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Procrastination – the Writer’s Friend?

PencilsEvery day, I try to write for at least an hour. I’ve set aside for myself (which my hubby Mark’s wonderful understanding) the hour from 5-6 PM to sit down and actually write (or rewrite). Not to network, not to blog, not to research, but to actually work on the writing.

Of course, life sometimes interferes, like when we are going out to meet friends for dinner – those times I try to reschedule my time for earlier (or later) in the day.

But sometimes I sit down to write, and I just can’t get into it.

I’m not sure this is writer’s block in the classic sense. Sometimes it’s that I have too many other things on my mind. But sometimes it’s because I haven’t worked out the corner I’ve painted myself into in my story, or I haven’t let my subconscious figure out the next steps.

Every writer has to figure out their own process. For some (the lucky ones), that’s to sit down and write things out in one long run, with very little revision.

For others, it means going through seven or eight rewrites to layer in all the emotion and detail.

For me, that means taking some time not writing, sometimes with musical inspiration, to let my unconscious mind work out the story.

So what can I do with that hour when my brain’s not yet ready to write? I usually re-read the story or section I’m working on, tinkering here and there refreshing the story in my mind, and giving my brain a little time to take it in and work out the next steps. And my story is usually stronger for it.

So what about you? Is procrastination your friend?

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