Yesterday literary agent, Nathan Bransford, had a guest blogger Regina Milton at his site. She wrote about all the external things that keep us from writing, the things we shake our fists at in rage. But then she pointed out that sometimes we are in fact the problem. Do any of the points below sound too familiar to you?
complacency - that thing that stops us from rewriting a bad chapter one last time
doubt - the voice that says "your book will never be good enough, why even finish?"
pride - the force that convinces us to not take any more writing classes or attend any more seminars, because we've already "arrived"
fear - fear of failure, fear of success, fear of agents, fear of being misunderstood, fear that we are wasting our time, fear of hard work
writer's fatigue - yes, it takes a long time to make things perfect
procrastination - not making the effort until the last moment (sure this sometimes produces brilliant work, but it often results in shoddy writing)
Well, as I write this it is 12:08 and I have not started writing yet though I've been at this computer since 10 am. I have watched quite a few humorous videos on YouTube and read all about what my friends are doing on Facebook, but actual work? No, none of that. I think Ms Milton makes an excellent point and as I am someone who at least alleges to be able to take advice- I am now off to work.
6 comments:
This post resonates well with me!
2, 4 and 6... oh dear. Thats me!
I didn't come here to read about myself! I resemble that list.
It's 2 o'clock and I haven't written a damn thing.
But yesterday was a good day. Got 2500 words under my belt. Trying to make up for when I was sick.
Good post.
It's easy to prioritize. It's difficult to do things as you prioritize them. At least for me.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Now that I have officially announced the procrastination is an essential part of my writing routine (surely a contradiction, no?) I feel not only allowed to do it but simply obliged to... no GUILT!
Tania, interesting way of thinking. Sort of like since I've accepted I like eating cheesecake although it has the most kilojoules per gram in the world, there's nothing I can do except eat it. This could be applied to many things and may come in handy, I'm sticking it in my handbag.
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