Every writer I know struggles with procrastination at one point or another in their writing life.

It’s normal.

And yet, if we stall out for too long, the writing simply doesn’t get done(sadly I know this all too well).

So what do we do?

How can writers stop procrastinating and begin and finish the writing project we’re working on?

 

Do you find yourself being wooed by other things?

I’m pulled away from writing – and wooed – by many other things.

Does this scenario sound familiar?

You only have thirty minutes to write, which you’ve managed to sneak in from the normal demands of family, friends and work.

You sit down at the computer, your characters waiting patiently for you to tell them what they’ll be doing next in the story.

Staring at the blank page, with your hands positioned over the keyboard you try to focus on what you’ll be writing next when all of a sudden…

You remember someone you need to email or call that today. You write that down on your ‘to-do’ list to get it out of your head. But wait… since you’re there anyway, you might as well add the other things you had in mind to do today and write them on your list so you don’t forget.

Well… come to think of it, you might as well email those few people now, just to get it done.

But, if you’re going to sit down and write emails, maybe you should grab a cool drink from the kitchen first, just in case you get thirsty.

You get back to the computer and decide before you begin, you might as well double check what’s happening on Facebook one last time before you begin.

It will only take a minute, right?

Falling into the Chaotic Cycle of Procrastination

The problem is that one minute, leads to another and before you know it you’ve wasted thirty minutes or even an hour of your writing time.

This is a difficult cycle to defeat once it gets started. It’s possible then, to get into the habit of thinking that you need to ease you into your writing or to warm you up. This is when you find things to do like: check your email, call your friend, plan your grocery list or vacuum the floor.

But we can stop the chaotic cycle…

Writers Can Stop Procrastinating…

It sounds too good to be true… doesn’t it?

Yet, I’ve learned that when I keep things simple… I inevitably get past procrastination to begin writing.

All you need to do is “write the next sentence” as Dean Wesley Smith says.

The plan for overcoming Procrastination can be summed up by the words: Just Begin Writing.

If this sounds simple, that’s because it is.

Here’s what you need to do:

• As soon as you open your blank document take a moment to think about the scene and begin to write the first sentence.
• Then write the next sentence.
• Don’t try to conjure up the right words, just start.
• Write the next sentence, even if all you can come up with is a big mess of words.

The beautiful thing is, once your fingers begin flying over the keyboard, you are much more likely to get more words down than you ever imagined.

Start Creating Good Habits…

If you sit down at the computer to write, but let yourself do unimportant tasks during your writing time, you are likely to continue procrastinating.

Don’t let your wayward thoughts fool you into thinking ‘it’ll only take a minute to write this email or check Facebook’… when in fact it could take much longer than that. You could use that time to get farther along on your manuscript.

Don’t give procrastination an opportunity to grow… write instead.

This is something I’m continuing to learn… so now I’m going to write more words on my pen name’s sweet romance!

 

What do you do to stop procrastinating as a writer? I’d love to hear from you in the comments… we can learn from each other 🙂