This is my motivational penguin (care of Chibird) because I am writing query letters and synopses at the moment and they make me crazy. Well. Crazier.
I seriously seem to spend an equal amount of time trying to convince myself that the procrastination I am involved in is a perfectly valid part of the process as I do attempting to write the damn things. Which is ridiculous. If I’m going to procrastinate I should commit. Blow the whole thing off and go ice skating or something.
Although, you know, lying to myself is something of a creative endeavour, so it’s almost like I’m working the whole time, right? Right?
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Posted in: Kandace, Wizards in Space
Kandace Mavrick
Paul McLaughlan
D. James Fortescue
25/02/2014
Love the Penguin. Once you’re a successful writer will you be investing in a real-life one?
The worst part of procrastination is when the thought that reverberates through your mind is “I really should be doing something”. Since a lot of mind work goes on in the background, maybe the procrastination is your mind telling you not to distract it, it’s on to some good stuff =)
Kandace Mavrick
25/02/2014
Penguins are charming…
I don’t actually suffer from the procrastination urge a lot. If I’m getting twitchy like that I play solitaire or bake or go for a run to distract my analytical brain and let the creative part have fun. In this particular case I’m just doing something I really hate (mostly because I think I’m bad at it) but that I need to do and that I need to practice doing so it’s all about talking myself into doing it. Which I manage in small chunks. I’ll say, “Just do this tiny piece of it. Then you can have a break.” But I don’t want to go off and do other work in the breaks, cause I’ll get distracted and not come back. So I dither about, do extra research, go over what I’ve already done, tell myself I’m a terrible writer (as you do) until I can convince myself to go back and do another little piece.
D. James Fortescue
25/02/2014
Glad it’s Solitaire and not Candy Crush =)
Exactly right; you do something else and then you rarely come back unless it’s the midnight hours. Much easier to focus at night-time.
Have you read Brent Weeks’ ‘Night Angel’ series? He has a great Writer’s Advice section on his website. When not motivated, he sets himself amazingly low targets (250 words a day in some cases) so he does not get demotivated. Quite a good idea really =)
Kandace Mavrick
25/02/2014
I haven’t read those books.
I don’t usually have a problem with procrastination when it comes to writing but the low target thing totally works if I’m having an ‘I don’t feel like running’ day. I tell myself I’ll just for a short run, a baby run, barely a run at all… And then once I’ve got my shoes on I end up going the full distance anyway. It’s just starting. So you make it easy to take that first step and then it all comes together.
D. James Fortescue
25/02/2014
Absolutely right; starting is always the most intimidating part.
Just about to start the fifth novella on my WordPress site; awaiting the votes of my followers to tell me which of the four choices to do =)
How goes ‘Eat Me’? Still editing and proof-reading?
Kandace Mavrick
25/02/2014
Drink Me. And nope. Finished. Hence the whole query letter/synopsis thing. Time to send it out into the world.
D. James Fortescue
25/02/2014
Whoops, sorry =(
Awesome. Which publishers are you submitting to?
Kandace Mavrick
25/02/2014
Agents, actually, to start with. They’re faster. And it’s good to have an agent.