Battling the Procrasti-Demon

Welcome to the Procrastination Relief Workshop.

Ummm....

Well, we haven't gotten around to setting up anything or send any invitations... But I'm sure we will... eventually.

Does this sound familiar?

I'm going to write a novel.

But I haven't gotten around to it. But, I will. Someday. When I'm ready. When the time is right. When I settle down. When I have more time. After the baby. When the kids go to school. After I've settled into this job. When my spouse gets a raise. After I pay off the house. When the kids start high school.

You say you're not that bad?

What about these:

Tomorrow. This weekend. After my TV show goes off. When the kids go to bed. After dinner. When the dishes are done. In the morning. After lunch. When I'm on break.

Or this...

I read this blog first.

I battle the Procrasti-Demon daily. Unfortunately it wins a lot. I was going to write this blog last night, but I was enticed away by the lure of watching Chess in Concert for three hours. By then it was bedtime. I'll do it in the morning, I said. After I've had my coffee.... Let me watch the morning news first.... After this movie... When I finish hanging up the laundry... After I eat...

And my day is gone and the Procrasti-Demon wins again.

The thing is, it doesn't always win. There are moments when I can ignore him. I just have to keep trying. Eventually my wins will outnumber my fails.

How do I know I'm getting anywhere? Well, I've written more blog posts in the last month than in the last couple years. That's a win.

I'm also trying the reward system. If I post a blog today, I get a Root Beer Float ice cream bar.

So if you're reading this, I'm eating ice cream.

Okay, you're read my  post. Go write something!

Release the Kraken... Editor!

You suffered through the first draft. You struggled and sweated. You bled as you beat your head against writers block. You wept acid tears as your characters did what they wanted and not what you wanted. In the end, after months (or years) of effort, you produced a bouncing baby book.

You were happy. You were relieved. Even a little sad. The hard part was over.

Or so you thought.

Editing is like dealing with a two-year-old. Or herding cats. Now you have to tackle your novel and wrestle it into a coherent form. The Grammar monster laughs at you. The Spelling Bee throws darts at you. Cargo ships are flying through your plot holes. The internal editor you had gagged during the draft process is free to tell you that you suck.

If you can afford a professional editor, then do it. But if you are like me (dirt poor) there are ways to get you through. A writing group is a huge help. I sent Shadow Watch to my writer's workshop and they combed through my baby and eviscerated it. Going through all their comments one by one was a big part of the editing process.

Sometimes you're going to have to let go of things. That scene you thought was perfect doesn't belong. You have to add scenes in order to make the rest make sense. You have to scale back on a scene to make it fit the plot.

In my case I have to go through each chapter four times. Three for the critiques and one for myself. A lot of work? Absolutely. But in the end I have a novel I can be proud of.