I just found out I was accepted into Sarah Manguso’s memoir master class at the Taos Summer Writers Conference. Manguso wrote a fantastic book called The Two Kinds of Decay, and this July, along with five other students, I’ll hopefully soak up at least a microcosm of her brilliance. She’ll also read our manuscripts and offer feedback, and I’m thrilled for all of it.
If you add that to my other hard deadlines – first draft due to my thesis advisor February 5, first revision due mid-April – you’d think I’d be racing to the computer every day to crank out the remaining chapters. I was a freelance writer for years and do well with deadlines like these, so you’d think I’d be on track, piling up the pages toward my goals.
You might also think that since I only work three days a week at the Feminist Press and the semester doesn’t start for another month, that I’d be sailing through the days, focused on the work but feeling relaxed and open.
You can see where this is going.
Because of course, that isn’t what’s happening at all. Sure, I got some writing done in Taos, although toward the end of my stay writing had fallen in priority below hanging out with friends, watching movies, naps, and uh, more naps.
I’m sure one of you kind readers will chime in and say, But, Deonne! You had an exhausting semester, and you needed the rest! Don’t be so hard on yourself!
To which I’d reply, that’s very sweet, thank you. Now, would you mind finishing my damn memoir? Because apparently I can’t be bothered. I’ll be over here, toasting a bagel and checking for new episodes of Glee.
It struck me that it’s one thing to write detailed lists of goals for the coming year (see any of my recent blog posts), and another thing entirely to move toward them. Which is my point. (And you thought today’s post was just me whining! Ha, ha!)
I guess what I’m looking for is commiseration, inspiration, or even a virtual kick in the ass. Tell me, tell us: How do you deal with procrastination?
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15 comments:
I procrastinate longer.
But Deonne! You had an exhausting semester, and you needed the rest! Don’t be so...oh, deja vu... Hm, well, I look to you for inspiration - no pressure - so all I can do is commiserate a bit. Or perhaps give you some of your own advice?
From my entry, "keeping up with yesterday" you write: From one relapser to another ... Start fresh in the morning. Make tea, turn off the internet, and get shit done. Take a break, eat something delicious, listen to five songs, then make more tea and get more shit done. When night rolls around, congratulate yourself on a productive day, and relax. Sleep well and long. Wake up and do it all over again.
I know you can do it, and other people do too (eg. the people that accepted you into Manguso's writing class!)
Sorry, you got the procrastination gene from me. I can put things off longer than you can. Oh, but wait, I don't have a book to finish.
Let me just add that Glee is a very entertaining show, and bagels...mmmm
I too am trying to overcome my lifelong procrastination habit. I have no answers, but will be interesting in yours!
Y'know this is the problem I have with "workshops."
I got two months in residency at Wurlitzer in Taos and worked my butt off.
Kick in the butt? Here goes.
Maybe your memoir isn't compelling enough, even to you. "Apparently I can't be bothered."
How old are you anyways? Are you old enough?(More kicks in the butt.)
Perhaps there's not enough of "at my back I always hear/time's winged chariot drawing near."
What have you sacrificed to write? What DIDN'T happen? What do you owe and to whom for the privilege or writing seriously? A child you didn;t have, a career you forfeited, time with a beloved?
Get yr ass in gear, Deonne.
A swift kick can bring something from sleeping to wide awake. If you don't do it yourself, and the universe thinks you should be writing, the universe will administer as hard a kick as it thinks you need. Right? I suspect you would prefer it on your own terms. Get cracking!
(Now promise you will reciprocate when I call you for it.)
Destiny
PS: There will be no new episodes of Glee until April 13th...no excuses!
Ebb and flow, baby. Make food, store food. You'll procrastinate until you can't stand it anymore and then you'll sit down and write. In the meantime, give your mind room to wander. It'll go back to the writing the second it's ready. It's how you're made.
Barb
ps-you may want to fritter away some time at AROHO'S book club discussion.
pss-Congratulations on the Taos Summer Writer's Conference!
Such great news about the master class, Deonne! Congratulations!!!
This will sound really cheesy but here's what I did when I was bogged down with both self-doubt and procrastination.
1.) I saged my writing space.
2.) I begged my spirit guides for help (and the kick in the pants)
3.) I bought a new crystal for my woo-woo altar
4.) I practiced visualing how fantastic it would feel to finish the book, revise the book, find an agent, suffer through rejections, sign a contract and start from scratch.
You have so many of us out there feeling the same things. I hope that gives you some comfort.
XXOO
Mandy
Durango gave some excellent advice. Visualizing works in so many great ways when you are a writer. On the other hand, sometimes ideas just need to percolate.
How excited are you about the memoir? Is this the right time? I have thought (and written) about my memoir for some time now, but I am nervous about my in-laws reading it someday. (I was no the 1st 45 years of my life!)
I have been trying to finish the final revisions of a novel recently. I kept thinking I should not even think about anything else, but now that I know what my next story is going to be about, I can't wait to get these revisions done so I can start working on it!
Come check out my Facebook group, Sherrie Miranda, Kaizen Muse Creativity Coach. I've been so helpful to others that I've decided to hire a coach for myself.
All the best to all of you. Don't forget to post when you get the story done! ;-)
I meant to say "I was no angel the 1st 45 years!)
Deprive yourself the computer. Draw a picture. Buy cheap paper at 7 - 11 or a Duane Reade to write notes in, reorganize and rewrite notes in. Don't spend money you have been saving or putting away for a trip. Share some food with an animal, pigeon, squirrel, house pet. Food you would have eaten but now can strike up to less is more for your diet. Sharpen all your number 2's realizing wouldn't it be fun to sketch and write with an HB instead, realizing maybe it leans more toward the sketchy side but you didn't really know that or wasn't sure. Browse the strand for a forgotten poetry book, but don't spend more than 4 dollars on any one item. Buy a candle you know the scent you hate, so you can be on the ready to give a gift to someone you also, well thats such a strong word. Forget the candle idea. Don't answer the phone on the second ring and put aside a time of day where you refuse to answer the day and ask whoever is there if they couldn't just come back at a later time. Set the time and do the work. It is why they call it W O R K.
You people are the greatest. Thanks for the comments, they helped.
Deborah – Ha! I feel a Who Can Put It Off Longer? contest coming on.
Gigglepeppers – Did I actually say that? Because it sounds much smarter than I feel these days. Thanks for the reminder. (No new Glee until 4/13? Criminal.)
Janet/Mom – Damn your genes! But why, oh why, didn’t I get the one that made you a supremely gifted seamstress/woodworker/painter/card maker/upholsterer/everything else craftsperson?
Michelle – I have a theory about why I’m suddenly so skilled at procrastinating, though it may or may not help you. We'll see. I’ll probably blog about it tomorrow.
Destiny – Like I said, I have a theory about why I’m putting off the writing, but I really appreciate the tough love. I promise to do the same for you if needed. Kapish! (Sound of a whip cracking, somewhere, some day.)
Barb – Thanks for the congrats! And the reminder that rushing isn’t part of the process. (Especially since I have no editor breathing down my neck – a blessing and a curse.)
Erika – Thank you! I’m already excited, and it’s six months away.
Mandy – It does make me feel better to know I’m not the only one, and I appreciate your suggestions. I especially like the visualization idea – here’s me, finishing the draft then doing a combo Snoopy dance, Homer Woohoo!, and high-fiving my (imaginary) roommates.
Sherrie – I am excited about the memoir, in that Holy Hell This Is Hard But I Really Want to Write It Anyway way. And I know what you mean about your in-laws – the idea of my family reading it is a bit daunting (Hi, Mom!). I’ll check you out on FB, thanks, and best of luck with your novel. Keep us posted.
Tusk – All good ideas, thank you. Browsing a new (used) poetry book is an especially great idea to get the juices flowing. What’s also worked for me is looking at art, and there’s no excuse for me not to go to the Met, since I can practically see it from my front stoop. I can’t see Russia, though. Sigh.
Now that you've answered your many coaxers of the foreboding work, you've set your plates upon your table with.
I like that saying much better than you've made your bed now lie in it.
I'm here on solely selfish reasons today, to say "today I'm 52" Yeah, I joined AvantGuild for God knows what reason but for the fact that next year, with my failing memory, I can say oh yeah that's right, I gave myself that last year for my Birthday on my Birthday, should I re-up. I won't know till next year.
And if you need someone to make your Bed, my first girlfriend from 1976 use to tell me her mom says if you can't bounce a quarter on the sheets then it's not made right. She also had this really keen way of putting the pillows in there covers. This same trick works well on feet and their socks. Whats the correlation with pillows and feet. Has to be the way you tuck them in and fluff them up?
I'm not sure if I read it in one of your Blogs, that you got rid of your Bunny slippers at around the same time a relationship was building, but maybe its time to bring them out of the closet or buy a new pair if God forbid you did the awful to them, but put your feet up with your next writing session. Your sexiest that way and the creative juices will ooze out of you onto the paper or electronic page wherever it is you store your ideas. I'm betting on it. (another way of saying I have all the confidence in you, even if you don't). I'm counting on it. Why are we counting and what are we counting?
The cold hard facts Tusk, the cold hard facts. Ohh there I go talking to myself again. That's Life on the Surface.
Tusk - Happy belated birthday! I hope someone was kind enough to give you a new pair of bunny slippers, because even though I never had a pair, now that you've said it I think at least one of us should have some.
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