Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 10 Things I Don't Miss About Facebook

It has been 24 days since I changed my password and logged off Facebook. I have logged on twice to see if anyone messaged me and logged back off. Which I am glad that I did because someone messaged me about math tutoring. The only thing I missed was if someone had had their baby. I was interested to know and while I tried so hard to stay off Facebook I did search her name just to see if she had the baby. Then I thought if she did have the baby and I don't know then are we really friends?   We are not friends by the true definition, just virtual Facebook friends. Top 10 Things I Don't Miss About Facebook 1. Selling of Rodan & Fields, LuLaRue, 31, Ketones or Scentsy.  I like some of these products and support you 100% and hope you do well.  The multiple posts on your product daily but nothing else in your life, blah. 2. Bragging. I love to see pictures of your vacation, if it isn't the only time you are on Facebook. 3. Posting fake news. 4. Making a comment I ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Self Correcting Error

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.    ~ Thomas Edison   As a parent I really struggle with how much should I meddle in the affairs of my kids. At what point are you just making your kids decisions for them? Recently I went to a winter retreat with a group of middle and high school students as a chaperone. We had fun, but as a chaperone we were talking about a choice one of the kids was making and the other parent said to us along the lines of it will be a "self correcting error".  At what point do we has parents let our kids fail, not to be mean spirited but at some point you learn by error. Clearly something that is going to cause them or others physical or emotional harm needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. What about the kid that wants to take AP history? The class you know will be hard. It will take a lot of work and might not be worth the AP credit. Do you let them never even have ...
Post a Comment
Read more

One Word Can Actually Make a Difference

I choose not to work. I do understand that people don't have a choice and have to work outside of the home for a pay check to buy food and shelter.  One parent in my house must work. I also feel some don't really have to work and choose to work for luxury items.  I have talked to people that say there is no way they could be a stay at home parent and choose to go to work. Why do we as parents belittle each other in our choices.  Recently on Facebook (some say a necessary evil, but I think it is just evil) A parent commented   "...for the parent that actually works".  Wow, only one word makes that sentence sting.  I try not to let these words on Facebook hurt me or give them a second thought but I am a wordy person and I think about words.  The sentence takes a different tone if it was written, "for the parent that works".  The word "actually" implies negative things to those that don't work. For the parent that works I understand that a 30 ...
Post a Comment
Read more