On Procrastination

Ah, procrastination. We’re all guilty of it to different degrees.

For me, it’s actually knuckling down to some serious story writing. My procrastinating has spanned several years and though I’ve written loads of things in that time, it was all ‘work’. Way back when, I’d originally come up with the germ of a good idea, sketched out a plot and made a start. But where would it go? Would it be long enough? What would I do with it? Would anyone want to read it? All these questions, as well as good old life getting in the way, prevented me from getting any further. However, with a little more time on my hands of late, I decided to get stuck in.

As an editor, I’ve been my own worst enemy in some ways. It’s been tough to let the words flow without constantly editing them! I’ve been continuing to fight against this though and a flurry of activity (well, for me) over the last few weeks has brought me to a place where I know how my story ends. I’m filling in some detail and developing some areas of the plot, but after that, well, at least I’ll have a tale to tell.

That’s the thing. There’s tons of ways you’ll try and tell yourself it’s not the right time to start your book. You don’t know how it ends. You don’t have all your characters. Your  grammar is a little shaky. The list goes on, but none of it matters. Just write. After all, nobody ever published their first draft.

And, when you’ve got your story to a stage where you think it’s worth reading, you can always send it to me to edit. After all, I feel your pain!