The Merits of Procrasti-writing

The other day, I sat down to work on my revisions for my YA fantasy. In my last post for Operation Awesome, I talked about being too tired during the week to be able to even think about writing, so I was pretty excited that I had the time and energy to write on Saturday. There I was, clacking away at my keyboard, when I stumbled across something that seemed a simple question:

It's 5:00 in the morning on a trail through the woods. How are the characters able to see and navigate?

Lantern? Nope, they just escaped a fight with bad guys in the woods; they wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves. Magic? No, there's not that kind of magic in this world. Night vision? Cool idea, but that could get overpowered very quickly. So how?

The next logical thought was, well, of course there's a moon and stars. But then I paused. See, I'm firmly in the camp of making fantasy worlds markedly different from our own, and what always annoys me is these fantasy worlds that have the same 24-hour day, the same single sun and moon, the same seasons and tides and all of the other things unique to our planet. So of course I thought to myself, Well, in this world, there are TWO moons.

Yet another thought that seemed so simple at the time. But three hours later, my eyes aching from having stared at my computer screen, I realized I was very deep in the rabbit hole of figuring out how to put together a binary moon system that perfectly cycles in a 360-day year and only has one shared new moon.

All the while as I was working on this, some voice of reason in the back of my head kept pleading with me to stop, to just work on the revisions like I'd intended, that the binary moons were cool but did not need this much thought. But I couldn't stop. This one extremely background detail had completely consumed me, and I needed to figure it out. And, after multiple days of thought, research, and Excel formulas, I came up with my system. 

When I was done, I looked back on that time and felt extremely disappointed with myself. Rather than spending the weekend writing the entirely new chapter two I'd intended to work on, I messed around with sine curves. Instead of figuring out how to work in more of that side character who completely disappeared after chapter four, I read about lunar eclipses. I felt like I'd wasted the weekend. 

But the thing is, I didn't waste it. Sure, at first it was an exercise in procrastination, but by the end of my deliberations, I had something to show for it. I had created a metric that I can now use to tell time in the world of the story, and to set the stage for a major world-specific event. It's hard to see this kind of stuff as you're in it, that the time you're "wasting" will actually be useful as you move forward with your writing. 

So I'd encourage you to do these deep dives, to let your imagination or your sense of scientific propriety drive you where it may. You might resurface with a binary moon system.

Dear O'Abby: I hate revising. Do I have to?

Dear O'Abby,

I love writing.  I've written more than seven novels now, and I just adore the flow of ideas onto the page and following my characters where they want to go.  But I hate revising.  Which is why I've written seven novels.  Instead of revising the one I just wrote, I freeze up at the thought of it and then abandon it to go and chase the next shiny idea.

When I've gone back and re-read my older novels, they're actually pretty good.  I like them, anyway.  Do I really need to revise?

Thanks!

Non-Editor

Dear Non-Editor,

At the end of the day, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.  No one is sitting there with a gun to your head telling you you have to revise those manuscripts (if there is, please call the police).

But if you want any of those manuscripts to ever be published, you're going to need to revise.  I don't think any writer ever gets everything 100% right on their first pass.  If you've re-read and you think the story works, and the characters are lively and realistic, that's awesome.

But has anyone else taken a look?  And have you checked for things like inconsistencies in time and place and names?  I re-read a manuscript about three times before I realized for an entire chapter I called a character Harry when his name throughout the rest of the book was Henry.

And then there's grammar and tenses and all kinds of other niggly things that sometimes slip in and need to be weeded out before you send a manuscript out.

Revising is an important part of writing, even if you don't cut whole scenes and rewrite the beginning to fit better with the ending.  Or merge two characters into one because neither of the original ones really pulled their weight.  Or changed the POV because it didn't really work in first person...

And that's only your first few rounds of revision.  After your critique partners and beta readers get through with it, you will probably need to do a couple more rounds to fix things they noticed and you didn't.  If you get an agent, it's likely she will ask for another round or two of revisions too, before she feels the MS is ready to go on submission.

So the answer is yes and no.  If you are writing to be published, revision is imperative.  If you're writing for yourself and don't have any ambition to be published, feel free to skip any part of the process you don't enjoy.

But I used to be just like you.  Revision bored me.  Now I love it.  It's actually almost my favorite part of the writing process.  I love shaping something wonderful out of the word-vomit I spew when writing a first draft.

So maybe give it a shot.  You might just surprise yourself.

XX O'Abby

Motivation for Procrastinators

my actual motivational stones

I'm always on the lookout for motivational tools that I can get behind, something that can nudge me in the right direction without being a drill sergeant about it. I'd seen those pretty inspirational stones for sale before, but usually they cost more than I wanted to pay. So, when I found one at a thrift store for fifty cents (maybe even twenty-five) I picked it up. It was black and shiny and said "DREAM" in lovely white serif font. Now, I knew that a rock really couldn't inspire me that much... unless perhaps I kept it around my work area and looked at it all the time. So, I decided to set it in front of my keyboard and hope it would inspire me.

It was a lovely thought, but I didn't feel as inspired as I hoped I would. Eventually I realized a stone with the word "DREAM" on it, wasn't going to make me productive. I needed another word. I had to find another stone! I trolled Ebay (another wonderful way to spend a potentially-productive writing day) for such a stone, and eventually I found one. It was mottled white and said in no-nonsense depressed san-serif, "CREATE". This was it! I was sure that this stone, paired with my 'Dream' stone, would help me to finally see my goals through.

Guess what? It didn't. I still have those stones sitting in front of my keyboard, nudging at my conscious mind to DREAM and CREATE, but they mostly just make me feel guilty for not doing it.

This is a classic procrastination tactic, and I am a classic procrastinator. Did I really believe two stones would be all the catalyst I needed to launch into productive mode? No. Did I think it was more fun to search Ebay for more clutter I don't need than work on my current project? Yes. At least, at the time I did.

Procrastionation is an ugly, greedy, short-sighted mistress. It steals your time - time  you could be using to do the things you love. For me, the only way to beat procrastination is to remind myself on a regular basis what I really want and what I need to do to get there. The rest is about breaking down those To-Dos, and scheduling them, which I'm really bad at.

I seem to work best spontaneously. I spontaneously clean, spontaneously cook, spontaneously write. The key to getting myself to be productive a little more often is to psych myself up. Anything I want to do, when I think about it and how much I love it, or how great I'll feel after it's done, I become inspired to do it.

Here are the tips I've read that actually work for me:

1. Encourage yourself. Remind yourself how fun whatever you want to accomplish is.
2. Be passionate. If you aren't that into it, you're not going to want to do it. Find your passion for it, whatever it is. 
3. Imagine the goal finished and how great it will look/feel/sound/taste. (good for chores)
4. Break a big goal down into smaller tasks. Perspective makes all the difference.
5. Give yourself a time limit/deadline. This helps especially when it's something you don't really want to do. If you know you only have to do it for _ hours, it's not so bad.
6. Treat yourself. Give yourself an incentive to get the work done, and celebrate when you do. This might be going out with friends, writing a celebratory blog post, watching a tv show you love.
7. Surround yourself with people who encourage you to accomplish your goal, or people trying to accomplish the same goal you are. This is the writing community, so you won't have to go far before you run into someone who's also writing a YA set in the civil war, or a contemporary romance set in a bakery.
8. Dump the negativity. If someone - even a writer friend - makes you feel talentless, stupid, or doubtful of your skills, get away from that person. Accomplishing big goals is hard enough without naysayers trying to trip you up. 
9. Start. Just do the thing. It isn't that big a deal. Really. 
10. Repeat steps 1-8 and keep going. 

We are not stones, and the impulse of creativity/productivity is not inert. It is motion. It is fire, and it pulls and pushes and makes you very uncomfortable until you take action. So take action now. No amount of gentle, happy words telling you how great you are can beat that. Go to it!

The Distribution of a Writer's Work

It would be nice if being a writer was just about writing, huh? Back when I was younger and still writing stories in my journals, that's what I thought. That authors just got to write all day long and spend their lives in their imaginations. And maybe sometimes they had to talk about their books. Maybe edit them a few times.

Lol, young me. You were so naive.

Today, here's what I've found to be the actual distribution of work.

Writing- 15%

Editing- 30%

Marketing and social media- 20%

Reading and Researching- 10%

Avoiding Writing- 15%

Getting Distracted by New Ideas- 5%

Crying and Watching Disney Movies- 5%

Maybe that last section is just me.

Whatever the case, so little of being an author involves writing the rough drafts of books. Editing takes an eternity. You have to constantly build your online presence. You clean the house to cure writer's block. You want to write anything but what you're supposed to. Sometimes you might get time to read a book. It can be tough.

But we still love it. As writers, we still put ourselves through this because, deep down, we really enjoy ourselves through the pain. Writer's block and editing are killer but the result is worth it as we push through. And that's the amazing thing about writers, isn't it?

Also...

NEWS ABOUT MARCH MYSTERY AGENT CONTEST

It is still happening but the rafflecopter might be going up a little bit late. I'll post it as soon as I can. If the schedule is a little pushed back, never fear! It will be happening! Just be on the look out if you're game for a contest soon!

My Dysfunctional Process

I'm curious about other writers' writing process. Because mine is just...well, not great LOL But, it seems to work for me.

See, every time I go to start a new book, I start off strong. I've got an outline, I'm excited about my book, I've got my daily goals and (amazingly) I stick to them - sometimes even surpass them! And then, something happens about 10k in. My motivation begins to dwindle. I still love my story as much as ever. I still want to get it on paper. I still think of nothing but my story. But getting it down starts to become a little tedious. Probably because subconsciously I know something needs fixing...I just haven't figured out what yet.

Here is where my awesome powers of procrastination set in. And believe me, I am EPIC at procrastination ;) I curse myself for getting off task and yet I seem to do everything my power to make it worse.

But then something wonderful happens. About 20k in, I decide that something I've already written needs major changing. Or total deleting. And that something generally changes everything else, even if it's only in minor ways.

So, I go back through all the previous 20k and change that special something. And change all the dominos that change changed. I once even had to scrap the entire thing and start all over. But I fix what needs fixing.

By this time, I'm usually down to about 3 weeks before due date (4 if I'm lucky....and once it was 2 weeks but we don't speak of those dark days).

This is when the freak out of OMG THE BOOK IS DUE IN 3 WEEKS sets in and somehow, I am able to sit down, focus and power write the crap out of my sweet little manuscript.

I wish I could change this process. I wish I could just know what's going to need fixing before I hit that 20k mark. But for some reason, it takes about 20k to really know my characters and my story, no matter how much careful planning I've put into it.

So....after 7 novels and 2 non-fiction books, I think I'm learning to accept this. It's my process. It's just how it is. It's how my creative brain works, how my stories form themselves. And while it's not always ideal :) it seems to work for me. Maybe one of these days I'll figure out how to stay on task the entire time and not have to crank out a whole book in a few weeks but until then, I guess if it ain't broke I won't try to fix it ;)

So how about you? What is your writing process?

Procrastination

All images via Hyperbole and a Half

I like to procrastinate. Have you ever noticed how many things around the interwebs (and in general life) need attention right at the second you should be writing/doing stuff in general? 

There are definite cycles to procrastination. Some weeks I'm all: 

Other weeks:

And stuff piles up and attacks me until I submit: 

But once it's done:

Until next time... 

So tell me, do you procrastinate? 

I Am My Own Worst Enemy - Now A Proven Fact

I posted this a few months ago on another blog, but it is soooo apt right now it's not even funny. Actually, scratch that, given the original ending of this post, it's completely hilarious :-D Be sure to read that ending and the update, and try not to laugh too hard at me LOL

  I knew when I got published that I'd be busy. I knew I'd have contracts and edits and deadlines - but I wasn't worried. I actually work better under a deadline. I was sort of looking forward to all the hustle and bustle.

However, I didn't take into account my own proclivity for procrastination.

See, I tend to look at my schedule and think, "Ooo, I have 2 months to write this book. Piece of cake. I'll get started on it later."

But here is what I forget. Writing that one book isn't the only thing I'm going to have to do in that two month time frame. I will have edits coming in on other books, promo to do for all my books (and I cannot stress enough how much TIME this stuff takes), blog posts to write, crits for friends to do, proposals for future projects to do...not to mention the million and one family and home issues that need Mommy's attention.

And I'm one of the extremely lucky ones that is able to do this full time. I love that I get to write. I feel so incredibly lucky that I get paid to do what I love. But I will say that once those contracts are signed, a lot of the wiggle room goes out the door. It doesn't really matter if I'm too tired or don't feel like writing on any particular day. If there is a deadline looming, I HAVE to get it done. Like it or not.

It's become a job. It's a job I love and I wouldn't change anything for the world. But I don't really get to do the "eh, I just don't feel like it" anymore - not without consequences anyway ;-) (Those consequences usually involve extreme stress and lack of sleep due to full-on cram sessions as I try to get things done - cram sessions that wouldn't be necessary if I'd learn to not procrastinate ...I'm working on it) :-D *ahem...see updated ending*

Now, it's not ALWAYS my fault. Sometimes I do really well sticking to my schedule and things come along that prevent me from working. Life happens. You gotta learn to roll with it. I'm learning to not over-commit, to say no every now and then, to limit some of the "non-writing" extras I used to do. It helps.

But I do have to admit that I am sort of easily distracted :-D I do okay most days. But my life would be a lot less stressful if I'd just get out of my own way and get to work ;-)

This recent FB conversation between my hubs and I pretty much sums up my usual work routine:

 Hubs: Want to go to the store with me or do you just want me to pick up what we need?
 Me: You better go. I need to get some wordage done.
 Hubs: Yeah that's what you always say. You're such a procrastinator.
 Me: Whatever. I'm doing fine this time. I'm almost done. I only need 2000 words a day and I'll still be done with plenty of time to edit before I have to turn it in. I can do that easy.
Hubs: Uh huh - that's what you say now. And next week it'll be "I only have to do 2500 words a day" and the week after that it will be "I only have to do 3000 a day" and the week after THAT it'll be "Crap! I have to do 5000 a day!!!"
 Me: O_o *blushes 'cause I know he's right* :P

SPECIAL NOTE:
(This was the original ending to this post)
I'm starting a new book next week. I have two and a half months to get it done. I only need to do about 1500 words a day and I will be done early with several weeks to edit before it is due. Totally doable, piece of cake. THIS time I will not procrastinate ;-D

Update on that Ending:
Yeah, I procrastinated. *blush* but I'm totally chalking that up to extreme burnout :)

THEN, all the time I had sort of evaporated due to major edits being needed on another book and releasing book 2 of the Blood Blade Sisters series. Luckily, my current book got a few extensions. However, it is now due Monday. And really, my poor editor would love it before then if I can perform a miracle. See, I've changed some major plot points - twice - the most recent changes being made last night, and these changes resulted in major cuttage and necessary new chapters.

After all is said and done, I now need to write about 30k more to replace/update/and/or fix what I had. By Monday.....What's sad is I've done this before so I know I can pull it off. It's not going to be pretty though :-D I'd suggest staying upwind of me (and my house) until next week :-D

I solemnly vow to never procrastinate again :-) I will take into account the fact that my current WIPs are not the only things that will be going on in my life (writing and real) and that no matter how much time I think I have, I really have a lot less. I will do better with my time management and will try to stop making major changes days before my manuscripts are due.

In the meantime, if you need me, I'll be over in the corner in the fetal position crying into my laptop ;-)

Reading Versus Writing

The other day I was discussing some fantasy trilogies I recently read (Lynn Flewelling's Tamir Triad, starting with The Bone Doll's Twin and Juliet Marillier's original Sevenwaters trilogy), and my friend asked me where I found time to read so much. I told her I've been outlining a fantasy, and before I write, I feel as if I need to read everything important in the genre first. And that's impossible, so then I never actually have to write!

The twist is that my friend is currently weighing agent offers for HER fantasy, which she wrote while I was reading all those other books. I think she spent her time more productively -- especially since now I get to read the product. Instead I use reading and research as a clever procrastination method so I feel like I'm accomplishing something even when I'm not (but it sure it fun).

This reminded me of a few recent discussion among English teachers who believe that the best way to teach is output instead of input -- writing instead of reading. And then I recalled a casual survey among writers about which they could more readily give up, writing or reading.

I was surprised that many answered reading -- something I could never relinquish willingly, although I have stopped writing for periods of months and years. But reading is my PASSION -- it's how I learn, soothe myself, escape troubles, and entertain my mind. It's my oldest and most dependable friend, and a life without books would seem bleak indeed.

Still, I currently have three or four partly researched, partly outlined novels that I never feel up to writing, but sometimes you must just WRITE.

Which would you give up if you HAD to choose -- reading or writing?

Procrastination

Images: Hyperbole and a Half

I won't lie, I like the odd bit of procrastination. 

Some weeks I'm all: 

Other weeks I'm kind of:

And stuff attacks me until I submit: 

But once it's done:

Until next time... 

So tell me, do you procrastinate? 

Virtues of Procrastination: a late-in-the-day post

"Eh. I'll do it tomorrow."

Like all good procrastinators I started reading last night a book I knew I was scheduled to review today. Luckily for me, it was an awesome book and I zoomed through it, intermittently in tears and smiles. Fabulous literary novel!

That book is STRING BRIDGE by Jessica Bell and you can read my review here. <--book giveaway in the comments section.

But since it's Nano month, I want to talk a little bit about procrastination and its role in a writer's life. :) Fitting, right?

Maybe you don't think it's fitting at all. Maybe you're one of those writers who ALWAYS meets her target word count every single day of November. Not me. I write like this:

Day 1: 5k words
Day 2: 500 words
and so on...

I embrace procrastination in my art because, given deadlines, it works for me. Some people invite their muse by writing a little every day even when the words coming out sound like crap. I do this sometimes, too, but the crap-writing phase without fail makes me feel like I'm wasting my time. I do much better under a deadline.

I invite my muse by doing OTHER things. Things that make me want to write. Here's a little list:

• doing the dishes
• taking a shower
• watching a movie with the hubz
• watching a favorite TV show
• listening to new music
• listening to an old mix CD
• going for a walk or run
• playing with my kids (the middle grade ideas flow from their lips like manna from heaven)
• playing Sims 3
• reading, reading, reading

In short, procrastination is just living in rebellion of your own ambition. It's putting something else as priority besides your goals. Keeping writing from becoming routine and normal can lead to huge bursts of creativity.

Maybe not the healthiest way to write, but I've always done my best work this way. The world calls it crazy. My mom calls it artistic temperament. To me it's just life.

This isn't an anti-goals post. I still set goals all the time and take a long-view on reaching them. I set deadlines for myself when I think I can possibly meet them, and give myself a break from deadlines when family, church, or my physical health suck me into reality.

But I'm a proud procrastinator. Sure, this post is a little late in the day (it's 10:30am here in Cali). But it's here!

Note: The problem with procrastination comes when you set a series of goals, like, say, Nanowrimo, and then consistently procrastinate writing until November 30th and you've still got 30k words to write.

In the words of the bard...

It's Day 18 of Nanowrimo. How are you all doing?

The Buffy Faces of Procrastination

I went a bit squinky last week and posted on Tuesday. But I'm back to my scheduled day. And I'm bringing you some more Buffy post goodness.

You sit down to write or edit. You know you should be writing/editing, but what you're really doing is...

Checking your writing equipment is in order:

Thinking about how you're going to fix THAT chapter:



Hearing the familiar email ping:



Realise that it's spam:



Practicing facial expressions:

  

  

Explaining what an antagonist is to a non-writer friend:



Watching re-runs:

Taking a plotting break:

                     

Any other faces I've missed? 

Empress Procrastination Tries to Manage Her Time

Every human being has exactly the same amount of time, and yet consider the output of Robert Louis Stevenson, John Peabody Harrington, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, William Goldman, Neil Simon, Joyce Carol Oates, Agatha Christie, and John Gardner. How did they accomplish what they have? They weren't deflected from their priorities by activities of lesser importance. The work continues, even though everything else may have to give. They know that their greatest resource is themselves. Wasting time is wasting themselves. When people ask them, "Where do you find the time?" they wonder, "Where do you lose it?"

~ Kenneth Atchity

Time management is something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Frankly, I suck at it. I'm a very organized person in theory, but the execution of it lacks a bit at times. I really work best under a deadline. When I have a deadline, I have no excuse to put things off (I am the EMPRESS of Procrastination). When I have a deadline, I let nothing get in my way. I stay up late, wake up early, spend every waking minute working on my project to get it done. Without a deadline...I sort of end up like this:

So, I've set up a schedule for myself. We'll see how it goes. I tend to not stick to these things very long. But I have eternal hope :D

I am a stay-at-home mom with two kids who are now both in school full time. I know I have the hours in the day to do everything I want (most of the time). So I should be accomplishing a lot, right? I mean, I should be churning out a new novel every other month and my house should always be spotless, shouldn't it?

So why is everything, including my novels, laying around half done? Honestly, I have no idea. It's like spending $100 out shopping and having nothing to show for it. I will admit, that despite my best intentions, I often find myself during my child free hours, simply staring off into space, or cruising the blogs and tweets, or cuddled up on the couch with some hot coco and one of the many shows I've recorded over the week but haven't gotten around to watching. Often, even writing just sounds like too much work and all I want to do is vegetate.

And I really need to stop beating myself up over that. Heck, everyone needs a break...especially stay at home moms :D But, I could be managing my time better. And since I have several projects that I really REALLY want to get done in the next month or so, I have put myself on a schedule that should, if I follow it, allow me to accomplish what I want to in my personal endeavors, and still enable me to take care of my home and family in the way that I want.

I write best when I am alone and it is quiet, usually in the mornings...but I have also discovered that if I get all the house chores done first thing in the morning, my day goes much smoother. I seem to have more time to do everything else, and I am much less stressed going about the rest of my day. So I have decided to sacrifice a bit of my "me" time every morning to get the things done around the house that need doing. If I can stay on top of things, the chores should only take an hour or so a day...which leaves me plenty of time to squeeze in a few miles at the track, run all my errands and still have time to write or watch tv or just stare off into space until my children come home.


So, that is my game plan :D I will manage my time wisely so that I can fit everything into my day that I need, and want, to do.

Does anyone else have a hard time managing their time? Do you find yourself playing online or doing something else when you should be applying those fingers to the keyboard?