I would like to nominate myself as the queen of procrastination. I believe I deserve it, especially after the past two weeks.
Here is a list of what I do to avoid writing…
1) read industry blogs. All of them… the list Maureen gave us on Wed, I read them all. Regularly. I tell myself it’s to keep up with the industry, but I read them when I should be working..
2) computer games. I am really, really good at solitaire, freecell and spider solitaire. It takes serious practice to get this good.
3) Other author blogs.. some great, some where the author blathers on at great length about their cats urinary habits, or their dog’s nose hairs, or God help me, an in depth analysis of their favorite day time soap opera. Reading these once is excusable, but I go back on a semi-regular basis for more punishment..
4) Gossip blogs. This one I type with a smile. Love them, have no plans to give them up. Especially Lainey Gossip.. try it, become addicted…like me.
5) Bestseller lists. I look at them too, even though I don’t learn a lot from them.
6) And then I recheck blogs in case something new got added.
If I stopped procrastinating I could write twice as much. And yet, can’t seem to work up enough discipline to stop. It’s a sickness, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only sick one out there.
How do you procrastinate? Anything interested I missed. I’m always looking for new ways not to write…
12 comments:
Have you tried the Post Secret site? http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
They only update it once a week (Sundays) but I find myself checking it almost daily (because I'm a loser) just incase new comments come in.
I must check out Lainy Gossip. The only gossip blog I check out is TMZ.
And whatever you do, DON'T GET HOOKED ON CAKE MANIA! Amy Ruttan once mentioned it and I was stupid enough to download...
I use blogs as a way to procrastinate. I find myself doing much the same thing you do, Sinead. Ah the amount of writing I'd get done if I actually sat down to write...
WYLIE!!!???What are you doing? You're like a pusher! I stay away from all these things -- I am completely in the dark when you and Maureen talk about all teh smart things you've learned from thee blogs and I feel bad but I can tell from your post -- there's a high price to pay for all that info.
for me it's magazines. right now I have about ten thousand magazines of all varities lurking around the house convincing me I should really learn more about aniston's nose job, the best universities in ontario, where to buy running shoes, how to cook soup, where to buy the skinny jeans i loathe with all my heart, how to lose weight and more soup.
it's just sad.
Well, I tend to sell and market as a means to delay working on my own manuscript. Which could be profitable if I actually sold my own stuff.
Last night, for fun, I went into a bookstore and hand sold Margaret Moore's My Lord's Desire (why? 'Cause I enjoyed the book). When I was done with those (and mentioned to the staff that they should reorder), I sold Sally MacKenzie's The Naked Marquis (again, enjoyed that book too).
Then I went home and spammed media looking for coverage for Teresa Roblin's print launch of Hocus Pocus. That killed an hour or two.
And I didn't write a single word.
I think my habit is more evil than mere blog surfing because I can semi-justify selling stuff as "work."
It shocks me to hear all this Sinead. A bit like finding out about Santa --- although I never believed in Santa and I do believe in Sinead M.
Sinead is a superwoman. she has a full-time job. She has an active toddler. She has a clean house! And she manages to write more than I do with none of the above (especially not the clean house.) (although I don't have the husband who cooks. She has the advantage there.)
I've hit mastery level 10 on more MSN puzzle games than I'd like to admit... Some of those games require hours of play to hit that level and then your hand is paralzyed and your eyes are tearing and you need to take a break from the computer :-)
Wylie, my next duty is to check out cake mania... so excited to find a new website.
I love blogs, most of the time I'm a secret lurker, but sometimes I'll pop my head up.
And Kimber, remind me to tell you if I ever sell a book. Sounds like you do a better job selling these then the authors.
Molly is the disciplined one of the three Drunk writers. She outwrites us 3 to 1. Because she doesn't know about the blogs and avoids the computer games.
Maureen is my pal in procrastination and one day we are going to have a spider solitaire competition...
Molly has contracts. Maybe when we have contracts we'll stop being such procrastinators? (Who am I kidding. I probably won't.)
I think Maureen underestimates the time she spends on writing and learning about writing.
Maureen, who knows more about the hero's journey than almost anyone else and if you ever want to have your mind blown, ask Maureen about past vs present tense and her reasons for choosing to write in either.
I wait for Maureen to figure this stuff out explain it in simple terms to me..
Because if you can't be smart.. have smart friends
EEEK! You're right, Molly! I'm horrible for even mentioning my sins to fellow procrastinators!
Sinead -- if it's not too late, DO NOT, for the love of God, SEEK CAKE MANIA!
On the other hand, I'm getting y'all back for hooking me on Dexter. Have you any idea how much sleep I lost? ;)
Keep writing, Sinead!
Yeah, thanks Sinead,
feed my addiction by giving me something more to sell.
That'll get the ol' manuscript finished (or in its current state...started).
Maybe I should list some interesting blogs y'all should visit (there's some funky ones out there).
Kimber, you doll!!! Thanks so much!
The big time-waster for me? The forums at Television Without Pity. I always find some clever post on TWoP that makes me laugh, and let's face it -- some days you just need a good laugh. I also enjoy the recaps.
TIVO.
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