Thursday, April 06, 2006

Overcoming the inner procrastinator

I'm a procrastinator at times. While slogging through a tough scene, it's too easy to allow myself to be distracted by the TV or even housework. I've learned a few things that help me combat the tendency to wander around the house looking for something to do.

Set reasonable goals. For me, these are daily goals. Today's goals--Go over one chapter of rewrites of my Zarain shapeshifter novel, otherwise known as The Book without a Title. Work on Dragon-Vamp book, get voyeur scene written. If time, work on Reunion.

Be flexible. Life is going to interfere with writing--anything from emergency calls to the delivery man will arrive while you're writing. Remind yourself of that when you don't make your personal goals.

Neglect favorite TV dramas. Hard, very hard, I'm addicted to a couple shows and after two weeks, withdrawal symptoms set in.

Notebooks at hand. I keep either a spiral or a small notebook handy to jot down scene ideas, dialogue or the solution to a problem I've been having.

Keep it fun. Enjoy writing. If I'm frustrated, I'll sometimes switch to something else, maybe fleshing out an idea or work on another WIP.

Reward hard work. Take a day for yourself occasionally. Let yourself relax.

Posted by Unknown :: Link :: 10:51 PM :: 3 Comments

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