Procrastination is one of my best things. No, really.
Having gotten ‘The Nememiah Chronicles – Knowledge Revealed’, the first book in my series prepared and published, you would think that I might have gotten into the swing of things with continuing my working pattern. The husband and I had discussed the fact that I needed to settle down into a routine with writing, editing and publishing – he suggested I need to consider it as my ‘career’ and set down time accordingly to work each day.
“Wonderful,” I thought. “What a brilliant idea.”
And it would be, if only I could convince myself to do so.
Part of the problem, admittedly, is the fact that it is currently school holidays in this part of the world. Having the Gang of Four home creates a certain increase in workload which shoots my concentration all to hell. And the workload has absolutely nothing to do with writing… it has a whole lot more to do with housework.
For instance, the kitchen. When the Gang of Four are at school, I clean up the kitchen after they’ve headed off for the day and it remains fantabulously neat and tidy until they return home at the end of the day. When they’re home? Not so much. Despite the obviousness of the facilities – the dishwasher is the big white thing, the bin is the thing over in the corner and all you have to do is push your foot on the pedal and the lid opens – the Gang of Four can’t figure it out. Nor can they get a glass out when they want a drink and use it for a second time. Consequently, by lunchtime, there is a delightful pile of used glasses and cups sitting on the benches. Lunchtime brings it’s own nightmares – plates, knives (lots, because nobody can reuse a knife for the second time), empty tuna tins, the ties of the bread bag – nothing gets put anywhere but on the benches, ready for Mum to come and sort it out. Yelling, grumbling, steam coming out of my ears… nothing seems to work to remedy the situation.
Besides that example, there’s the continual round of “Mum, can you take me….”, “Can you give me a lift to….”, “Can I have….”, “Where is….” – it’s a never-ending cycle with no room for mundane little things like editing or even more fun, writing some new stuff. Add to that, the organising for going back to school, preparing for the eldest two members of the Gang heading off to Tertiary education, the normal household stuff and there don’t seem to be a lot of spare minutes in the day.
But having blamed the Gang of Four and a lot of other things for my indiscretions, I have to admit to my most cardinal sin. Procrastination. Even when I do sit down, thinking I’ll do some work, I manage to fiddle-faddle around to the point where I don’t get anything done. Editing is not my favourite thing. Granted, I don’t think it is any writer’s favourite thing. Consequently, when I sit down to do some editing, I manage to do lots of other things. The number one procrastinating enabler? Facebook. I’ve been known to work through a paragraph… go and check Facebook… work through the next paragraph… go and check Facebook… make a cuppa… go and write some comments on Facebook… type a couple of amendments .. go and play a quick game on Facebook…
You can see a pattern developing, can’t you?
Add to this, my love of reading. And research for books to be written in the future. And watching antique shows on Foxtel. And daydreaming about the characters in my head, whom are (im)patiently waiting for me to get around to their stories.
I’ve been editing the second book in the series for some time now. I have to have it ready for my beta readers by the beginning of February, in preparation for publishing in March. I had eighty pages left to do on Monday, seventy eight pages left to do on Tuesday, the same amount to do on Wednesday (yeah, it was a bad day!), fifty pages left to do by last night (yesterday was a good day!). And here on Friday evening, I still have a grand total of fifty pages to get through.
On that note, I should go and do some editing… hmmm, haven’t checked Facebook for a while….
D.S. Williams 