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Writer-In-Waiting

I know I need to write everyday to be a better writer. I find myself holding back for many reasons.  One is fear but I think another is just plan old procrastination. I am reading a book called This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley. As I was reading the first chapter I laughed these lines because this is me, "Many writers-in-waiting spend a lot of time avoiding the work at hand. The most common way to avoid writing is by procrastination. This is the writer's greatest enemy."  I am the writer-in-waiting. I am not sure what exactly why I am waiting other than good old procrastination with a dose of fear. I want to write a book, just tomorrow.

As I continue to read the book I wonder if he has been a fly on my wall. Almost everything he has written in this book is what I do daily. Right now in my life I have a lot of time I can be flexible with in my day. I chose to do the strangest things some days instead of writing. I don't want to start writing today because NaNoWriMo is right around the corner.  Just a procrastination hidden in good intentions. 

How I ended up with this book in the first place is an example of my procrastination. Yesterday I had time that I could have been writing but I ended up at the library. There are worse places to end up but it is just a way for me to procrastinate. I recently bought the Ready. Set. Novel! workbook and I have been foundering for weeks in the character section. I want my names to have meaning so I went to the library to find a baby name book. While I was there I just started to look at nonfiction books. No reason just having a euphoric moment in the library where books abound and all free to take home.  You know the feeling. I left with the book mentioned and many other books I can use in my procrastination of writing. I mean what is not to love about the Natural History The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on Earth? I looked at it for too long last night.  Which lead me to yet another way to procrastinate, learning Latin.  

I am learning that I am not a planner and I am what NaNoWriMo calls a panster. My last NaNoWriMo was just a little idea that turned into 50,000 words. As hard as I try to plan I am just not able to get over details about things I haven't written yet. I haven't gotten to the plot part of the workbook and I am obsessing on the names of my characters. Although I have not written a story, I have done some of the workbook. I have been writing ideas and brainstorming which is all part of the process. Yesterday I realized I have to take time to write and stop the procrastination of planning. I don't have to write a novel every time I sit to write. I just need to write everyday. If I do write some short stories everyday maybe by November I will actually have a plan. Today I stop just planning and starting to actually write.  RIP writer-in-waiting. Today I write.

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