Internet - You're My Favourite Waste of Time
Wasting time is an author’s biggest problem. We don't mean to, but because the Internet and Other Exciting Things are only a click away, it’s all too easy.
But I have devised a cunning plan!
I’ve not paid my ‘net
provider! Ingenious! They’ve cut me off and I’m ‘net free and I can write to my
heart’s content… ‘cept I’m getting irate phone calls asking why I’m not
answering important emails.
OK, so getting cut off is a bit drastic and self-discipline is really the only way. You’ve heard of bum
glue, not something you can buy off eBay, I’m afraid, but straight talking willpower
and the ability to churn out your story without straying from it.
This is why NaNoWriMo is so good; it offers a like-minded community and puts you into the mind-set of
writing. Whether your unedited writing is good or not doesn’t matter, it’s getting
it out of your head and onto the screen that counts.
But this post isn’t about NaNoWriMo it’s about procrastination
– a writer’s enemy. Psychologists think the
behaviour is a way of coping with anxiety. It could be the case. I mean, when I’ve
a finished product, be it a book or an article, I always wonder if it’s good
enough. So, does that mean that because it’s taken a DAY to write this
hundred-word (or thereabouts) article I don’t want it published because I
secretly believe it’s crap?
It probably is, but I’ve done it. It’s out there for all the
world to see and it’s something I’ve DONE. FINISHED, and COMPLETE. Whoop!
So even though I’ve checked my email three times, looked
into Twitter and Facebook. Clicked into and out again of my current novel I’m
writing. Checked my KDP statement and upped my bid on eBay for a Chucky doll
(Halloween soon!) this short article is written.
Procrastination, for a short time, has been beaten.
Bum glue? I want glue for my fingers not to stray to my Internet
connection!
What’s your secret to staying on course?
