courtesy of andryone
By Annabel Candy
We all procrastinate from time to time, but writers and other creative types
seem to be particularly susceptible to procrastination.
I thought it would be interesting to look at the root causes of procrastination and see if that can help us get over it. Watch out for these three, they can seriously damage your creativity, your production levels and your self esteem:
- Roadblock Number 1: Laziness—It’s just so much easier to surf the Internet, go for a walk or read a book. I’ve dubbed this procrastination and the way out of it for me is to set goals, work out a deadline and stick to it. I make myself understand that if I don’t do it now then I never will.Imagine fast forwarding your life ten years. Do you want to have achieved your goals or are you ready to admit that you’re just a lazy porker?
- Roadblock Number 2: Fear—There are so many different things to fear from fear of failure to fear of success and everything in between.But don’t let fear control you.Ask yourself what the worst case scenario is. Since we’re talking about writing here and not scaling Mount Everest, it’s probably not life threatening.So what have you got to lose? Take charge, give fear “the finger” and do what you need to do now.
- Roadblock Number 3: Perfectionism—Writing’s an art not a science, so there’s no perfect way to write. At some point you just have to stop agonizing about every word and every comma and let it go.Herbert Samuel said that “a library is thought in cold storage,” and that’s all your written words are, too. If you think of your writing as thought in “cold storage,” it makes it easier to finish it.After all, you can always come back to it another time.So don’t let your quality control be too stringent. It could be time to hold that thought and get another one down on paper before it gets lost forever.
Watch out for these three roadblocks and don’t let them delay your journey. I consider myself a good driver, but it you even think you’re being threatened by any of these three, then put your foot down on the gas pedal and plow right through them.
About the Author: Annabel Candy was born in England and traveled widely before settling in New Zealand for ten years. Annabel then moved to Costa Rica before ending up in Queensland, Australia, where she is finishing her first novel, tweaking her blog and writing Web copy to keep the cash
flowing. She has a BA in French and English, and an MA in Design for
Interactive Media.
For more from Annabel, visit her blog: www.inthehotspot.wordpress.com
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d like to add to the point on “Perfectionism”. In my case, not only do I focus on grammatical accuracy and diction, but also on how balanced my points are.
Granted, in purely creative pieces that focus is on exploring or exposing artistic elements, there may not necessarily be a requirement to present balanced viewpoints.
However, in my opinion, certain elements of allegory or analogy that have connections to substantive facts or references of interest are also characteristic of good, creative writing.
This is the area in which I see the blinders of perfectionism contributing to my procrastination.
Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for the comment! Personally I seem to be able to edit, rework and improve even a short 250 word piece for hours. At some point I just have to let go and admit that it’s not perfect but good enough.
What keeps me from writing is not knowing what to do next. After I finish the article what do I do with it? How can I sell my manuscript, essay, or whatever it is. Because I don’t know the next step, I’m usually just not motivated to get it done. And maybe fear contibutes to all of this as well.
@Sharon Smith I never even thought of that, actually! You’ve inspired a new Procrastinating Writers post–what to do with your writing once you’ve finished it!
Some ideas for you–start a blog and post your articles on there, get a copy of the Writer’s Market and send your manuscript/essay to a magazine or publisher, enter a writing contest (there are tons! Check out PW.org for a list.).
I think you need to sit down and determine what your writing goals are–what do you want to do with your writing? Once you decide that, you’ll know what your next steps are!