Procrastination (and procrastination avoidance)

Procrastination (and procrastination avoidance)

I haven’t posted here for some time. It’s not that I don’t have a lot to share — I do! — but, rather, whenever I think to post to my blog I realize that I really should be writing … or revising … or researching …

You get the picture.

For all of the above reasons, this wonderful cartoon on procrastination by Debbie Ridpath Ohi really resonated with me:

Procrastination

Perfect, don’t you think?

More anon … although not likely until the end of April. I’m on a tight deadline to reign in this MS. It’s not due until July 1, but May is going to be taken up with moving-back-to-Canada turmoil, and as for June … our daughter is having a baby! So, given all that, I want to have most of the challenging parts of Draft 6 blocked out before we head north, with only the little fiddly parts left to smooth out.

I hope you have a wonderful spring!

(Back to revising the outline my outline. ;-)

Getting ready for 2015: resolutions on book-keeping & book-making, the post-it To Do and the Seinfeld “Don’t break the chain” methods … or how to write that damned book!

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Last year, I posted a blog with almost this same name—Getting ready for 2014: resolutions on book-keeping and book-making.

I wrote:

We’ve made our resolutions, and one of mine is get to the bottom of the mail in-box three times in the year ahead. Wish me luck.

I’ve gotten fairly good about in-box zero; what I’m not that good at is actually dealing with the emails that I hide away in files with names like “URGENT” “FOLLOW-UP!”

Another resolution is to deliver The Game of Hope ahead of schedule (it’s due December 1). That will take more than luck: that will take constant perseverance!

Bravo! I did manage to do this, sending The Game of Hope to my publisher two days ahead of the due date.

I had other resolutions, of course: keeping my weight down, exercising, etc., which I kept fairly in-line. (I could have done better.)

What I did evolve this year—eventually—were two motivational systems for actually getting things done.

1: The Post-It method

  • My To Do List for the day must fit on a post-it note (and not a big one).
  • Each item should be measurable: i.e. “30 minutes, bookkeeping.”
  • Tasks that are irksome should be introduced in 15-min. chunks. (I.e., said bookkeeping.)

2: The Jerry Seinfeld “Don’t Break the Chain” method

In conjunction with the daily post-it (as well as a more extensive compost-heap of long-term things to do), I’ve started using the Seinfeld method for the one daily task I resist most strongly: exercising. That I’ve finally found a way to actually overcome my resistance is a strong testimonial to the effectiveness of this method.

Here is a snap from my “Don’t Break the Chain” calendar earlier this year:

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Every day I do what I’ve promised (30 minutes on the treadmill, in this instance), I colour in the date. The idea is not to have any gaps—and the visual reminder, for me, is strong.

Seinfeld originally suggested this system for writing. (I wrote about using the Seinfeld “Don’t Break the Chain” method in another blog post: A writer’s routine: how many … hours, days, word?) I highly recommend this system if you want to write very day: just make sure that the daily goal you set isn’t overly ambitious. It’s better to write for 30 minutes a day every day, than to attempt 2 hours a day and fail.

“Don’t Break the Chain” calendars

If you’re going to use the Seinfeld method, you need to print out a continuous calendar. Click to download a printable version of this one I created using PDFCalendar.com:

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Another continuous calendar created by David Seah allows you to make notes:

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The Writer’s Store also offers a calendar to print out: here.


I have a system when it comes to writing a draft: I set a goal of about about 1000 words a day and record my progress in a small Moleskine diary. If you are casting about for a way to keep track, consider this Word Tracking Calendar, also by David Seah.


I was amused to find these very old To Do Lists of mine:

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The colours were random—they did not signify anything. Note the To Do: “figure out the fax machine.” I never did manage that!

My resolutions this year? To finish The Game of Hope and write a solid first draft of The Princess Problem (the working title of the second Young Adult about Hortense). Also: keep up with daily exercise.

And, of course: in-box zero—but without simply filing away the emails to be answered.

Last day in the bunker; looking forward, looking back, looking side-ways

Last day in the bunker; looking forward, looking back, looking side-ways

Today is my last day in “the bunker”—my lovely basement office in our Ontario home. I have another lovely office awaiting in Mexico, but this one (shown above) is my favourite, and I always feel a little sad leaving.

It’s said that “home is where your books are,” and that makes this place home: we’ve books everywhere here.

As soon as I finish this post, I will close the door on this office  until next spring. I’ve tidied it well this year.

On the 1st of November, a little jet-lagged and travel weary, I will unpack my lovely office in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

SMA office

As soon as I have my printer up and running, I will print out THE GAME OF HOPE (working title of The Next Novel). I’ve been thinking about it a lot and am ready to plunge into the next draft.


Other things going on:

I’ve enrolled in Witches, Plagues, and War, a free on-line course in Historical Fiction, offered through  amazing Coursera.org. There are over 15,000 enrolled worldwide. Mind-boggling.

But the main thing is the quality: the course is fantastic. I’m learning and loving it.

Check out all the other Coursera offerings: are they not amazing? I want to drop out and go to school! I want to work toward that long-ago impossible dream of getting a PhD in Comparative Lit!

Maybe when I’m 80 …

I’ve fallen in love … with THE SHADOW QUEEN book cover

Yesterday I was sent an email from Melissa Danaczko, my editor at Doubleday US, with the subject line “cover!” I paused for more than a moment, praying, I confess! “Please, let it be wonderful.”

I had every reason to trust that Melissa—and her team—would produce a wonderful cover, but I’ve experienced a few nasty shocks over the years: a cover showing my blonde heroine with jet-black hair, another of a young woman with her bodice ripped. (No, I do not write bodice-rippers!)

Finally, I opened it, and I am absolutely enchanted:

Shadow Queen

The plan is to emboss the type and screen with gold, which will make it really lush.

Space is left open at the top for a blurb—and I’ve already had some wonderful ones, which I will publish here next.

The interior design is lush, as well:

Title page

Each chapter opens with a baroque letter design.

Don’t you just love it?

Putting the press to bed

Paradise

My most treasured acquisition this year was a limited edition copy of THE PARADISE PROJECT by my good friend and brilliant writer Merilyn Simonds.

That my copy was #1 (!!!) makes it extra special, but this beautiful book is beyond extra special: end papers made from the flowers in Merilyn’s garden, a special plant-related cover paper, block prints by her artist son throughout, pages that need to be sliced open to read: yes, very special indeed. 

And now, a video of that final day, as Merilyn’s husband, writer Wayne Grady, reads a poem he wrote: “We’re putting the press to bed.”

 

Everyone knew it was a special moment … as is each moment you hold this lovely book, as is each word you read. 

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And now, a brief catch-up in GullandLand: I’ve worked myself up to 1000 words a day on the first draft of the Young Adult novel about Hortense. It’s fun, and I’m enjoying it. I’m writing every day, which is key—on “free” days I commit to 100 or 500 words. No excuses! 

Any day now I’ll see a cover for THE SHADOW QUEEN. ARCs (Advance Reader Copy) are in preparation. I survived the massive Author Questionnaire. Now it’s time to start thinking about acknowledgements. (Always the last bit to be written.) 

I’m reading massively: Pride and Prejudice, Astray, The Dark, plus any number of How To books and research texts on my Kindle ap.