http://writeabetternovel.net/procrastination-the-fiction-writers-daily-plague/ Practical wisdom for novelists and other storytellers Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:32:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://writeabetternovel.net/procrastination-the-fiction-writers-daily-plague/comment-page-1/#comment-130 Terri Fri, 02 Nov 2007 18:16:54 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=105#comment-130 <p>Ditto - What Marilyn said, fear that it won't be perfect and everyone will know. I think it's even worse with writing, because there, it is in ink... admissible in any court.<br /> Add to that a lack of focus. If I don't know exactly what I want to say and how I want to say it, I feel that I "waste" precious time getting it right. The truth is that trial and error, type and erase and type again, is just the process. Deal with it and do it.<br /> The best way for me to get over procrastination is to map out a plan of what I will write today. (Not that I end up following it, but having a direction gets me going.)<br /> The other thing is I need to be accountable. I need to know that X number of pages are expected to be in somebody's hands on a certain date. That's where writing groups come in handy. Or a husband who asks 'what did you do today?'</p> Ditto – What Marilyn said, fear that it won’t be perfect and everyone will know. I think it’s even worse with writing, because there, it is in ink… admissible in any court.
Add to that a lack of focus. If I don’t know exactly what I want to say and how I want to say it, I feel that I “waste” precious time getting it right. The truth is that trial and error, type and erase and type again, is just the process. Deal with it and do it.
The best way for me to get over procrastination is to map out a plan of what I will write today. (Not that I end up following it, but having a direction gets me going.)
The other thing is I need to be accountable. I need to know that X number of pages are expected to be in somebody’s hands on a certain date. That’s where writing groups come in handy. Or a husband who asks ‘what did you do today?’

]]> http://writeabetternovel.net/procrastination-the-fiction-writers-daily-plague/comment-page-1/#comment-131 Marilyn Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:44:59 +0000 http://truevoice-blog.com/?p=105#comment-131 <p>Speaking from my field of psychology, I know that some believe procrastination is just the flip side of perfectionism. In other words, "I won't get started because I know I can't get it perfect." And some say it is based in a fear of being judged and criticized. I, for one, think procrastination is about different things for different people in varying situations, but I do think it has its roots in anxiety of some kind. So I think I will push my own anxiety to the corner and quit procrastinating by writing this and get back to my novel....</p> Speaking from my field of psychology, I know that some believe procrastination is just the flip side of perfectionism. In other words, “I won’t get started because I know I can’t get it perfect.” And some say it is based in a fear of being judged and criticized. I, for one, think procrastination is about different things for different people in varying situations, but I do think it has its roots in anxiety of some kind. So I think I will push my own anxiety to the corner and quit procrastinating by writing this and get back to my novel….

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