A freebie for you. I have a link for you if you would like to sign up for a list of 101 prompts for creative writing offered for free from The Write Life. I have scanned the list, which I received because I am a subscriber to the newsletter., and I found it quite interesting. This lengthy list could keep you busy for a long time and could produce some interesting writing. This link will take you to a page where you sign up to receive the list, but be aware that you are also subscribing to the newsletter. Worth trying, and if you don't like it, you can always unsubscribe later.
On with today's post: The photo that accompanies today's post might as well have a great big capital P next to the mug. The quote speaks directly to the habit of Procrastination. Yes, with a capital P. Capital because it's very important to break this habit.
How often, as a student, did you put off studying for an exam until the night before? Then, it ended up as cramming. You stayed up way too late and were groggy the next morning as you dragged into the classroom to start the exam. Maybe you did alright on the test, but perhaps you didn't. You knew it would be far better to study a little each day for the next test, but did you? Sometimes, it takes us a long time to learn what works best. In case you're wondering, I did my fair share of 'cramming' the night before a test as a college student. I did learn that procrastination was not the way to go.
As I matured, I found that when something needed to be done, I fared much better if I did it immediately. I knew I didn't want to wait til the last minute, so I jumped on it and called it done. I'm still that way. If I do put things off occasionally, I find it easy to keep putting them off, which is exactly why I try to act sooner than later.
One reason we procrastinate in our writing life is that we aren't filled with confidence about the project we're working on. That makes writing more difficult. If we have a story floating in our head, and we know the beginning, middle, and end, it's far easier to feel confident enough to sit down and type the whole thing.
Another reason is that we really don't want to write what may be an assignment from a writing instructor or an editor. If we're reluctant to even start, it's going to be pretty easy to continue procrastinating until we either fail the assignment or lose the editor for good. Yesterday's post talked about giving 100% of yourself when you write. Procrastinators don't do that!
Procrastination quickly becomes a habit. Then you end up doing a hurry-up job near deadline and don't finish with your best writing. You need time to write a draft, let it sit a while, edit and revise before you submit. Wait too long and you'll skip some of those steps which doesn't benefit you one bit.
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