Procrastination is one of a writer’s worst enemies just behind (because it came in late) distraction, second-guessing, a persistent text messaging friend, when Netflix decides to finally add the new season of your favorite TV show’s episodes you’ve been waiting on for months, seeing what Grumpy Cat is bashing today, a chocolate craving, and a myriad of other postponers.
Whether it’s your plot that’s holding you back, or your main character’s backstory you have been avoiding, this list may be able to help. No, no, read it now. Not later.
Figure out what your issue is, and be open to solving it.
Why is writing so hard? Why do you procrastinate? These questions can have so many different answers. One may be the total fear that whatever you do write will be garbage. That’s an unfair fear because what comes out is most likely going to be garbage the first time. And the second time. Or however many times it takes before you feel that it is better. This is called being a writer. Writers must practice their craft just like a doctor practices grueling surgeries. Maybe fear isn’t your thing. Maybe it’s that you don’t think you have any good ideas for stories. Untrue.
You are worthy of the title writer as long as you work on it. Figure out what’s holding you back and address it head on. You may not be able to solve the problem immediately, but knowing what that problem is will open the door for you to move forward.
If you’re just beginning, don’t have a “writing time” set in stone.
This may seem like backward advice. Don’t you need to discipline yourself to spend time each day writing if you want to get anything done? Absolutely. But imposing on yourself a set time in which you must force the creative juices to flow isn’t the way to do it.
Create a soundtrack.
If you’re a music lover, maybe push this tip up to the number one spot. Consider creating a playlist specifically with your creative writing in mind. Don’t worry about looking silly when you tack on “Official Soundtrack” to the playlist’s name. This is an especially beneficial idea if you want your writing to become a movie one day.
Even if you’re not interested in seeing your work on the big screen, music can help set the tone for what you’re writing. A sensual scene can benefit from some Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, TV On The Radio, and Alt-J. If your characters are feeling quirky, consider an old classic from The Clash or The Perishers. When action is building and things are getting suspenseful, see what the bands Tool or Purity Ring can do for you. Find songs that create emotional responses within yourself, and use that emotion to drive your writing.
Surround yourself with writers.
Having fellow writer friends may seem frustrating at times. If you have some, you may find yourself listening to what they are currently working on, and those writers will, no doubt, be moving forward on about ten different projects each when you have hit a lull. This can be beneficial for several reasons. Writers are competitive, and they need other writers in their lives to pull them along when the writing well runs dry. Writers benefit greatly from having other writers to talk to. To find encouragement from. Sometimes it will be your writer friends that drive you insane the most with their critiques or suggestions. That’s what they are there for. If you don’t have any writer friends add finding some to the list.
Make your writing available to others.
No, you don’t need to wait until everything is done. Bits and pieces shared with friends, family, Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere on the blogosphere can be amazing sources of inspiration. Just be aware of who you are sharing your work with. You don’t even have to share full stories, poems, whatever. Just write something that means anything to you, and let others see it. Definitely start a blog. Show others what you’re passionate about. You get yourself out there and continue to improve your writing skills by keeping them in use every day. It’s a two for one.
Submerge yourself in what interests you.
Read the styles that you want to write. Watch the kinds of movies or TV shows that captivate you because they are amazing motivators as well. Okay, so most motivating lists will tell you this and for good reason. Don’t read the classics if you’re not interested in them. Don’t read what everyone else is reading if the content doesn’t interest you. Search until you find a story, a style of writing, that grabs your heart and squeezes it until you have absolutely no choice but to take to the blank page. Find something that makes you say to yourself, “I have to be able to make someone else feel the way I do right now. I just have to.” Whatever grabs your attention, let it. Use it to motivate you to do the same for othe
Be proud of even the tiniest step forward.
Came up with a name for your main character? Awesome. Stared at the screen for an hour and wrote a paragraph? Fantastic. No, this isn’t sarcasm. It doesn’t matter how little you think you actually produced in a day. Every step forward is important. Stories, both fiction and nonfiction, poetry, anything–they are all made of tiny stepping stones, and without one to connect to the other, our writing falls flat. Celebrate. Every. Single. Word.
Don’t sweat the setbacks.
Most the time that’s not what they are anyway.
Maybe you have experienced this: You wrote 20 pages over some amount of time, read it all at once and found gaps in logic, inconsistencies, and what you have deemed is total crap that no one would want to read. So what? You wrote it. You’re a writer. Ideas and stories evolve over time and over drafts. You may think to yourself, “Oh, four-letter-word. I’m going to have to write all of this again. It’s just no good.” Go ahead and do it without fear. Make edits. You will see plot, characterization, and action that you didn’t see before. You just have to be open to it. Setbacks make beautiful stories, so don’t let them scare you away from your own writing. Did you decide the name that took you all day to create for your main character was completely awful? No problem. You will make it better.
Let’s face it, writing can be tough. You may try to make your writing perfect the first go-round. You may set lofty goals. Then you Ping-Pong–This is good! This is absolutely embarrassing. Who would read this? And on it goes. But it’s such an amazing, almost impossible to put into words (err–that could be a problem) feeling when you get something down on the page and are able to stand back and look at what you have created. If you find yourself in a situation where procrastination seems to be your only friend, consider what you’ve read here on this list. Be patient with yourself, and don’t get discouraged. Your writing will be worth the wait.
