I’m not sure if it’s reassuring or depressing, but earlier this year I read an “Opinion” feature in the National Times called Do the write thing, and it was absolutely familiar stuff to me. Catherine Deveny wrote about the thousands (or probably millions) of people who tell themselves they’re going to write a book, but never do. The key problem: my best friend (fiend?!) procrastination.
Deveny is a comedy writer (something I truly admire – I find that very difficult) and she makes her points in very memorable ways. The first most important point is actually a question:
Do you really want to write? Or do you just want to wake up with a novel written by you on your pillow.
Too true. There is a difference between just craving the accomplishment of being able to call yourself a published novelist, and actually wanting to put the hard work in to do the writing as well. Plenty of people dream of the former. Many of them are those that respond to my “claims” that I’m a writer by saying, “Yes, I’ve always wanted to write a book too. I think I will one day.” I know they won’t, and I get angry that they try to make it sound so easy that anyone could do it. As for me, of course I want to be a published novelist, but the process of writing is also important to me.
Deveny also gives a great example of procrastination and why writers (and others) do it. Speaking of a joint project with an experienced writer, she wrote:
We were working on something that had to be finished by Friday. ”I’ll come over Wednesday morning,” I said. ”No,” he replied, ”I won’t be scared enough. Make it Thursday night.”
Which is me to a tee. Even if you’ve barely dabbled in my website here, you’ll very likely have come across a post describing how I’m desperately trying to finish up a novel or a story to enter it in a contest. A deadline is often the only way I really get something done. I’m constantly trying to get better at that, but it’s a struggle. Better to complete something at the last minute than never complete it at all, I guess, but I’m sure the quality could be higher if I took more time and didn’t always have the pressure of a deadline. Anyway, at least I’m reminded that I’m not alone.
Tags: procrastination
ABNA ’09 really showed me how I couldn’t depend on deadlines. I’m sure it works for a lot of people, but I failed miserably at it. So the rest of ’09 and now going into ’10 has been my struggles to establish a consistent (ish) writing routine that doesn’t depend on deadlines and frantic all-nighters to meet my goals.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with that if it works for people! It just didn’t work for me.
But yeah, in other words, I TOTALLY hear you on this post.
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