Beating procrastination (or writing and laundry - a love story)

If I hadn’t started writing, I would never have gotten any laundry done.

But a strange thing happens when I sit down in front of a blank screen – I get a sudden urge to wash, dry and fold laundry. I guarantee you this is the ONLY time I yearn for anything laundry-related.

Most of us feel the urge to procrastinate at one time or another. But writers might be particularly susceptible.

That’s because when we start a project, the finish line seems a long way off. We look at that flashing cursor and think of the 80, 90 or 100,000 words we have to write to cross the finish line. It can seem overwhelming.

Then there is the fact that writing is a solo endeavour – there is no-one checking our progress or monitoring our KPIs.

Procrastination is a book-killer. But there are ways to overcome it, stay motivated, and make sure you’re closer to that finish line at the end of each day.

Break the novel into bits

It’s fairly standard advice for anyone struggling with a large task – break it into manageable pieces.

What does that mean in the context of a novel?

It depends on what stage you’re at.

In the first draft, your aim is to get as many words onto the page as possible, so you can quickly see your story start to come alive. They don’t have to be perfect (yet), but they do have to be THERE.

I have a daily word count in first-draft stage, and I know others who set aside a certain number of writing hours, and still others who prefer to set a page number target. It can take a little experimentation to figure out what the best target for you is.

A word of caution – there’s nothing wrong with stretching yourself, but your target should be sustainably achievable over time, something you can accomplish day in and day out. If you set unrealistic targets, you will frequently miss them, get discouraged, let procrastination seep in, and end up doing laundry. And no-one wants that.

This is especially important if, like most of us, you have other work or caring responsibilities – make sure you’re not burning yourself out by expecting a day’s worth of writing out of yourself on top of a full-time job and the school run.

If you can, it’s great to have a specific time each day when you write. That’s often not possible though – when I wrote my first novel, I was working and had early high-schoolers, and it simply wasn’t feasible to write at the same time each day, so I developed a little ritual which, after a while, signalled to my subconscious that it was writing time (it involved tea and chocolate – my subconscious is easily bought).

Before you submit your manuscript, you’ll be editing it at least once, and most likely a couple of times.

Some people like to set a page goal, however some pages will need more editing than others – and edits can range from tidying up spelling and grammar to creating whole new scenes or characters.

Personally, I like to work on a scene-by-scene basis. This is where the chapter outline you might have written earlier in the process comes in handy. You’ll have a sense of what scenes need the most work, and having an outline will help you set a realistic goal for each day.

It can also help to step away from the manuscript for a few days or a week before you get stuck into the edits, if you have time to do so. I absolutely don’t recommend stepping away from a work in progress during the drafting or editing stages, but it can help to do it BETWEEN these stages – it will give you the distance to make better decisions about what needs to change, and help you edit more effectively.

The dreaded writer’s block

You’ve been staring at that screen for an hour, and you haven’t written a word. Sentences, phrases and bits of dialogue drift through your mind, but disintegrate as soon as you try to grab them and nail them to the page. You wonder why you decided to do this in the first place. You are well and truly blocked.

It happens to everyone – but it can be overcome.

It usually doesn’t work if you try to force it – and there is nothing less motivating than getting to the end of the day with nary a sentence to show for it.

Everyone has their own techniques for dealing with writer’s block, and it’s a matter of trial and error to find what works for you.

Some people like to get completely away from the work for a day or two. They go for a walk, go for a swim, live their lives, and suddenly the words start flowing.

For my father, who’s written more than 60 books, the solution to writer’s block is to write – anything. Take a break from the book and write – just write. About what you had for lunch, how you felt when your football team lost, something funny the cat did yesterday. For him, exercising that muscle in a slightly different way eventually gets it working again.

I take a different approach. With any book, there are tasks which need to be completed which have nothing to do with writing. So I proofread, check the formatting, chase down that elusive piece of research – anything to ensure the book is further along by evening than it was in the morning. I do this because ….

…. momentum is your friend

Motivation is the enemy of procrastination, and there’s nothing more motivating than achievement.

Keeping up momentum is the best way to keep yourself on track. It feeds on itself – the more you write, the more you want to write.

I’ve always found this especially important in a first draft. Once you get into a rhythm, it’s easier to keep going, and once you get a certain number of words done, you feel compelled to write more – you’ve come so far, so there’s no excuse!

Even if you’re short on time, try to do something to move things forward each day. Only got time to proofread half a page? That’s great – it’s a page you won’t have to proofread later.

Staying accountable

One of the most exhilarating but hardest aspects of writing is that in the first-draft stage, you’re inhabiting a world all of your own.

You can create, play, experiment, tinker. You are the only one who can control what happens and what doesn’t.

That can feel heady – but it also means there is no-one looking over your shoulder and prompting you to hit your word count.

Unless, of course, you ask someone to fill this role.

Accountability buddies are a fantastic idea – the wonderful Leah Kaminsky and I once had an arrangement under which we would exchange a few chapters a week, with fines (usually involving wine) for lateness.

But it needs to work for both parties, over however long it takes you to write the book. Your sister, mum or best friend might be enthusiastic to help you, but over a year they might start to find it onerous. In my view, it’s not quite fair to ask someone to keep you accountable over a long period of time, unless you can do the same for them.

As a result, some people prefer to engage a mentor or book coach to advise on structure, plot and characterisation, give them feedback as they write, and help them overcome hurdles along the way.

Just as importantly, a book coach can help with time management and staying motivated, keeping you on task so you meet your goals.

Do you have any anti-procrastination hacks? Let me know in the comments!

I’m proud to be part of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program. Get in touch at megkeneally@gmail.com to find out more or work with me.

Get in touch to find out more or work with me.