Procrastination

"The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."
- Mary Heaton Vorse

Many writers are all too familiar with the devils of writing: distraction and procrastination. When I first got the idea of writing a book, I’d sit down, and think, “I can’t write until I clean up my desk. While I am here, I might as well pay my bills. All my pencils need sharpening (Although I write on a computer), and now that I am here, I might as well alphabetize my book collection.” By then it was time for lunch, and when I finished eating, it would be time to polish the silver.

And so it went, until I finally understood the advice given by every serious writer: In order to be a writer, you must write. Walter Mosley, Caroline See, and a host of other writers say that you must write just about every day.

For me, daily writing is the only defense against procrastination.