I’ve recently been reading The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The main character in this is a writer and he notes that the first thing any writer learns is the art of procrastination. Both Matt and myself have talked about this before, but it is true, is it not? There is always something else to do. Something that takes priority over sitting down and torturously laying your soul out on paper.

But procrastination is The Enemy. Probably the most insidious enemy because it pretends to be your friend. Like Lucifer whispering in your ear saying, “It’s ok to put your writing off, and do something else. We all know writing does itself anyway…”

Or something.

It isn’t true though is it? Not by a long shot.

Climbing back on the Horse

Perhaps the worst thing is that the longer you put it off, the bigger that horse seems to get. Right now, I’m not looking at a horse, I’m looking at a behemoth. No way I can climb back on that, so why should I try? Well this is a pathetic excuse, and I feel pathetic for thinking it. But what are the options available? Well let’s make a list shall we, because we do so like lists!

It's a horse. That you have to get back up on. Sorry, it's the best I could come up with. Image courtesy of Marilyn Peddle.

1. Baby steps. No brainer? Not really. Its all well and good saying, “ok, I’ll set a little bit of time aside each day/week to get a little writing done, and then build up from there”, but does this work in practice? I’m sure for some people it does. It’s like that gym metaphor. You can’t just do a marathon from scratch, you have to train yourself up. I’ve always thought that doing some writing is better than doing no writing at all. This can backfire though, right? You might do a little writing, then look at it and find it so terrible that it puts you off writing even more. Very counter productive.
2. Walking before you can Crawl. Yeah, because when you look at the vast expanse of a whole book stretching out before you, the enormity of the task can put you off. Easing yourself back into it with some shorter fiction is better right? Even if it’s unrelated and you don’t really plan on doing anything with it (Matt did a post on this a few weeks back) its still getting those rusty writing muscles back into play, right? Personally, my writing falls into a few huge ‘super projects’ and writing away from these feels… counter intuitive. Time spent writing something else feels… wasteful.
3. Sprint. One of my problems is I think too much about stuff. Matt wrote about when to show your work, and about not showing first drafts. I guess one of the reasons I’m more comfortable showing my ‘first draft’ is because really, it isn’t. I do my first few drafts in my head. Very very dangerous. When you draft in your head, when it comes time to set it down on paper its like… It feels like copying something out, kinda dull and tedious. So just write! Just write for an allotted period of time. Non-stop. Just push through it, and see what comes out.

Well, it’s a start. Does anyone have any other options to add to this? Any advice to help get me back on the horse? We shall see how things go and I shall update on the writing situation at… some indeterminate point in the future…

So, one failed experiment later, I am in slightly more comfortable territory, and am looking at ways to plan out my novel. One site I have found especially useful (I have pretty much decided to base my plan on the advice there) is Larry Brooks storyfix.com, and especially his ten part story structure series. What I now want to do, is get an outline of each of the four boxes he describes and what happens within them in my story.

Now, to be clear, none of what Larry says here is rocket science. Nor is it even new or unfamiliar. This structure is recognisable in most novels I’ve read and certainly in any good film I’ve seen (they are shorter, and so it’s much easier to see the structure). But having it all written down and elaborated on by someone who knows is really useful, and I’m sure it’s going to save me a good deal of head scratching.

Can you plan too much?

Yes. I really believe you can. And spoil the enjoyment of writing your story in the process. How much is too much? Ah, now there I cannot help. I have a strong feeling this will be down to the individual. My rule of thumb at the moment is to pay attention, and if it feels right to write, or if I know that any more planning is just procrastination, then I’m done.

Another couple of points I’m keeping in mind, just to keep things loose are:

Keep the details sparse

I think I’ll keep a separate document for working things out. This is because I tend to think my way through problems best by writing through them. This tends to create a lot of disorganised detail about various parts of the story, which is great, but not something I want cluttering up my outline, and probably something I don’t want to look at too often once the ideas have solidified.

Instead I will keep my outline clean by giving each major scene or part of the story a title, just to remind me what goes in it. I probably won’t go as far as naming every single scene, but the important ones will certainly get this treatment. Filling in the gaps can be done (to a certain, as yet undetermined extent) later.

Feel free to change it

The problem with writing down a plan (and probably a big reason for so called “organic” writers hating them), is that it makes things feel permanent. This does not have to be the case of course. I will keep my plan open at all times when writing so that I can change it on the fly should I think of another scene that can go in. I will also plan regular reviews if my plan so that I can change it in light of something I have written, and to check that I still like where it’s going.

So that’s the plan for the plan. I will of course, let you know how I get on. In the mean time I’d love to know your thoughts on planning and what methods you use. Please use the comments section below.

No big drama here; no tragedy in my life (thankfully); no excuse. I simply fell off the wagon for a week. And at the beginning of a new project, too! It’s true that I have been particularly tired and grumpy this week, but the sad fact is that when I got on the train I just couldn’t (wouldn’t, rather) be bothered.

Not wanting to analyse it too much, there are a couple more contributing factors. I’ve been working on the principle that writing begets more writing. I think that’s true. The more practice you get; the more you keep to a routine, the easier it becomes to just fall into that rythm. But I also think that not writing begets… more not writing (there is, undoubtedly, a better way of saying that).

It’s that old formula of, “the longer you leave it, the harder it becomes,” in microcosm. Simply put, if I don’t knuckle down and do something on Monday, I greatly reduce the chances that I’ll do something on Tuesday. And so on.

Of course, the only cure is to just get on and bloody do it. And perhaps it is worth remembering that how I start the week is just as important as how I finish it.

The second problem is to do with the fact that I am starting something new. I have some anxieties about starting something from scratch without knowing precisely where it’s going. On the other hand, meticulous planning saps some of the joy out of writing, so I thought I’d give the more improvisational approach a go. Craig has written a bit about this, and I’ve added some comments if you want to read more.

So, I’ve written a grand total of two scenes for a new novel, and already the anxiety of not knowing has got to me! They’re good scenes, too. The problem here is not that I don’t know what’s coming next (that’s kind of the point, after all), but that each new section is like starting all over again (I want to use the microcosm word again) – a little journey into the unknown.

The way to make this easier, I’ve decided is not to stop writing when I finish a scene (section, chapter, whatever). The pause I take in between makes that first step look much more daunting. Instead, when I finish a section I must plough on, straight into the next one, and stop at a point where I already know what’s coming next; even if I only know as far as the next paragraph. The point is I can start writing as soon as I next sit down and get straight into a flow. I have even seen some writers recommend stopping mid-sentence, just to keep that sense of flow going, and that sounds like a great idea to me.

So here’s a list of notes-to-self to go with this little review:

• Just bloody do it.
• Work hard right at the beginning of the week and I’ll find it easier to continue
• If I do fall off the horse, get straight back on! Don’t let the cycle build.
• Face the fear and anxiety (then kick it in the nuts)!
• Stop mid-scene
• Stop mid-sentence

I hope these tips for keeping writing will help others as well. I’ll stick to these and let you know how it goes. Any other tips are of course very welcome in the comments.

I had begun to get used to my routine. What i try to do is write on the train on my way home, just as in the grand plan I had when I  started this blog. My other writing time would be early Saturday morning.

Although I managed to get up regularly every Saturday and sit in front of my computer, the writing part would often come slow or not at all. As I have mentioned before, I would often end up fiddling with the website, or checking my emails and Twitter. Although that was my greatest opportunity of the week for getting my writing done, it was actually my train writing that was becoming most productive. I suspect  it was because this was a more regular event anyway, and I was much more inclined to work on my writing when I was fully awake! But whatever the reason, I was finding it easier and easier to slip into a writing frame of mind every work day. I had got to the stage when 80% of the time I could simply find a seat (and not be too picky about it either), open my laptop, and just go at it. No pondering. No time wasting.

The Problem

Then something happened. I had a week off work. Great, you may think, that’s more opportunity for writing, you can get more done! Well, yes it is. But no I didn’t. My routine was centered around my journey home from work. Without that time to myself and the “mental hook” I’d programmed my brain to hang it’s writing hat on, I was doomed.

What’s worse, since I’ve been back at work I seem to have taken several steps back in terms of the effectiveness of my routine. Now I’m back to pondering, putting off, or just not doing. I have to start all over again!

Lessons

I’m sure there are lessons to be had here. Here are what I think are correct assumptions to be made:

1. Routines do work – I was getting better at writing in my allotted time.
2. Don’t break them unless you really have to. Taking a holiday from work should not have meant taking a holiday from writing!
3. It’s good to have a bit of variety in your routine as long as you’re disciplined. I’ll use an example to explain. Part of my writing routine is supposed to include writing on a Saturday morning. At home, for two hours, rather than on the train for one hour or less. If I stuck to that i would have got more writing done during my holiday (or when trains are cancelled and I have to write at home). But I have not been disciplined enough with that part of my routine, so that particular bit of brain programming was not available to me.

These are the rules as they appear to me, but some people will disagree with some if them. For example, a lot of people advocate having one place, and one place only, where they write. That’s too difficult for me though I’m afraid. I’m out if the house from 8 until 8 most days, so the train is appropriate (though hardly ideal), but not enough.

Still others might take that rule further and abolish a set routine altogether. The idea here is that if you learn to write whenever the opportunity arises rather than boxing yourself into a set routine, you are in a better position to keep on writing when the unexpected happens. I don’t really buy that either. I see the reasoning but I’m sure that would lead to no writing at all for Matt. Plus I think that habit can be a very powerful tool when used for good! And I need all the help I can get!

And right now I need your opinions! What do you think about keeping a writing routine? Is it a help or hindrance? Do you have one that works for you, and what is it? What’s the weirdest writing routine you’ve heard of?

There are loads of ways I procrastinate when I sit down to write. And as I write at my computer, they almost always involve the internet or something. In fact, I’ve realised it has developed into something of a routine when I am at home. I boot up, and the first thing I open is not a text editor, but iTunes. I download the single of the week, I update my podcasts. I then open Steam, and check the offer of the week, and see if there are any game updates. I’ll probably then scroll through a few twitter updates to see what’s going on.

All this is obvious time-wasting when I could be writing. Sometimes though, I find myself procrastinating in more subtle ways. I do love to research topics and write notes, for example. This is all well and good, but you can do too much of it.

Recently, I had to admit to myself that I was doing more research than was strictly necessary for a short(ish) story idea I had. This is not so clear-cut. How do you know when you’ve got enough research to make a good start? Well, I guess the only way is to make a start. After all, if you are worried about a particular fact, you can check it, and put it in a later edit.

I’m sure that there is much more procrastination to come. It’s just a matter of self-discipline, backed up by encouragement and goals. I expect to get better over time, even if I never fully overcome it.

Any ways you guys procrastinate?