Procrasti-Nation: Population- Writers

(Please excuse my pun. It is very punny.)

I use the thesaurus all the time, but it’s missing one key synonym for writers: procrastinators.

Common phrases that all writers say or think to themselves:

“I need to go do the dishes. I can’t write now.”

“Ugh, I’m at a boring part in my story. Maybe watching some Avatar: The Last Airbender or Adventure Time will inspire me.”

“Not now, I need some R and R. Let me go kick my brother off the Xbox and kill some frost trolls or dragons!”

“Ooh! Is that a story on Justin Bieber getting hit by a car! I. MUST. READ.”

“Uh, I need to work on slope intercept form for my math final.”

My friend Lynai always says, “Don’t procrastinate! Urinate!” That’s advice to live by, so you don’t get leaks. Unfortunately, writing and procrastination don’t rhyme. Well, technically procrastinating and writing rhyme, but urinate and procrastinate flow better together. This is why I’m not a poet XD.

If I really get down to it, I have to wonder why I like putting myself through daily torture. I don’t have to write. I don’t have to plod through migraines and irritability from writer’s block. I don’t have to try to fill in every loose end and think about why he likes her and why she wants to kill him.

Scratch that. I do have to. Else I would turn crazy. Insane. Even weirder than I already am. I wouldn’t have a purpose. For some reason, I always turn back to writing, whether I nearly threw my laptop into the remains of Tropical Storm Debby two days ago or end up falling asleep in the middle of math after writing at one o’ clock in the morning.

I’m a true procrastinator when it comes to school work. I have a system worked out. I actually DO work better under pressure. I once started a project assigned two months ago days before the due date and managed a perfect score. It involves a lot of threats from my mom, but all is AOK.

Most writers work better under pressure. It’s a component you need to be successful in the business.

So, to solve you’re procrastination issues, you need to make yourself work under stress. This isn’t as horrendous as it seems. You don’t need to set a due date for your WHOLE rough draft. That’s wayyy too daunting. Instead, break it into smaller chunks.

My first novel was done by the simple goal of ten pages a week. Set yourself a similar goal, based on your writing strengths. At first, let it be on the easier side. As time goes on, make it harder.

NOTE: I like weekly goals much better than daily goals. Some days you may be too busy, others you might have had a really bad day, and you can only write words I won’t say down. Monthly goals can be too daunting, and writing is a scary process already.

What happens if you DON’T complete your goal?

For the next week, not only do you need to complete the previous weeks’ goal, but you need to have consequences. Drats. I thought those were only for getting a C on a binder check!

You need to not let yourself do or have something you love, other than writing. Facebook, Skyrim, Xbox, cell phone, dessert… You name it. Mine is my guilty pleasure, going on Yahoo! Answers in the Baby Names category and giving opinions on names and stuff. It’s quite fun, considering that I hate my name and are fascinated by meanings. If you’re embarrassed to tell your friends that you’re punishing yourself for not writing your goal so you can’t text them, say you’re parent(s) got mad at you for not cleaning your room and took your phone away.

Also, something to think about. If you stopped writing on your current manuscript and deleted it, how would it feel? Does your heart stop at the thought? Or, are you relieved? If it’s the former, you know you love the work. If it’s the latter, you might want to rethink if you are enjoying the story. Maybe you need to modify the concept, change the POV, or even scratch the idea.

Keep writing!

~Reine~