Some behaviour may look like procrastination but ends up being a great writing enhancer.
Sometimes, it’s not just the general peripheries of life that intervene and stop us writers getting anywhere near a desk. Sometimes, it’s the little devil in the head that goes into overdrive and tosses out some of the vagaries of self-doubt that lurk there. One comes out and says, ‘I don’t know what to write about.’ Another says, ‘There’s nothing to write about.’ Yet another says, ‘You’ve got no idea, have you? Just skip it today.’ It strikes me that the little devil in the head just wants to get rid of these pesky critters, like we all do, and it simply purges them periodically. When this happens, there is nothing for it but to get out the old racket and bat them into left field. This calls for the massive manoeuvre that often looks like blatant procrastination but, really, it isn’t. It is merely a counterattack, though I have heard people call this activity ‘filling the well.’
One day, when there was a mass breakout of vagaries, I told myself, as we writers often do, that I was taking a break from writing – though I hadn’t actually started my writing that day. I can remember promising myself that it would just be a short break. Unlike Isabel Allende who goes into her garden shed to work, I went into my garden and simply contemplated the shed. I thought it was looking a bit sad. In my defence, the possum controls the inside of the shed and I have not yet managed to negotiate terms.
Several days later, I will admit to feeling a bit tired and I had also used up all the touch-up paints the housepainter had kindly left behind – whoops! This might have been a mistake. However, I knew that I could trust myself to keep this information confidential for the foreseeable future, so I was not too worried about that. In mitigation, while I might, perhaps, have gone a little over my promised timeframe, I did feel exhilarated from the procrastination – er, the break. As for the shed, I have no doubt that it is still contemplating my utter recklessness. On the other hand, I could nearly swear that, afterwards, it seemed to be smiling at me.
The result of this extended break, however, was that I was raring to go at the end of it. I mean, I was more than ready to sit down at my desk and write about everything: fresh air, paint, and the joy of being crazy and creative. See? That faux-procrastination managed to fool the little devil completely. That should teach it, I thought. At least, until the next time.
So, if you see anyone who seems to be engaging in the misnomer of procrastination, instead of keeping their nose to the grindstone, don’t judge too harshly. Don’t judge yourself either. This much-maligned art can, in fact, be a richly rewarding experience on the path to writing success. Go outside and have a look at your shed – does it look happy?