks for the great tips. :)

    -J.

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  5. I don't think that "Procrastination" is necessarily negative as sometimes we get new ideas that guide us to higher accomplishments.

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