Friday, May 16, 2008

Procrastination or Writer's Block?

Today's Mood: Optimistic. Today's Music: Guided by Voices - Mag Earwhig. Today's Writing: IFFY. Today's Quote:
"I don't believe in writer's block. All writing is difficult... Plumbers don't get plumber's block and doctors don't get doctor's block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working and then expects sympathy for it?" ~ Phillip Pullman
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Check out this great article by Slate magazine that talks about the difference between writer's block and procrastination. The article quotes neurologist Alice Flaherty's attempt at a working distinction between procrastination and block--"A blocked writer has the discipline to stay at the desk but cannot write. A procrastinator, on the other hand, cannot bring himself to sit down at the desk; yet if something forces him to sit down he may write quite fluently."

Given that definition, I think I've suffered both at different points in time. Although any writer's block I've had has been of short duration. Mostly I procrastinate because I'm afraid of writing it and not having it be as good as it is in my head.

I've been reading an awesome book of interviews with Fantasy writers--The Wand in the Word--and it makes me feel not quite so alone. Or crazy. Reading about how all these great writers write in all different ways reminds me, yet again, that there is no RIGHT way to write. And a lot of the writers talk about how hard writing is, so just because I don't find writing easy doesn't mean I can't be a writer. There is hope for me yet!

Anyway, what makes it hard for you to write? Are you a procrastinator or do you have writer's block?

15 comments:

outdoorwriter said...

Sarah;

I fall into the procrastinator group. If something doesn't come together or I get stuck, I leave the piece rather than to keep writing through it. I love all the blogs and forumns because I can write and avoid the stuff I should be writing.

I have way too many interests--all outdoor related. That gives me lots of topics, but then I struggle with the worth of what I might have to say. Most hunters aren't that interested in pileated woodpeckers, scarlet tanagers, etc. I need to explore these non-cinsumptive markets more, but really lack confidence in my photography to accompany the piece.

I'm working on a state by state midwest fall bird hunting forecast. I'm at the mercy of biologists to send me the information. A little nerve racking, but once I get their guesses, I can whip it out fairly quickly.

I had "The Flowing Well" published this month. That made me feel better.

Writing is hard because we have to put ourselves out there, to be vulnerable. We must pick our words carefully, not being too snooty or too simplistic. I don't mind sending a guy to a dictionay once in awhile. I had an editor completely change the meaning when he substituted tassled for tesselated when I described Iowa fields. Corn isn't tassled in October.

For all the time I've been writing, you'd think I'd have more work out there. Your novels represent more words that I've written in my writing career.

smcelrath said...

Larry,

I hear you about the blogs and being about to waste time! There are certain ones I love to read--rather than spending that time writing.

And I'm curious that you said you fall in the procrastination group. When I started this blog, you talked about writer's block.

Did you read the article? It makes me think it isn't good for your first book (or other piece of published writing) to be this huge success. It's too much to live up to. At least I've never felt the need to lie and say my manuscript burned up in a fire!

"For all the time I've been writing, you'd think I'd have more work out there. Your novels represent more words that I've written in my writing career."

Yes, well, notice who has things published. Not me. I may have more words on paper (although I'm not sure about that--I bet you'd be surprised how many words all your articles added up to be), but I have NOTHING published.

I don't know that I picked the novel form. It picked me.

outdoorwriter said...

Okay. I went back and read the article. I saw a lot of my own issues. I still think I'm in the procrastinator group. I think it has more to do with lack of confidence, experience, etc. than looking for perfection. For example, I don't interview many people becuase I don't know what to ask nor do I think I deserve their time. An article on the birthday of the North Country Trail comes to mind. And I know the guy I'd be interviewing. Maybe perfection creeps in because I think someone else could do the piece better.

A case in point. I need to enclose the soffit at my house. I had planned to miter all the corners so everything lined up real pretty. I don't have the necessary carpenter skills, so I don't work on it.

I'm also thinning our wood lot. I don't know exactly which trees to remove, beyond the twisted and diseased, but I try to cut every day. I guess at which trees might be more valuable as timber at some future date and which are more beneficial for wildlife. But a wood pile or wood lot isn't a finished product. If I make a mistake, there's no one to point it out. If my miters aren't straight, everyone will notice.

smcelrath said...

"If my miters aren't straight, everyone will notice."

Yes but will it matter? Probably not to anyone but you.

But I get it--I'm the same way. If I don't try, I can't fail. Slowly, slowly I'm trying to train myself to think of it in a new way: Just starting it is a step toward success. Doing nothing IS failure.

And with writing, so what if it stinks? I can always revise, and revise, and revise..... But I have to have something written down in order to revise. I just hate when the written words don't match what is in my head. That is were I start thinking someone else should write it. But that, too, is a fallacy. No one else can write it. They may be able to write a story about the same thing--but it won't be MY story.

So... warts and all I've got to keep on writing this story. Just like your stories won't get told if YOU don't write them.

I think I need to create a License to Suck.(Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, could be taken for something else entirely. But somehow the word fits.) It would give me the go ahead to suck. It will remind me that no one died from too much wordage, or a lame plot, or flat characters. And eventually I'll get better at it.

Mark Wolfgang said...

Procrastinator. Big time. I barely managed to write this reply.

One thing I do--maybe we all do--is what I call technocircling. That means I'll write this next chapter, but I think I need a new computer first. And I need to update my word processor. And install a new thesaurus. Now I need more memory, and maybe a bigger hard drive, then I'll REALLY get down to some serious writing. And on and on.

Larry, we have two new (to us) birds here. Brown thrashers. Love 'em. They picked up all the sticks in our yard (I was reminded of Eric Neitzel, so I'm naming the thrashers Eric and Shirley), and we could never NEVER believe they knew what they were doing, that they could build a decent nest out of such large sticks. Well, that nest is a phenomenal feat of avian engineering. Fabulous. Now we just have to stay away from it and hope for a little flock of baby thrashers. We saw at least one egg so far.

Mark

outdoorwriter said...

Sarah;

You are absolutley spot on. If WE don't write our stories, who will? Only we have our experiences to draw from, our emotional attachment, our artist's eye. It's kind of like a native prarie planting I was photographing. A truck with three kids went by and yelled, "Hey, it's just a bunch of weeds!" Or an Iowa cornfield crisscrossed with narrow draws of golden-yellow foxtail or a fence post entwined in bittersweet may not be someone elses' idea of beauty, but I sure enjoy it.

I think my carpentry is a lot like my writing. Sometimes the finished product isn't what I see in my head. Maybe that's where the block comes in.

Mark;

That is way cool! Nice names too. Last night I saw a scarlet tanager. I don't see them very often--maybe one a year if I'm lucky.

smcelrath said...

"...technocircling. That means I'll write this next chapter, but I think I need a new computer first."

You crack me up! I do that with exercising--if I get a new workout outfit, THEN I'll be all into it and exercise. Works only once and then I realize that exercise takes time and hurts.

For my writing, the circling is more to do with time. In order to really write, I need a bigger chunk of time. THEN I'll be able to write through the tough parts. At least that what I tell myself.

Mark Wolfgang said...

Sarah, getting a new computer and software before writing is logical. I would NEVER engage in exercise! You're just crazy. :-) --Mark

Mark Wolfgang said...

Larry, the only scarlet tanager I've ever seen was a plastic model I made and painted when I was a kid. I THINK I saw an indigo bunting for a brief instant in a tree just outside my house a few years ago.* I was thrilled to see a few bluebirds in recent years, too. --Mark

*OF COURSE the tree was OUTSIDE my house. What would it be doing inside? Or am I doing too much self-editing here?

smcelrath said...

We get indigo buntings quite often. But I've never seen a scarlet tanager.

And Mark, you said "just outside your house." That is different than "outside your house." To me, just outside means it is very close to the house.

If I wake up during a dream, I find that I start changing it. Does that mean I edit my dreams? :D

outdoorwriter said...

We get an occasional indigo bunting, but have lots of rose-breasted grosbeaks, bluebirds, a few orioles, kingbirds, and several sparrow-like birds and finches. I really enjoy watching vultures soar. The are truly poetry in motion, in spite of their ugly looks and disgusting dining habits.

I'm thinking of a piece on a "man's bird." Kingbirds, cedar waxwings, grosbeaks, rufus-sided towhees just seem more masculine to me than bluebirds, goldfinches, orioles, and others. Wouldn't it be fun to have a birdwatching cookout?

Maybe your dreams are telling you you should be an editor, Sarah.

To my utter surprise and delight, the biologists are responding very well and quickly. I have a 750-word limit to cover eight states and nearly as many species. I'll make my deadline for sure. Hopefully, it will be an ongoing assignment.

Anonymous said...

Sarah, Mark & Larry -- I'm thinking of a new nickname ... PT. Which would stand, of course, for "procrastinator tricia." I think I can procrastinate procrastinating!!!

And I know that it is all based on fear. Fear that it won't be good enough on paper. In my head, it is great. But once it leaves my head and is written ... then it won't be good enough. So I do everything I can to keep it in my head. But that, of course, isn't writing ... maybe it is dreaming, pretending, I don't know. But it certainly isn't writing!

So today, instead of writing a personal essay piece for an online class that I already paid for (which I thought would force me to write), I have cleaned two litter boxes, weeded the gardens, started laundry, and spent the last hour looking at things on the internet.

Oh! Mike just asked me to come help him with something in the garage. Looks I'll have another delay in the personal essay writing.

Another way to procrastinate!!!

Love you all,

~Tricia

Anonymous said...

Tricia here again! Didn't need me long in the garage ... darn it. But I am thinking that maybe my personal essay will be about procrastinating.

Anwyay, my birds (as though they belong to me) ... indigo buntings (the blue takes my breath away), orioles that love not only the oriole feeder but also the hummingbird feeders), hummingbirds (that cause the cats to make funny little noises that sound more like coughing than meowing), rose-breasted grosbeaks (probably butchered that spelling), titmouses, yellow finches, lots and lots of different woodpeckers. It is a pletora of birdwatching and I love every minute of it (great way to procrastinate, too).

Larry, I saw two pileated woodpeckers earlier this spring ... it was absolutely awesome!

Plus, we took out a small pine tree next to the bird feeder and that seems to be keeping the squirrels out of there ... more food going to the birds now.

~Tricia

outdoorwriter said...

Tricia;

Cut an orange in half--the orioles love them. Put it where they can get at it. We have ours on a board on the deck rail. And you spelled grosbeak perfectly.

smcelrath said...

Tricia,

Cleaning out liter pans? Now that IS procrastination! :)