Yesterday was a good day. Great sales day at work, I mowed the lawn, played with my kids, gave them a bath, did all of the dishes, swept and mopped the floors, and had great conversations with my wife and a friend. I’ve also been deviously tricky and the person I’ve tricked is me.
I’ve been stalling.
All of these things are not fillers. These are things that matter to me for practical reasons (work, the upkeep of my house) and because I love them (my wife, kids, and friend). Earlier today I talked with my wife and we agreed that Monday is a writing night. I planned to write 500 words on my latest work in progress, two blogs, and finish a few writing related emails. Once we got the kids settled I was going to head to my desk around 8:30pm or so. It’s 10:30pm on Monday.
I don’t know about you but occasionally when I have scheduled time to write I find myself doing other things. It’s not because I do not love to put words down on the page, I do. It’s more because I want to be ready mentally. I want to have my mind in the right place to prepare a brilliant meal that agents and readers will devour and beg for seconds. At least this is what I tell myself from time to time.
Sadly, this cannot be done while on TSN.ca/NHL. Strangely enough, this cannot be done on Facebook, Twitter, my gmail account or anything else internet related.
So today, if you are reading this and you are not done with your novel and this is scheduled writing time, I ask you to stop reading. Stop and get to work. Our stories must live and they cannot do so when we are thinking of the perfect words, messing with our playlists, or daydreaming about a wicked huge contract. It’s time to grab our lunch pail and hard hat and get to work.
Write 500 words today.
Cheers,
Bob
PART-TIME NOVEL 
You’re not alone. I struggle with this problem too.
Thanks Jeff! It’s nice to know that I am not alone in this.
On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 8:30 AM, Part-Time Novel wrote:
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I need a big chunk of time to write effectively. I require warming up, getting the juices flowing, that kind of thing before anything really substantial gets on the page. This takes a lot of energy and time on my part, and both are scarce lately. If I know I only have one hour or so to write, then I usually don’t bother because I know I’ll only write junk. And if I leave the desk after having written only junk, I feel deflated.
Hopefully, I can find some mojo and quality writing time this summer. Good luck to you and your progress, too!
I agree with you. I feel like it takes a long time to switch from work mode, dad mode, and husband mode to writer. It’s not that I am different person in different settings, its just a different frame of mind and it takes time to prepare/get my head around it.
Good luck to you as well, I am eager to hear about your progress!
On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 9:57 AM, Part-Time Novel wrote:
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Thanks for the encouragement. I had been putting off a scene, well the entirety of a book really, for the past week+. I really was not in an emotionally stable place to write it. For some strange reason, yesterday, I left work and just thought to myself: “Today I am ready to wreck hopes and dreams.” The truth is, I needed a little “Time off,” where I was still writing, but not trying to force my mind to write something horribly emotionally taxing when I didn’t have it in me.
Then I got distracted by Facebook. . . . yeah, I really need to get that procrastination thing under control . . . . . tomorrow? 😀
I will see your 500 words and raise you 500 more! Keep writing.
~Nathan
Yes! Tomorrow, that dreaded promise that things will be better and we’ll have more time to get things done. 1000 words…hmm. Well, here’s to trying later today. Good luck Nathan. Thanks for the challenge.
On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 11:06 AM, Part-Time Novel wrote:
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