Procrastination is an art. Those of us who are really good at it can disguise procrastination in literally hundreds of ways.
Checking Facebook seems to rise to the top of the list for many writers. I also like to organize my desk or rearrange my documents folder. I can get lost calculating my average word count per day and then figuring how long it will take me to finish my book. I’ve perfected cleaning the cracker crumbs out of my keyboard. Today I am procrastinating by writing a blog post on great procrastination skills.
My single most effective procrastination tool is – research.
You start out simply wanting to verify that the perfect gun for your villain to use would be a semi-automatic. You do a quick search on revolvers vs semi-automatics. Then, you stumble on a tiny bit of information that the revolver on your screen will shoot both bullets and shotgun shells. What?!?
That tidbit leads to more searches about bullets and shells. And then back to the gun that will shoot both shotgun shell and bullets. You visit the Taurus website to learn more about that gun. Then, you just have to visit the Smith & Wesson website to learn more about theirs. Oh, wait! Did you know that the Smith & Wesson allows you to load both types of ammunition at the same time? Would that help my villain? Why would he want to shoot shotgun shells out of a handgun? That leads to more searches.
You get my point. Before you know it, you’ve spent an hour or more on research. While you know quite a bit more about handguns, you haven’t written one sentence.
How can you avoid using research as a procrastination tool?
I’m not going to suggest that you get hard core and install blocking software that would block access to Facebook or Twitter, but I have heard of some writers taking that big step. Admitting that you do procrastinate is a good step towards conquering procrastination. Perhaps you can find an effective way to stop procrastinating.
If not, here is what I do. Maybe it will help you:
When I hit a spot in my book that makes me lean back in my chair and wonder whether my character needs this or that, or which item would fit best, I no longer let myself research it. In the past, I would open a connection to the internet and go straight to Google. Now, I simply hit the “Enter” key a few times (to give me white space that I can easily find). Then I type a note. It’s usually something simple like “Need to decide best gun for my villain”. I bold that text and hit the “Enter” key five more times. I can then just keep writing.
Using this technique, I am able to keep writing. I haven’t completely cured my research procrastination, but I do find myself taking fewer “research” breaks. And, my average word count per day has gone up.
Recognizing that you are doing something wrong is the first step in fixing it. Do you use research as a procrastination tool?
