And Then -- Two Dangerous Words


Maybe the title brought to mind that older movie, Mickey Blue Eyes, when the waitress said emphatically  “No! And then!”  Or perhaps you thought this would be a blog post on how to eradicate those two words, or the feeling of them, from your manuscript?  In fact, this post is on neither, but what it is focused on is the danger those two words are representative of--procrastination!

Isn’t it true that as writers, authors, our days are full.  Not only do we have the daily concerns of life, and responsibilities that come therewith, but we have our aspirations to write, to edit, to reach another goal of some kind.

If only the necessities of life would move aside so that we could fully focus on our heart’s desire--writing. 

Maybe you’re like me and say the above-noted dangerous words, more than you wish to admit.  I’m sure you know how it goes, “I just have to tweet this, and then I’ll do my edits”, “I’ll check my email, and then I’ll write”, “I need to reply to people on my social networks, and then I’ll edit”, and the list goes on.  It gets into a really desperate situation when we start incorporating domestic chores into the mix, “I’ll do the dishes, and then I’ll write”.  (Let’s face it, when we’re in full-on writing mode the world could collapse around us.)

So, why don’t we write and edit when we know we should be (and want to)?  Speaking for myself, sometimes I allow my mind to become too cluttered with other activities, promotional activities for example.  My mind switches from creative mode to business.  It can be hard to turn that off.

My advice for both myself and others, pulling from Nike, “JUST DO IT”, or even better, WRITE THE FUTURE. 

Yep, that’s what I intend to do.  That’s why I wrote this post actually.  I’ve been dying to write something.  Now, tomorrow, will it be the novel I started writing, or edits on an upcoming late year release?  I make this promise to all of you to follow my own encouragement here.  I have Wednesday off the day job and I’m going to kick it! :D

Comments

  1. Very insightful, Carolyn - it is so very true about allowing one's mind becoming cluttered with other things...and for me, sometimes this is an avoidance mechanism more than anything! Writing is not easy--it requires tremendous effort and concentration--so sometimes I put everything else that is less taxing in front of what I really SHOULD be doing. I have come up with a writing schedule and am now making myself adhere to a specific number of words per day. If I happen to go beyond the minimum one day, I can give myself a bit of a break the next day and can do other, more mundane things. It is comforting to know that other authors experience the "And then" syndrome!

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