Getting Past Procrastination

It’s been several years since I posted about how I sometimes procrastinate when I should be working on my novel. But I’ve found myself in procrastination mode for the past couple of weeks.

Some reasons are good reasons to procrastinate. A grandchild’s visit, for example.

Other reasons are not good reasons to procrastinate. Such as not remembering where I am in the story. Or wondering how I’m going to get to the next turning point. Or deciding I should clean my office instead of writing.

Given my other family and homeowner obligations, I can only count on two or three blocks of time most weeks when I can work on my novel. Sometimes I can get four or five blocks, and then I count myself fortunate. Some weeks, I am lucky to get one. And when we have visitors or when we are traveling, I get no time to draft the novel, and I have to scrape to get my weekly blog post written.

For the past week or so, I’ve been working my way out of this most recent slump. I now have been writing long enough that I have a few techniques I can use. If I will use them instead of wallowing in procrastination.

What are my techniques?

1. I can edit the last few chapters that I’ve written the draft. Editing gets me back into the story and I can then move forward.
2. I can plot the next couple of chapters to determine what comes next. When I’ve done a good job of planning the novel in advance, this work is already done (or at least partially done), and I’m less likely to get stuck in the first place. (Like when I wrote the entire first draft of what became Safe Thus Far during NaNoWriMo in November 2020.)
3. I can switch to some other writing or marketing task, like drafting a blog post or setting up an Amazon ad. That improves my morale and makes me productive, even if the novel remains stagnant. This only lasts so long, because working on my novel in progress is what I enjoy most.
4. I can just start writing and see what happens.

I’ve used all these techniques in the last week. I’m pleased to say that I have managed to write 3,000 words this week—less than my desired pace, but something.

This too shall pass.

What do you do to move beyond procrastination?