Top Procrastination Problems

im an insatiable forum-surfer and this week im between jobs. so of course i spend all my time reading chick lit instead of writing it and making cups of lemon tea and google chatting whoever's online.

luckily, every now and then i get a burst out of something i thought would only take a paragraph and it turns into a page and a half. my mc's are awesome at flirting that doesnt go anywhere.

A bad cold. I keep telling myself it is ok to take a break and rest, but there are only9 days left and I have 18000 to go!

Geez I think if I've finally earned that badge for spending at least 30 accumulative hours in the forums! All when I should have been working, too! YAHOOO!!!!!!!!!!! AND HURRAH FOR ME!!

Now for some real procastination. What do I write next?

Scripts are just 99% dialogue and 12% a bunch of yakking.

Oh my gosh. I'm almost done with 50,000 words (but I still have another 10,000 or so before my novel is ACTUALLY complete), but I think I'm going crazy...

It's not so much that I'm procrastinating, but I have SO much else going on. I have sports and other stuff... it's quite stressful. But today I'm supposed to finish up my last 4,000 words so I don't have to do anything over Thanksgiving break (but still be able to finish everything else next week), and I keep watching TV... I'm a bad person... :(

*ANOMALY*

Oh, forget it. I wasn't going to be able to change him back. I had broken his heart--literally, probably--and he was breaking mine now. I was going to have to deal with the remembrance of what I had done for the rest of my life.

And that w

I'm definitely one of those "Oh I'll just make some coffee... but now it's almost lunchtime, so there's no point in starting now... oh, now it's after lunch but I haven't had the bird out yet today... and I should really check my email... gosh, I'm cold, I should have a sweater... or throw in a load of laundry... wow, is it that late already? I guess it's time for ANOTHER coffee..." kind of people, which results in multiple days where NOTHING gets done. And it certainly doesn't help that I work from home, since that means that my work AND NaNo get delayed. o_O

*sigh*

I brought my novel to work with me with the thought that I'd spend some time working on it today and have actually been working rather than break out the novel. On the upside I'm getting some work done on the downside I keep letting things interfere :-(

"Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due."
-- William Ralph Inge

I procrastinate right along with the rest of you. In the last couple of days, though, I've found that I can set a timer for 20 minutes and write 500 words. Yikes! That's like the little version of a deadline. Today was terrible, but when I wanted to go to bed, suddenly I could crank out some words. In one case I kind of forked out from my storyline when I couldn't figure out what to do next -- without deleting anything I went back a few paragraphs and started the story again from there. Occasionally I write as me in my novel, just to get it going again.

Anyway, I'm hoping I can keep on track. I was trying to get ahead to take Thanksgiving off, but that's not looking good. What's the week 4 prognosis?

We're ALL procrastinators, honey. That's just how it is, definitely.

NaNoWriMo 2007- "Abstract Hearts" 40,696 Words (Unfinished)

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"A mother who radiates self-love and self-acceptance vaccinates her daughter against low self-esteem. " -- Naomi Wolf

I used to do this writer's workshop on procrastination called "Finished Chapter One, Ate a German Chocolate Cake." My new thing is that I have to actually win without reshuffling at digital mah jongg or two games back to back with digital backgammon ...

Two suggestions:

1. Stop before you reach the end of a scene where you know what you want to type next. Knowing what you're going to type and wanting to complete the scene really does help me, I've found.

2. I've been making a little list of possible scenes I want to appear in the chapter at the top before I start the first scene. Sometimes these get changed by what comes up in the previous scene, but it gives me an idea of what I can start writing next when I finish a scene. Sometimes I find myself going back and putting in either notes for a transition scene or actually writing another scene in between.

Mainly, I've been taking Baty's words to heart and just started writing whatever comes to mind by typing "Beatrice (my MC) __" and a verb. If nothing else, I have her open a door -- and there's always somebody or something there.

Good-luck and don't scarf too many donuts. It can be hazardous to your writing health.

"...to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free." --Dylan

I procrastinate on SO many levels -- doing this, that, the other thing -- the day starts early, with good intentions and high energy. "I'll just get this out of the way and then I won't be distracted when I write..." Pay bills, take out trash, do laundry, run one or two or six errands....

(3 hours later).....that lasts until I face the dishes in the sink, when I suddenly realize that the dishes can wait ;-)

So then I get myself to the computer -- whoo-hoo! Now I'm cookin' with gas! flexing fingers, poised over the keyboard -- but first I've gotta rev the creative engine -- just take a quick drive through the NaNo forums.....

(1 hour later)......omigod look at the time and I haven't written a word on my novel today and I'm thousands behind on my word count goal....better do a word sprint.....oh, hey, look! I have email! wow that only happens a few hundred times a day, so I'd better check that *immediately*

..... oh what fun, a friend sent me this cool little game, "Free Rice"......Better check it out, right away....it's the polite thing to do

(45 minutes later)......ok that was fun. Now I'll share this with everyone I know -- hey, why not! it's charitable, educational, and yet another fine way to procrastinate.

http://www.freerice.com/

Enjoy :-D

Thanks to some lucky guesses, I almost made it to level 48 but didn't guess right on 'ennead' ;-)

(surprised by the vocab levels -- I've never even seen the word 'agonal' but that was at a lower level than 'sybaritic...')

And now it really is time for some word sprints.....

Problems indeed!

I seriously want to start writing, BUT...

...I have to check my e-mails, check my LJ, check my Humble Voice account, check my FF.net account, check the forums I have posted in, check if fansub.tv has any of my watchlist animes updated, check onemanga if they have any of my watchlist manga updated, then I have to go and make tea - and then some MORE tea - then I'll have to get into the MOOD of writing so I have to play cards while listening to music and...

huh. And that wasn't even half of it. TT_TT

Why?? I don't understand why do I even feel the need to procrastinate from writing - it's not as if it's something I should force myself to do! *single dramatic tear falls*

"It's almost like they're of one body and soul"
"At night time too"

I know. I don't think I've been more up to date on correspondence, cleaning my house etc. than I have been this month!

The sprints seem to be helping me. Somehow it helps to know that I can write for 10-15 minutes, then amuse myself for another 15 updating my Facebook page, surfng the web for college football scores, etc. :)

I'm also letting myself know that it's okay if I am writing scenes out of chronological order, etc. - I just keep saying "when you're editing, you'll fix that, when you're editing, you'll fix that..."

Writers and procrastinating go hand in hand.

Unfortunately.