Short Stories: Procrastination

There is an obvious truth with which all writers have an ugly yet comfortable relationship with. It is alluded to in the cloistered circles of academia and screamed on reality TV alike, the secret to being a successful writer is to actually write. This can be easier said than done however, especially if you are just starting out or are beginning a new project. It is often benign enough, as one goes through their day full of the noble ambition of putting words on the page they find themselves distracted, torn away even, by the countless critical issues of the day.

A valuable life-hack for you, if you want to organize your life set out to be a writer. Suddenly even the most mundane chores will seem like worthwhile uses of your time. I cannot tell you how often I have cleaned my kitchen, organized my bookshelf, or folded the laundry selling myself on the oldest lie a writer can, that somehow this productivity will translate to better writing. I become certain that at a properly organized desk, in a perfectly ornate room, under the gentle sway of a sublime melody I will produce literary genuine. The reality being the majority of the writing I am truly proud of has come in the middle of the night or at a bar is delusionally swept from my memory in the name of productive procrastination. Time slips by under the pretext of “setting the stage” till the day is over and my conscience rests ease comforted by the fact the office is clean. Letting go of these preconceived notions requires us to recognize that writing, like most real passions, requires effort, focus, and time more than anything else.

Occasionally, but all too often, a writer will experience a creative draught which stalls their work in its tracks. Despite my mastery of the productive procrastination technique this has been my challenge for the last few months. After tackling a couple large projects, which required burning the candle at both ends, I found myself drained like the bottle of beer beside me. Despite what I would love to believe about my “brilliant but tortured creative mind” this is not a unique phenomenon. It is a challenge so universally faced by writers it becomes a cliché which even the greats have addressed.

Hemingway discussed it in a Moveable Feast, giving rise to the very famous creative well analogy in which an author must leave enough unsaid in their work at the end of the day that their mind is able to replenish itself nightly and thus never run dry. Thankfully, if you are like me, the cure is fairly basic cycle of recovery. It is also not unique, as you rest, which gives way to a gradual period of clarity, followed ultimately by a state of self-loathing at the fact you aren’t writing when it is what you truly love to do. Usually this forces one’s self, or at least me, back to work. With effort and time everything can be overcome, even procrastination or writers block it seems.

For me I have found one the of the more significant elements to defeating writers block, and warding off procrastination, is to continually write on a variety of topics even when I am working on a larger project. This helps to avoid the sensation of work in my writing and allow me consider things from varying angles. So to continue to battle back the monotony and give myself some diversity in my writing I am going to be writing one short story (less that 500 words) daily on a constantly changing topic. Everyday a new one word prompt will give rise to a new post featuring my latest work of fiction.

As always comments, feedback, suggestions for prompts are welcome. Otherwise feel free to sit back and enjoy as I futilely attempt to write daily.

Right after I check out what’s new on Netflix.