How to Procrastinate- From an Expert

We all do it. We procrastinate about doing things that maybe we don't want to, but have to do. Things that are complicated and will take over our lives. Things that may be unpleasant. Things that maybe aren't that bad, but well, we just don't feel like doing at the moment.

Sometimes writing and revising are like that. Have to do it, need to do it, don't want to do it. Writers come up with great ways to procrastinate. Here are some of my better ones...

1. My desk is a mess! How can I work with it like that??? Which of course, once you start cleaning, there are papers to go through, dusting, reading scraps of paper with ideas for books that you want to keep because you intend to turn those notes into novels. There's that darn file, drawer, closet, etc. that now need to be cleaned... It's a deadly avalanche of distractions.
2. I need to go shopping because I have to have more... pens, paper, notebooks, cheesy fries, toothpaste, etc. Doesn't matter what it is, you MUST have it.
3. The kitchen I've been meaning to paint all summer... I HAVE to do it NOW because  Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming and I'm having guests, and with three boys, the walls are a bit scruffy looking, and smoke has darkened the color. 
4. I'm not wasting time on the internet, I'm researching for the next novel or two.... 
5. I can get the revisions done in almost no time, and I'm under no deadline. I have plenty of time. 

I'm sure you have your favorites, your good old standbyes. If you're procrastinating, maybe there's an underlying reason. Struggling with this manuscript, I've already gone through it, page by page, editing it on paper because it couldn't be done on my laptop because the revisions included moving chapters around, adding, subtracting, and reworking the entire story. (I wrote it before cell phones were commonplace.) All I have to do now is type in the changes. But as I look at all the edits, add-ins, cross outs, I'm afraid because it's such a mess.

What's weird is that I'm two thirds through; why can't I just buckle down and DO IT? I still love the story, and I love the freshness from the changes. Maybe I'm just tired of working on it.

But I need to get it done.

So, I will make yet another promise to finish it this week. (Yep, broke a few of those promises.) I hope to make it this time, but if I don't, I won't beat myself up. It will get done. And the sooner I get it done, I can start on that new #NaNo project (which I'm doing in January, I'm part of that rebel group I wrote about several posts ago). Finishing it means freedom to move on, to start that new book, to stop being critical of myself, and to send it to my agent.

Check back on Monday and I'll let you know how I did. Today's not over, so I still have time to get some pages done...

Char

One at a Time...

Once a year, usually in September, I clean my kitchen cabinets. It's a job I hate. I have to sort through boxes of food and throw anything stale out (recycling the boxes), go through dishes (how many water bottles do we need???) and decide what appliances/gadgets to get rid of (veg-ini anyone?). Then I have to clean the cabinets on the inside and clean/polish the outside. It's time consuming. No one notices unless I don't do it. And no one else will do it for me. (Well, I could pay someone I guess, but would they do it the way I like it?)

To do it all at once is overwhelming. Too many cabinets, drawers, and time. But it has to be done (with 3 boys in the house, it gets to be a mess).

So, I set a goal of one cabinet a day. If I miss a day because of other obligations, then two the next (even if it's the two smallest, it's still two). Eventually, it gets done and I am relieved for another year (until someone spills something and doesn't clean it up).

It's the same with this old manuscript I'm trying to revise from adult paranormal to new adult. It's a mess (I didn't think so, but several years of dust collected on top of it while hidden in the closet). I need to get rid of clutter, throw out anything that's bad, and reorganize what I keep. Like the cabinets, the manuscript must be organized and workable.

But I so don't want to do this, it's overwhelming (and I'm sure anyone who knows me knows I HATE multiple revisions). This manuscript is 385 pages. To do it all at once, I think I'd rather clean the cabinets. But like the cabinets, if I do one, two chapters a day, it will get done. With no deadline, there's no panic. Plenty of time. Maybe too much time because I don't feel any pressure. Some people, like me, work better under pressure so I'll impose one on myself. I want to be done with cleaning the kitchen by the time school starts in September. I want to be done with this revision by November so I can work on my NaNoWriMo project. In between I have scheduled book events, blogs to write, bell practice/performances, holidays, family obligations, and who knows what else will come up.

Here's my attack plan:

1- Inventory. (What do I have in the cabinets, what's in the story outline?)
2- Check what's no good. (Is that box of crackers stale? Is that plot thread working?)
3- Empty the trash. (Yep, box of crackers and can of nuts have to go. And that character is dead to me.)
4- Rearrange what's left. (All crackers on one shelf, straighten out plot hole left by dead & gone character.)
5- Restock. (Buy new crackers that everyone will eat, add details to smooth out plot changes.)
6- Polish. (Coat of wax on wooden cabinets, read through for any grammar, spelling, or other mistakes.)
7- Start the next project. (Cleaning out closets, working on NaNo project.)

Now I have to clean two cabinets and revise two chapters since I spent yesterday reading, thinking about what to write for this post, and doing physical therapy for my knee (nothing serious). No excuses, just gotta do it.

Keep cleaning- cabinets, manuscripts, whatever...


Char