On Procrastination and "Writer's Block"
I do not doubt for one moment that both procrastination and writer's block exist. There are a great deal of peer-reviewed academic articles out there that deal with the psychology behind procrastination and to an extent, writer's block. There are even more articles written by writers and artists on procrastination and artist's/writer's block and how they deal with it. But there is one article in particular (and I'm upset that today, I do not know where it is -- one of the admins of DeviantArt wrote it, if that gives anyone any hints) that basically said, "F*** people who claim to have writer's block. They're just being massively lazy."
I do not disagree with the writer of that article where I am concerned. Screw the namby-pamby, pandering advice of columnists who coo, "Killing writer's block is a finger snap! Light your favorite candles, brew a cup of tea or coffee, and roll into your subconscious and reflect on the power of your inner god or goddess." It's an extreme example, but such examples are out there. I'm not looking for a spiritual fix, I'm looking for someone to kick my ass in gear. And who better than to do that than me?
A couple of weeks ago, I finished the first draft of a romance novel (I need the money, SHUT UP!) and I have terrific plans for expanding it into a 100,000+ word novel, but my laziness keeps me fairly well grounded. Laziness for me has come in a variety of forms -- watching YouTube videos, rediscovering old video games, reading and watching anime/manga, and in general doing close to nothing. If a medical technician attached an EKG machine to me right now, I'm sure that they would discover that my brain waves are less active than they have been or will be this year (I will be beginning my Master's courses this fall).
In order for my mind to freshen up for the job of expanding the romance novel, I tell myself I ought to work on the high fantasy novel I've been messing with in one capacity or another since early fall of 2006. This is where I become truly depressed. The last time I worked on this novel was in August of last year. My lazy alter ego will say, "It's an original plot with original characters, not fan fiction. That's going to require a bit more brain power than a fan fic piece, naturally." But I'm not pulling this piece out of my ass, I wrote the entire plot out over a year ago and it's just sitting in its little composition notebook.
I wrote this just to push me down the path to authorship a little further. Dr. Wicked's Write or Die has been fantastic in that regard. All I need to do is get the program going and my intense desire not to be screamed at takes care of the rest. But if an "update" post (I don't know what else it could be called?) is out there, I figure at least one person will know what's going on and say, "So...how's that book coming?" Even if that one person is me.
I do not disagree with the writer of that article where I am concerned. Screw the namby-pamby, pandering advice of columnists who coo, "Killing writer's block is a finger snap! Light your favorite candles, brew a cup of tea or coffee, and roll into your subconscious and reflect on the power of your inner god or goddess." It's an extreme example, but such examples are out there. I'm not looking for a spiritual fix, I'm looking for someone to kick my ass in gear. And who better than to do that than me?
A couple of weeks ago, I finished the first draft of a romance novel (I need the money, SHUT UP!) and I have terrific plans for expanding it into a 100,000+ word novel, but my laziness keeps me fairly well grounded. Laziness for me has come in a variety of forms -- watching YouTube videos, rediscovering old video games, reading and watching anime/manga, and in general doing close to nothing. If a medical technician attached an EKG machine to me right now, I'm sure that they would discover that my brain waves are less active than they have been or will be this year (I will be beginning my Master's courses this fall).
In order for my mind to freshen up for the job of expanding the romance novel, I tell myself I ought to work on the high fantasy novel I've been messing with in one capacity or another since early fall of 2006. This is where I become truly depressed. The last time I worked on this novel was in August of last year. My lazy alter ego will say, "It's an original plot with original characters, not fan fiction. That's going to require a bit more brain power than a fan fic piece, naturally." But I'm not pulling this piece out of my ass, I wrote the entire plot out over a year ago and it's just sitting in its little composition notebook.
I wrote this just to push me down the path to authorship a little further. Dr. Wicked's Write or Die has been fantastic in that regard. All I need to do is get the program going and my intense desire not to be screamed at takes care of the rest. But if an "update" post (I don't know what else it could be called?) is out there, I figure at least one person will know what's going on and say, "So...how's that book coming?" Even if that one person is me.