Excuses

MonkeyNuts

MonkeyNuts

I don't quite know why, but I find myself making excuses for not writing. I get home, the desire to pick up the pen and notebook burning quite fiercly within me, only to find that I will end up cleaning, mail sorting, ironing, eating...and the list goes on. Now don't get me wrong, most of these things do need to be done (as any home owner will appreciate) but often I do these things when I could actually wait another day. WHY? I fear I may be suffering from some crackpot disease!

Butterfly

It's normal. I do it too. Usually when the story/plot/edit need a little more thinking about. This is not a conscious thing; your body just does it. It is allowing you to get rid of the dross without having to write it down first. Well that is my thought. It seems to be the case with me. However when I'm writing the house goes to pot, and do I care? No. So relax and do what you have to and you will soon find you're back at the computer/note book and writing and forgetting the chores.

Nefertari

Yes, I do this too but strangely it all feels like it's part of the writing process.

MonkeyNuts

Oh phew, I thought I was totally barmy! Last night I found myself going through my receipts. (Although I do actually find shredding a very therapeutic activity!) When it came to the time where I had to go to bed, I felt frustrated with myself that I'd spent the time doing that!

Neph

I can't actually sit and write if there is something that needs doing in the house.  Although I do tend to find extra jobs that need doing when I should be sitting writing.  Although my head tends to be working on stuff while Im doing my housework.  Sometimes the ideas even stay in there long enough for me to write them down.  Thats when I get cross.

Mad Doctor Dribble

I've been doing this the whole week.  Everytime I try to write, useless drivel comes out on the screen.  I'm sure this happens to all of us at some point. 

TaffetaPunk

We all find excuses, I don't honestly think there's a writer who could say, I don't.  It's part of the process, because writing is fun but it's also hard bloody work. 

Whenever I find myself thinking up excuses now, I try to make myself think of the people who don't have the chance to write or create, the people I'm writing about have little chance to say what they want without getting into serious trouble.  That makes me feel guilty, and sets me free.

Hippo

Dorothyd, I remember Kelly Monteith, very funny as I recall.  I also remember him sharpening dozens of pencils, rather than write. 

Though I'm sure I also heard somewhere of a writer who did that to get himself in the frame of mind to write - a kind of Pavlovian dogs' trick, whereby pencil sharpening was the trigger to write. And wasn't there one who kept an apple in his drawer, as the smell of apples was his prompt?  I think I read about those examples in WM - or I could have just made them up...

Jan

I really must stop procrastinating, tomorrow.

Katy

Jan, that made me laugh out loud!

Betsie

Oh dear - some severe cases of 'run out of bum glue'.  Get your bottoms on the chair and stay there - now!

MonkeyNuts

Hmmm, bum glue may just be the way forward. That and eye ball restraints (I find that if I spy something that needs attention then I'm away!)

Jacey

I can't help checking my email throughout the day, even when I'm on a deadline.  It's a distraction I can't resist.  And those jobs I've put off for weeks suddenly become urgent when I've got a new project to start.

I wonder if it's the same for other people working at home, not just us writers? 

Carol

Yes, I have to resist, hence my house is a tip waiting to be tidied up and organised.
Unfortunately our combination microwave oven decided to shed its glass screen on Saturday evening- so it was a quick trip to Asda for an inexpensive microwave to cook things in the meantime.
I've spent this evening searching the web for electric cookers of a certain width only- rather than researching other things.

Maya

I work from home mostly and it is emails and now Talkback that take quite a bit of my time. And reading articles in WNWM. Mind you I have done drafts of two short stories over the last few weeks!! Work is lagging behind.

MonkeyNuts

I was at it again last night; I ended up cleaning out my cupboards. At this rate I am going to develop O.C.D! (I wonder why my distractions always seem to involve cleaning and/or tidying!?)

Maya

Years ago when I was doing exams and should have been revising. I always ended up doing gardening instead of studying.

TaffetaPunk

Monkeynuts, I can assure you here and now that whatever distracts me, it isn't tidying!  I'm a generally cluttered personality, so it's usually something else that distracts.  Some rock star on TV, usually...  (Here she goes again, I hear you say!)