I am procrastinating something horrible. I spent the day yesterday steam cleaning carpets in the entire house. Then I went outside and painted a section of the fence. By the time I came in and got cleaned up storms were coming through and the computer had to be shut down. Why do we procrastinate? I think for me, strangely enough, fear. Even after writing over 30 manuscripts and selling ten books, I am afraid that what I choose to write this time won't be the right thing. For every three books I write, I sell one-not because they aren't wonderful well written stories but because there is no interest in the current market place. So it's like rolling the dice. Will the story I choose to write and revise be the right one? In the end I write anyway. I love all my stories and since I can never predict what will hit the market, all the procrastination is silly. That said, perhaps tomorrow I'll choose to start my next book. :)
Do you procrastinate? Do you know why?
Cheers~
Hi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteYes i definitely do! :) i think we all do. and yes fear is probably one of the biggest reason for it. many different fears for different people, possibly with some very similar core issues, but yes fear is what breeds a lot of procrastination. coming from an author like yourself, what do you do to overcome that? is there one thing you do to shake yourself off?
good luck with the new book!
If my mom had known me better when I was born, Procrastination would probably be my middle name.
ReplyDeleteHi Ali, how do I overcome the fear and stop procrastinating? Good question. Fear can be a daily battle. One trick is to distract yourself from it by getting caught up in your own story-concentrate on the story, not the writing. Also, I think what works best for me is to give myself a deadline. In other words, yes, I can procrastinate this morning but by noon I have to be started on the work. I find when I have permission to procrastinate, I generally do less of it. Crazy, right? :)
ReplyDeleteLOL- Linda, you crack me up!