As writers, we all know time is not our friend. We have stories to tell, and they won’t get told if we spend all day figuring out reasons why we’re not yet ready to write.
And yet about ten percent of my potential writing time goes to procrastination.
So here, without further ado… hey, what the heck is an ado, anyhow? My top excuses for not writing today.
1) I Got So Much Writing Done Yesterday: So I had a great writing day yesterday. I actually exceeded my goal, so I’m way ahead of the game. I can afford to take a day off, right?
2) I’m Not “Ready” to Write Yet: Something’s a little off today. Maybe it’s the headache I woke up with. Or maybe it’s the fact that the “Q” key on my keyboard has been sticking lately – I really need to get that fixed. Or maybe it’s the light – is it brighter out today than yesterday, or is it just me? Maybe I need a new writing app… it would make my life so much easier. Oooh, I need to create a glossary for the book – that’s writing adjacent, right?
3) I Do Have a Life, You Know: My muses never seem to understand that writing is not the only thing I have to accomplish in my busy day. There are bills to pay, dishes to be washed, and my regular job to do. There’s the hubby to spend time with. And the spices are badly in need of being alphabetized. Oh, and that spot on the carpet has been bugging me for weeks. Maybe I should see if I can get that out.
4) The Ideas Aren’t Ready Yet: My writer brain is a cess-pool of accumulated memories and ideas and intuition, and sometimes it’s just not quite yet ready to spit out that next scene. Even if the next scene consists in its entirety of two guys walking across a bridge, talking. The subconscious is ready when the subconscious is ready.
5) I’m a Horrible Writer!: All previous evidence to the contrary, including my numerous previously-published stories, I decide that I can’t write a line to save my life. All of my stories are trite and derivative. All my characters are boring, offensive and one dimensional. And my paragraphs are stuffed with idioms like “he let go of the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding” and “his heart beat faster in his chest.” Why should I even bother?
And then…
I take a deep breath.
I clear my head.
I chant “I am a good writer, or at least I don’t suck” ten times to myself.
I get a good stiff drink (ok, I don’t drink, but at least I’ll get myself a tall glass of iced tea).
Then I sit down at the keyboard and write.