We all Procrastinate
By Angela Roberts
Nov. 7, 2011
With NaNoWriMo having begun this month, it seemed a good time to discuss some aspects of the writing life. And since many writers use that event as a way to stop procrastinating, that seemed like an ideal first subject: procrastination. We all procrastinate, as writers. It might seem odd to think that of genre writers since many of the most successful genre writers have outputs impressive enough to make other writers cry in despair. But everyone has procrastinated at some point. The only difference I can see between a writer who’s prolific and one who is not is that one has found that perfect work-life-discipline balance that allows them to be productive. There are many forms of procrastination and many ways it manifests in a writer’s life, some easier to control than others. And different solutions for everyone. Unfortunately, there is no miracle cure. And there is no shame in faltering in your discipline every once in a while. I can honestly say that I don’t have all the answers. I even procrastinated in writing this article. But sometimes, it’s just the discussion that helps.
So, I was saying that there are several manifestations of procrastination. One is the most insidious of all; technological networking. It’s insidious because we rarely realize that it is procrastination. Writers especially have always thought of the computer as an essential productivity tool, and the publishing industry has evolved to the point where social networking has become an important tool in every writer’s belt for marketing themselves and their work. But what about when you let the networking interfere with your writing output? It’s so easy to do that in our distracted, instant gratification society. Computers hold a lot of distractions; games, Facebook, Twitter, email. We check our email and Facebook every few minutes. We Google stuff while we’re in the middle of a paragraph. We fix typos while we type. And it’s something that has only gotten worse with the advent of smartphones. I don’t think I ever checked my email as often as I did after having a smartphone.
Why is this a problem? Well, while it might make me sound old to say this (and I’m not!), there are studies that have proven that our obsession with technology has reduced our attention span , which means we have a lot less of an ability to focus. I speak, of course, of North America, as that is the culture I participate in. Reduced attention spans are a documented problem of North American society, and you can see it manifest everywhere. We’re less patient, especially with each other. We seek quick gratification. And very quickly, things we want become things we need. Social networking is fine in moderation, even important, but moderation in anything takes discipline.
My solution has always been to remove the distraction. When it becomes too difficult to concentrate, I put distance between myself and the technology that is hampering my productivity. This is why I prefer not to write directly on the computer. Some writers are different; they need the computer. The blank paper scares them. I prefer to leave the house, and just write with pen and paper. It works for me. It might work for you.
So what else is procrastination? There’s another manifestation that not everyone thinks of as procrastination: writer’s block. I say writer’s block is a form of procrastination not to cast aspersions on people who suffer from it, but because I find that writer’s block often hits people who I would call “pressure writers”. I am a pressure writer. Pressure writers are those who are most productive when they are on tight deadlines, or right before a deadline. Put them on a long deadline with little supervision, or no deadline at all, and they just can’t do it. They can’t put pen to paper. They’re blocked; not necessarily in ideas, but in action. Pressure writers often are quite brilliant, their works rarely needing much revision. They’re the kind of people who’d pull all-nighters and turn in A papers. They’d be constantly leaving their homework till the last minute and still be maintaining high GPAs. But, pressure writers also face the problem of being less prolific, and at the same time, of burning out more quickly. As you can see from my examples, pressure writing is really for the young. When you’re in your teens and early twenties, you can drink a liter of coffee and down a few Red Bulls and write all night. As you push 30, it gets harder.
This type of writer’s block can be the hardest to overcome because it’s really ingrained in the psyche. I don’t think I’ve ever found a solution for it. It comes down to discipline. You have to force yourself sometimes. People who aren’t pressure writers often don’t understand this idea; they believe writing should never be something you need to force yourself to do. But what they don’t understand is that we are always writing; what we have to force ourselves to do is to get that writing down on paper or computer screen. And it’s important to not fall into that other procrastination trap, world-building, which like social networking, is essential but detrimental when not done in proper moderation.
My last cause of procrastination is the hardest to accept; life. A very wise writer once told me in an interview that one of the things we had to do to lead a successful writing life was to “find a day job that doesn’t make you want to slit your wrists”. But what happens when that day job, or family or responsibilities, becomes more important to you than your writing? It’s really hard as writers to recognize when life gets in the way of writing. I spoke before of that work-life-discipline balance that prolific writers have found. That balance comes to everyone eventually, but that doesn’t mean it always comes when we want it. My generation, especially, thinks everything has to happen now; we have to publish our first novel by 25, we have to win a Hugo by 30. We lament our day jobs for interfering with our writing schedule. We’re always anxious that we have “no time” to write.
Sometimes, you can just fight your way through it. You set up a schedule, you make that schedule clear to everyone in your life, and you stick to it. You let yourself be a little selfish. That can be hard (statistically, especially for women). The older you get, the more responsibilities tug at your already short attention span. And for some, eventually a choice must be made: what gives me more joy at this point in my life? Writing or the other parts of my life that I think are keeping me from writing? There’s no shame in not choosing writing. One of the advantages of writing as a career is that it can be done at any age. Some of the most successful writers really only started doing so professionally in their middle age. But if you choose not writing, it must be done without regret. Otherwise, like with any artistic impulse, not exercising it can cause bitterness. The kind that destroys relationships.
The most important thing about resisting procrastination is to realize that discipline goes hand in hand with self-confidence. Often the biggest reason we procrastinate is because we doubt ourselves. We worry that our work won’t be liked. Well, no procrastination trick will ever work if we’re not properly motivated. And the more we procrastinate, the guiltier we feel about it. The best advice you can get as writer is to really look into yourself. Shut up that voice that tells you you’re no good, that you’ll never get published. Listen to that other voice; the one that tells you you’re good at this. Listen to your characters, ready to tell their story. And then go write!