Lynn
Huggins Blackburn has been telling herself stories since she was five and finally
started writing them down. She blogs about faith, family, and her
writing journey on her blog Out of the Boat. Lynn is a
member of the Jerry B. Jenkins
Christian Writers Guild and the Word Weavers, Greenville.
She lives in South Carolina where she hangs out with three lively children, one
fabulous man, and a cast of imaginary characters who find their way onto the
pages of her still unpublished novels. She drinks a lot of coffee.
* * *
You Know
You’re a Writer When You Procrastinate by…
1. Making
a playlist to write to.
I’m dying to do this. I’ve heard that some of my favorite authors have
playlists they listen to depending on the type of scene they’re writing. Chase
scene—maybe something from the Bourne trilogy? Romance—gotta be the Pride and
Prejudice score. Big climax—I’d go with something from The Lord of the Rings or
Avatar. Sadly, while this may help get the creative juices flowing, it’s not
the same thing as actual writing.
2. Researching
name origins for your secondary characters. I know you read that Writer’s Digest article a few months back
about how important it is for each of your character names to have some sort of
meaning. But when you’re trying to find a name for the waiter who gets all of
two paragraphs out of 85K… sorry, that’s not writing.
3. Housework/ Laundry/ Paying
Bills. Necessary evils.
Not writing.
4. Making
a playlist for your WIP.
Finding the perfect song to go with your hero or heroine’s mood in each
chapter. Fun stuff. But, again, not really writing.
5. Reading
blogs about writing. Do I
need to say it? Not writing.
6. Pinning
characters, locations, clothes, etc. to your WIP board on Pinterest. Delightful. Still…not writing.
7. Updating
all your social media accounts. Status updates about writing? Not writing. Neither are tweets that
include #amwriting, #amediting, #writing, or #allIdoiswrite.
8. Reading
books in or out of your genre.
Call it market analysis. Call it research. Call it professional development.
Can’t call it writing.
9. Organizing
your writing space. I
find clutter distracting so it’s worth it to me to take five minutes to tidy up
whatever is in my line of sight before I sit down. But when that leads to
dusting under the piano? Yeah, not writing.
10. Blogging. This one is tricky, because it is
writing. However, if you haven’t made a dent in your word count for the week,
then we have to call it what it is. Stalling. Not writing.
I may or may not
be guilty of all ten of these. How about you? What’s your favorite form of
writerly procrastination?
I struggle between blogging and writing (on my WIP). When I'm in "the zone" it's hard to find time to blog. #10 made me feel better about not blogging for two weeks while I was hard at work on my novel. And yes, I've been guilty of most of these things.
ReplyDeleteI love blogs and blogging, but I'm so guilty of blogging while my manuscript sits languishing... it's a tough one for me. Glad this made you feel better!
Delete#3, 5, & 7 are my vices. Sometimes I must "set" the environment to get in the mood, i.e., coffee, music, research laying about, etc.
ReplyDeleteCute post.
Thanks. I agree about the mood. I write so much better if the environment is just right, but I'm having to train myself to write regardless of my surroundings...I'm not there yet!
DeleteYou know you're a writer when you procrastinate by reading articles about writers who procrastinate :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I'm guilty of many of these, especially #2, 3, 6, 8, and 9. When I was in college, I used to say my dorm room was never so clean as it was during finals week. And I don't like cleaning. Says a lot.
Too funny! This made me think of another one...when you procrastinate by WRITING about writers who procrastinate. :-)
DeleteOkay, I've been caught! #s 2, 7, & 9 are mine. :)
ReplyDeleteNot you, Ane! :-) I know I'm in trouble when I start wanting to do the ironing... :-)
DeleteI write Bible studies and still I trip over many of these - except #3 I'm never tempted by housework! And, just so you know, I call # 8 research!
ReplyDeleteAh, Sherry. I do love me some research. :-) In fact, I have a stack of "research" calling my name as we speak...
DeleteToo funny and too true-to-life. I've used most of these from time to time.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is that I've used them all and keep adding to the list... :-)
DeleteI love this article. It is me all the way about any project I take on. After the laundry I will..... or after I check my emails, I will........ and it goes on forever. I really do want to write, but can't seem to get to the computer (that I am on now, checking my emails, etc.).
ReplyDeleteI love it. Keep these articles coming I need them.
:-) When I start thinking about cleaning a bathroom, I know it's just gotten ridiculous :-) Time for me to get off here and get to work!
ReplyDelete