PROCRASTIWORKING by Joylene M Bailey

 

~~~~~

I learned a new word on the weekend. 

Procrastiworking.

I'm sure you've guessed what it means: avoiding the work you need to complete by doing other work instead.

I'm guilty of it. Sitting at my computer, blank page glaring, or feeling stuck in the muck of a problematic passage, I suddenly have the urge to get a drink of water. On the way to the kitchen I remember that I meant to cull through my closet last month. Now's as good a time as any. When half my closet has been dumped on the bed I come across an ancient flip phone. Could I still get cash for this thing, I wonder? Before you can say DON'T DO IT, I'm searching the internet for flip-phone forums. Which, of course, leads to spiralling into the void of YouTube videos on our late Queen's surviving Corgis.

Is any of this helpful for my work in progress?

~~~~~

~~~~~

The one-day writing summit I attended on the weekend highlighted procrastiworking. Only, they described it differently. They suggested that instead of pulling your hair out as you force the right words from your brain through your fingers onto the page, do something else.

Do anything else rather than striving on a [work in progress]. You free your mind to make connections not otherwise made. 

-- Terry & Eric Fan --

writers and illustrators

Hmmm ... I'm still trying to get my head around doing anything else as being helpful. Maybe?

I was definitely on board later in the day, when someone suggested that doing something else creative helped to open up new creative pathways in the brain so that when you go back to the page, creativity for the original project is refreshed, and you can come to the problem in a new way. 

For me, that creative outlet is sewing, specifically quilting. My mood shifts to calm and joy as soon as I lay my eyes on the fabric I'm about to use. And, at whatever stage I'm at in the quilting process, whether choosing the fabric colours & patterns to match or contrast, cutting out or assembling the pieces, machine-stitching or hand-sewing, my mind is busy working out puzzles. Puzzles in the quilt itself, puzzles in my life and in my work. So that when I go back to the work on the page, often the tweaks I need to refine and perfect the problematic passage are right there at the front of my mind.    

It might seem like procrastinating but in actuality it's still working on the WIP.

~~~~~

I like this positive spin on the term procrastiworking. Not only does it take away the burdensome guilt of doing something other than writing, it excites and fulfills me to know that while my hands might be doing something else, my brain can still be working on my writing project. I'm not wasting time. Maybe not even when I'm searching out the names of the late Queen's two living Corgis.

Incidentally, Muick and Sandy are well and happy, and living in the home of Prince Andrew, Sarah Duchess of York, and five Norfolk Terriers.  

~~~~~

All photos above courtesy of Pixabay.com

Joy doesn't have any Corgis, but she does have a Swiss Mountain Puppy, and a Cowboy who loves them both. She writes and procrastiworks from north of Pigeon Lake, Alberta. Find more of her Joy-infused view on the world at Scraps of Joy.

   

My Work In Progress - The Journey of a Young Adult Fantasy - M. Laycock

Yes, it’s fantasy! This might seem like a departure for me from what I usually write, but the truth is I’ve been working on this one for years and it’s had quite a journey. I began writing it while living in the Yukon. I still have letters (yes, it was before the days of emails) that went back and forth between myself and some people who read the first draft. If you have been around the Christian publishing industry for a while you may recognize the name Bernard Palmer, author of the Danny Orliss books. A neighbour of mine knew him and offered to send it to him.

I was not raised a Christian so I had no idea who he was but I typed it up on an old typewriter and sent it off. He and his wife both read it and sent back a wonderful letter of encouragement. Marj said she started off reading to edit but then just got caught up in the story and read because she wanted to know what was going to happen. I was thrilled and decided to try and have it published. Fantasy was a hard sell back then, but I found an editor who was interested in publishing it. It came so close, but then the publishing house shifted focus and dropped their fantasy imprint. It was one of my first rejections and I was crushed. So I put the story away and didn’t touch it for some time.

But I kept being drawn back to it and sent it away again. Once again, it came close but was rejected. Then, a couple of years ago I heard that one of the top agents in the U.S. was going to be at Write!Canada and was willing to look at a few manuscripts. So I submitted the first 3,000 words and it was one of the few picked to be discussed by that agent. Turned out he loved it and wanted to see the whole manuscript. So I sent it off and waited. And waited. And waited. I emailed a few times but got no response so when his colleague was at that same conference the next year, when I pitched another story to her I told her about the fantasy that still had not been formally rejected. Soon after I had an email telling me, regretfully, they were not going to publish it. Again, the disappointment stung but this time I didn’t put it away I just kept working on it.

When Helping Hands Press invited me to be part of Kathy Macias’ 12 Days of Christmas series I was thrilled. It was a lot of fun working with a group of writers and the response to the stories was encouraging. My story, An Unexpected Glory, made it into the top reaches on Amazon. So I approached the publisher about doing this fantasy series. He responded right away and the process began. We hope to release the first book, which will come out as volumes of ebooks, in June. I am over the moon excited about seeing this one finally out there. :)

Now, to answer the questions Brenda has laid out for us –

Is it a new project or something you’ve been working on?

I guess I’ve already answered that one. :)

How did you get the idea?

The main character took shape as I was hiking in the mountains of the Yukon one summer. I started to imagine what it would be like to discover there were caves deep into the mountains, and it went from there.

What are you discovering as your writing is unfolding?

That sometimes I wish I was a plotter instead of a seat of the pants writer. In some ways it would be so much easier to know exactly where the story is going. But I just can’t seem to do it that way. The story has to unfold as I go. I’m discovering God has a lot to teach me as I write.

When do you plan to have this work finished?

As mentioned, the first book will release sometime in June. The second book is finished in first draft so still needs editing. Only about 1/3 of Book Three is written. I’m hoping to have it completed by the end of the summer, Lord willing. The working title is The Ambassadors Trilogy – first book will be Journey to a Strong Tower.

Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. 

Her Christmas novella, An Unexpected Glory was just short listed in the short story category of The Word Awards, as is her devotional book, Spur of the Moment and two blog posts. Marcia's work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. 

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here. Visit Marcia’s Website

Work in Progress by Lynn Dove

I while ago, a fellow Inscribe writer asked during a blog hop about my current work in progress.  This was my answer:

I don't have a current work in progress...I AM the work in progress!

This past year I've learned that there is so much more to being a writer than actually writing. Did I actually say that? It's true.

In 2010 and the three years that followed, all I thought about was writing and publishing my Wounded Trilogy books. I was so all consumed with that project I forgot I had a family who needed my attention more than my novel needed another edit. I forgot that I needed to eat and get much needed sleep...instead of the unhealthy snacks I munched on while I tap tapped on the keyboard in the wee hours of the morning, causing my son much grief because my office was right next to his bedroom. If I didn't sleep, he didn't either. Sorry Brett. I forgot that I had a life away from a computer.

I stopped volunteering. I stopped going to Bible Studies. I stopped being productive in anything else except what I was accomplishing on my manuscripts. I loved what I was doing but at what cost?

So this past year, I have made a concerted effort to NOT take on another book project. I blog. It's fun, it's rewarding and though at times time-consuming, I'm on my own deadline and I write when I can (and not in the middle of the night) and I try not to create pressure upon myself to meet certain deadlines. It's been wonderful to write about what I'm truly passionate about: my faith and my family!

This past year:

• I've hugged on my grandbabies...a lot!

• I've spent quality time going on shopping trips and lunch dates with my children.

• I've talked to my husband and not laced every conversation with wanting his input on another plot line or character development for another one of my stories. I've enjoyed our being empty nesters and going away on trips together and going "media free" and not being guilty about not connecting and marketing every day on social media.

• I've gone back to teaching Junior High, and spending time with students who challenge me and bless me every single day in the classroom.

So, I AM my current work in progress. Oh, I still write, but I'm not making it the priority this year. I have to keep working on this current project (me) a little longer.



Lynn is a 5X contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.  She enjoys connecting on her award-winning blog: Journey Thoughts, Facebook and Twitter.