I rarely procrastinate.
The Man finds this terribly annoying. He’ll wake up at 9 a.m. on the weekend, veg in front of the T.V. or computer for two hours while I sleep (I love sleep more than air I think). I’ll wake up, plop down on the couch, and start rattling off my to-do list.
“I need to wake up!” he’ll say.
“You’ve been awake for two hours.”
“Don’t you need two hours to wake up?” he’ll ask.
No. I don’t. Why put off for later what you can do now?
And yet when it came to writing that book I’ve always wanted to write, I procrastinated. Even when I knew I HAD to write it.
Partly this was out of fear. (Psych majors are all yelling a collective Duh.)
Part of it was perfectionism—not wanting to take the test before I had studied.
But most of it was fear.
Do I think my story’s stronger for it? Yes.
Do I think it’s the most productive way to build a writing career? Absolutely not.
Do I think I’ve used my allotment of statements starting with “Do I think” for the month? Most definitely.
Hey, as someone who researched and brainstormed her book for about a year and a half before I actually wrote it, I can relate to the procrastination thing. But I finally got my butt in gear and wrote and rewrote and rewrote again, and eventually that draft landed me an agent. Who...made me rewrite a lot of it again--but that's beside the point. My point is, it's not a race. Whenever you dive in, it'll happen. Your journey is your own. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso--new follower! *waves* :)
@Shannon Whitney Messenger Thanks so much for commenting and the follow! See, now you're not only cool but super nice. I appreciate the supporting comment!
ReplyDeleteHi Tracey - popping on over from YALitChat. I love your funny, snarky writing style. As I fellow mom and night-writer, I feel your pain. It's easy to put off actually writing while learning the craft, but where's the fun in that? Now that I've finished 1.5 novels (I co-write 1, so I can only claim 1/2 the credit), learning is still important, but getting the words on paper has proven to really be the key. Of course, I'm not actually published yet, so...
ReplyDelete@Jessie Thanks for the welcome, Jessie! Oh, and I think co-writing a novel totally earns you a full point. ;)
ReplyDeleteHI, Tracey. I saw your link on YALit Chat and hopped over. Nice to meet you and welcome to the wonderful writing blogosphere.
ReplyDeleteI think a certain amount of procrastinatio is good--it's like marinating your ideas and getting more acquainted with it. I like to "procrastinate" an idea for 3-6 months before I outline it, then I buckle down and get writing. The procrastination period proves helpful to me to really understand where I wanted to go with the story. But be warned, you have to get it down at some point...or they simply drown in the ideas-that-never-had-a-chance whirlpool. :)
I think most writers would benefit from a little bit of "study" before actual writing. If I had done that, I might have actually finished a book by now, or in the least, not have had so many drafts. :)
ReplyDeleteBut I'm like you, I procrastinate a little. But once I get the huge brainwaves, I type like a mad woman!! LOL! :)
-Awel P.
@Pk Hrezo I agree. I think getting suck in that ideas-that-never-had-a-chance whirlpool is close to being in a neverending research phase. Sometimes the brainstorming and researching and everything needs to end!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!
@Awel Prince Yes--I'm like a madwoman once I get going. But like you, not thinking ahead left me with unfinished drafts in the past. But I guess in the end it's not really important how many drafts it takes, just that it's in the best state it can be.
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