The Hardest Thing About Writing Is_____

Here is a short list of things I have done this week when I should have been finishing up the first draft of my current novel.

1. Watched tennis. (But did you SEE Svitolina battle through her first match?)

2. Read Emma Straub American Fantasy

3. Watched Emma Straub’s friend Joey McIntyre perform at the AMAs.

4. Watched hockey

5. Watched baseball

6. Watched Jack Ryan: Ghost Protocol (LOVED the show. The film was meh. And one bit really pissed me off, but it’s a spoiler, so I’ll keep my rant to myself)

7. Cleaned out my underwear drawer

8. Ordered clothes for my fifteen-year-old (then returned the shirts I ordered last week, which were way too big)

9. Scrolled through Instagram

10. Scrolled through Facebook

11. Scrolled through all the people my older son might room with at college his freshman year

12. Changed all the sheets

13. Took photos of the baby dear on our lawn

    

14. Read a random sampling of posts on Substack

15. Wrote this random post on Substack I’m writing right now

In case it’s still unclear, the theme of this post is PROCRASTINATION. There is always, ALWAYS something to do other than writing. And for me, there are TONS of things to do once I get to the home stretch on any project. I know a lot of people have a hard time starting a new thing. I have the hardest time finishing, well, anything. I am one of those writers you hear about who has ten unfinished drafts on their laptop, yes. But I also tend to do the vacuuming and then leave the vacuum out, cord unwrapped and lying across the floor for anyone to trip on, for days. I eat all but the last three bites of basically any meal. (And this has been going on my whole life. I remember my mother telling me she noticed and was fascinated by it when we were sitting in a booth at our local Burger King in grade school, her staring at the moon-sliver of burger and bun left on the wrapper.) Probably, I should ask a therapist what it all means, but the one time I tried therapy I lasted five sessions and then just . . . stopped going.

\When it comes to writing, I believe this habit comes from a slightly different place than the other unfinished business in my life. It comes from doubt. Even though I try so hard not to second guess myself, there’s always doubt. I’m a big outliner and, once I write the outline, I feel like my hard work is done. My outlines are very detailed, so when it comes to writing the first draft, I’ve really thought out plot, motivation, character, even dialogue. The draft is all about filling out the scenes with details and humor and cute outfits and whatever else they might need. But by the time I get to the end of a first draft I’m alway wondering if what I’ve written might actually suck. If that outline was written by some caffeine-hyped lunatic with a bad sense of direction. If everyone will figure out who the bad guy is on page five and the twist I’ve built into the end was obvious from GO.

And that’s when dusting the living room starts to look like a much better idea.

What do I do in these situations? I tell myself exactly what I tell my coaching clients when they can’t get started on something. (If you’re wondering what I’m talking about by coaching, visit Kieran Viola Editorial. YOU MUST TRUST YOURSELF and THERE IS ALWAYS DRAFT TWO. I know I can not get to draft two without finishing draft one. And so I plunk myself at my desk and tell myself “Just write it. Even if it’s bad, just write it. You can always fix it later.”

Also, I bribe myself. Chocolate cake usually works for me, but whatever works for you.

If you’re a writer, or any kind of creative, let’s chat about your go-to butt-in-seat technique. How do you get yourself to stop procrastinating? Leave a comment and tell us!

And, of course, if you’d like to pre-order my next thriller, which you will HOPEFULLY not figure out on page five, here’s a link: THE GETAWAY