This interview got me thinking about how to overcome writers’ avoidance.
Writers’ avoidance, for the uninitiated, is the overwhelming need to …
… just so you don’t have to start the thing you know you need to start.
In case you don’t want to click through, I’ll give you the skinny on the tweet.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley says this is how she starts her writing day:
I always get into the hot tub and read a bit of a novel before I start the day’s work. If I feel reluctant, I reflect on the bills I have to pay. If I feel really reluctant, I time myself and say that I only have to work for an hour.
“I time myself and say that I only have to work for an hour.”
Hmm.
Well, I’m no PPW author (yet, anyway), but clearing out the junk and setting a short period of uninterrupted writing time works for me. I call it my ALT, which stands for “At Least Technique.”
Essentially it means this: I will do X for AT LEAST X.
I first used the technique with exercise, telling myself I only had to get on the treadmill, walk, etc. for X number of minutes. I gave myself guilt-free permission to stop at the end of that time. Only once did I stop at the appointed time. The rest of the time, I did more than the minimum.
Same goes with writing. In fact, using a 20 minute ALT I wrote this post with 5 minutes to spare.
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That’s a great idea, and I agree with you that it works!
I can do ANYTHING for twenty-minutes, including writing for a client! And, I’ve found that twenty leads to forty, and before you know it, the project is at least in the first draft phase.
Indeed. And isn’t there something sweet about having a first draft behind you? Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Wow, it’s as if I wrote this myself, haha. Didn’t know it was a common procrastination problem amongst writers.
:)
A great idea. My avoidance activities are nowhere near as useful as those you mentioned e.g. playing Spider Solitaire, talking to the dog (well, that’s quite important), making another coffee etc. At least organising files and baking are productive! Thanks for the practical advice, I’m starting on it now.
Oooh! You’ve given me some new avoidance ideas. :) Glad you found the ideas helpful. I’m sure you’ll come up with some new ones on your own so please share here when you do. Thanks.
That is so true! Writer’s avoidance hits me almost daily. My technique is to at least make myself pull up the doc and read where I left off. Often, just putting myself back in the story is enough to get me writing.
Oh, thank you for admitting that it can be a daily thing. There are times and seasons when it is for me, too. Great tip for pulling up the Word doc and reading where you left off. When possible, another idea is to stop at a “good” place … meaning you don’t have to think too hard to resume. If you leave off in a place that’s easy to re-start, then all the better for kicking that procrastination monster to the curb.
20 minutes is a nifty unit of time for ump-starting any activity. I use the 20-minute rule to do free-writing, a sort of warm-up for a day of writing newspaper articles. I use it to get started on projects. It helps me to hold procrastination at bay. so thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, 20 does seem to be the magic number. Kinda like Goldilocks — just right. :)
Indeed … sometimes the only way out is through. I like to make a game of it by promising myself a reward at the end of something difficult or a short burst. Thanks for your comment. Here’s to your overcoming procrastinating!
This came at perfect time for me because I’ve been procrastinating. I mostly do this when I know a difficult section needs to be fixed, and I don’t know how to do it. Sometimes during the avoidance time I come up with a solution, but a lot of time I need to just sit down and power through it.
I found this blog while indulging my writers’ avoidance. (Love that apostrophe!)
Hysterical! Here’s to you getting over it. :D