Writers are the worst procrastinators. Do you agree with this statement? And how do you fix it?

[HellerFeed]

As the title states, does this statement holds any truth, or its just me?!

As a noob writer myself who enjoys writing, I just have the bad habit to procrastinate on starting the writing a new chapter.

Once I do get into writing I would end up finishing a chapter in a sitting.

But the only part I have trouble with is with the INTENT to write a new chapter.
For some reason, whenever I am about to sit down and write a new chapter, I really want to watch this cool YouTube video, or suddenly I have this urge to clean my desk, or I want to just play one game on my phone/pc, etc.

It's really annoying and I don't know how to get past this.
I only do get a chance to write on Sunday due to work. If I miss Sunday, I have to wait till the next one.

So what do you guys do to get over this?
How do you guys stay motivated? How do you churn out chapters?
What's your mantra?

 

[Jemini]

Only the bad ones.

Writing is a discipline in which you are only accountable to yourself. Therefore, the only way you are ever held to account is if you hold yourself to account.

All of the really successful writers make a rather disciplined schedule for themselves. The successful writers will set up deadlines, and have a strong writing pace that they maintain.

The pattern I have seen is that the ones who are writing on as a side gig will try to get 2,000 to 6,000 words worth of chapters out per week. The really successful writers who are earning enough to write full time will average more like 2,000 words per day.

When you are writing at that level, the effort you put in between writing and plotting really does turn your writing into a legit full-time job. I have found personally that I can write 2,000 words in around 2 to 4 hours. However, that does not account for the time I put into editing and plotting, as well as various other efforts I put into improving the quality of my work.

If you add it all up, you can easily see how you can spend 8 to 12 hours per day on your writing if you are pushing out daily releases. And, that's very much the kind of effort you need to put in with writing in order to actually make the real money off of it.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

 

[BigHoodieBoy]

Tip on not how to procrastinate: Procrastinate your procrastination

 

[Plantorsomething]

As the title states, does this statement holds any truth, or its just me?!

As a noob writer myself who enjoys writing, I just have the bad habit to procrastinate on starting the writing a new chapter.

Once I do get into writing I would end up finishing a chapter in a sitting.

But the only part I have trouble with is with the INTENT to write a new chapter.
For some reason, whenever I am about to sit down and write a new chapter, I really want to watch this cool YouTube video, or suddenly I have this urge to clean my desk, or I want to just play one game on my phone/pc, etc.

It's really annoying and I don't know how to get past this.
I only do get a chance to write on Sunday due to work. If I miss Sunday, I have to wait till the next one.

So what do you guys do to get over this?
How do you guys stay motivated? How do you churn out chapters?
What's your mantra?

Writers are writers, everyone’s different. I find it weird to consider it procrastinating, since you aren’t obligated to do it at all unless it’s your job.

 

[Vnator]

Advice from the author Jim Butcher: Write like you have a mortgage payment/rent coming up. Even I don't have one, but I pretend I do to get words out faster.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Good writers don't procrastinate. They write until their hands hurt.

 

[Maldon]

I procrastinate a lot, but since I love making stuff, I often start a new project that will keep me busy for a while.
Hell, I only started writting because I was procrastinating a gamedev project I was working on.

I try not to procrastinate, but I don't really force myself too, this is just a hobby after all.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

As the title states, does this statement holds any truth, or its just me?!

As a noob writer myself who enjoys writing, I just have the bad habit to procrastinate on starting the writing a new chapter.

Once I do get into writing I would end up finishing a chapter in a sitting.

But the only part I have trouble with is with the INTENT to write a new chapter.
For some reason, whenever I am about to sit down and write a new chapter, I really want to watch this cool YouTube video, or suddenly I have this urge to clean my desk, or I want to just play one game on my phone/pc, etc.

It's really annoying and I don't know how to get past this.
I only do get a chance to write on Sunday due to work. If I miss Sunday, I have to wait till the next one.

So what do you guys do to get over this?
How do you guys stay motivated? How do you churn out chapters?
What's your mantra?

Be consistent, start writing early in the day, and know motivation is a fucking scam

 

[BlackKnightX]

As the title states, does this statement holds any truth, or its just me?!

As a noob writer myself who enjoys writing, I just have the bad habit to procrastinate on starting the writing a new chapter.

Once I do get into writing I would end up finishing a chapter in a sitting.

But the only part I have trouble with is with the INTENT to write a new chapter.
For some reason, whenever I am about to sit down and write a new chapter, I really want to watch this cool YouTube video, or suddenly I have this urge to clean my desk, or I want to just play one game on my phone/pc, etc.

It's really annoying and I don't know how to get past this.
I only do get a chance to write on Sunday due to work. If I miss Sunday, I have to wait till the next one.

So what do you guys do to get over this?
How do you guys stay motivated? How do you churn out chapters?
What's your mantra?

Admittedly, I’m one big procrastinator when it comes to writing. Part of it is because I don’t have any plan when I write, so I have to figure things out as I go—use a ot of brainpower to keep things interesting and make sense.

So, I kind of just wait for a moment when a motivation hit me hard—it really happens, and a lot of times as well if you know where to look for it.

It usually happens after I watch an anime, read novel, or play a video game. An inspiration just strikes me hard, making me want to start writing right away. And when I do, I find myself writing very smoothly and very fast. There’s no bump in the road, I just keep on going until I finish.

Once I finish writing, I feel a euphoric sense of accomplishment course through me. It feels really good.

After that, I either post the chapter or just leave it there.

And after that, the reality kicks in again—back to the world of procrastination…

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Try having a baby. Then you're too busy holding your nipple in its mouth to even think about writing.

 

[Jemini]

Try having a baby. Then you're too busy holding your nipple in its mouth to even think about writing.

That's not called procrastination. That's called life.

 

[AliceShiki]

As the title states, does this statement holds any truth, or its just me?!

As a noob writer myself who enjoys writing, I just have the bad habit to procrastinate on starting the writing a new chapter.

Once I do get into writing I would end up finishing a chapter in a sitting.

But the only part I have trouble with is with the INTENT to write a new chapter.
For some reason, whenever I am about to sit down and write a new chapter, I really want to watch this cool YouTube video, or suddenly I have this urge to clean my desk, or I want to just play one game on my phone/pc, etc.

It's really annoying and I don't know how to get past this.
I only do get a chance to write on Sunday due to work. If I miss Sunday, I have to wait till the next one.

So what do you guys do to get over this?
How do you guys stay motivated? How do you churn out chapters?
What's your mantra?

Nah, that's not just about writers. Anyone that works at home-office with a flexible schedule suffers from that. Ignore the people talking about how "only bad writers procrastinate", this is nonsense. Professional writers struggle with procrastination too, but they also learn how to deal with their procrastination, otherwise they can't make a living.

Learning how to deal with procrastination is a very tough skill to learn, and that can be made tougher by medical issues (Such as ADHD and stuff)... Those problems don't affect you nearly as much if you work on a standard job where you need to go to an office, have fixed work hours and whatnot, but... Well, home-office with flexible schedule is basically the doom for anyone that struggles with procrastination.

There is no secret to dealing with that though. Try setting up a schedule, try following it, and keep on doing your best... If the procrastination is seriously affecting your daily life, consider checking up with a psychologist and/or a psychiatrist to get professional help, as you probably need it at this point.

On my case, I suffer from ADHD and have a pretty hard time putting myself to do my translation job (home-office, flexible schedule, basically a horrible environment for someone with ADHD), but I somehow manage as I take my medication daily (and I definitely couldn't manage on the 5 years I tried without medication), so like... Yeah, it kinda sucked really bad, but I'm managing now.

And even then, it's hard to put myself to write after I finish translating, so I don't write much... It's tough to defeat procrastination on both my job and on my dream-job on the same day, but... Hey, I'm trying, and sloooowly making progress and improving my routine. Medication alone isn't enough in the end, gotta also put the commitment into it~

Keep on trying your best~