I stopped writing for a multitude of reasons. Procrastination and time were the key factors.
Before I recommitted to writing, I believed that I could only write if I had large chunks of time. And I could put off my writing responsibilities until the "muse" touched me, until I felt inspired.
All of that was a crock.
Truthfully, I didn't write because I was always putting things off. I was a sloppy and lazy procrastinator. I relished in the luxury of saying I was a writer, but I never put in the daily writing habit.
Also, I didn't write because I lacked the basic discipline of creating a daily writing habit. I believed that I needed the time and space to binge write. When I got the time--a vacation or a long weekend, I wrote, but I took some much time to reacquaint myself with the characters and plot that I didn't spend a lot of time expanding and writing the novel. I was caught in a vicious cycle.
Now, I realize that writing is a daily habit. I acknowledge my faults--not being a good time manager and being a chronic deadline hitter and a chronic procrastinator. I work around and with those things. Once I realized my faults and once I realized why I wasn't writing, that helped me to restart.
.jpg)
I think we can all procrastinate, not just in starting to write but also when we're part way through a story. Especially when we reach a 'sticky' part of our story. When it's all going well, and the characters are behaving as you want them to, then everything's fine. But then - wham! - you hit a brick wall. The chapter isn't working out right, you're not sure where you're going with it etc etc. There are a million and one reasons I procrastinate and do something else rather than hit the problem head-on and work my way through it. Maybe that's why I'm writing this comment now, rather than re-visiting my chapter and making my brain cells work hard!
ReplyDelete