2. The Art of Procrastination
Things to Remember:
•Procrastination is part of the creative process.
•Procrastination is only bad if you create anxiety about procrastinating. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Use it.
•You are both a passive and active channel of information when you write.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
•What procrastination activities contribute to your process? Make a list.
•What procrastination activities are destructive to your process? Make a list.
•How much procrastination time will you allow yourself when you sit down to write? Be specific.
3. The Write Environment
Getting into that alpha state goes hand in hand with another very important aspect of creative writing—the environment in which you write.
Though some people have no issues whatsoever writing in a noisy environment, like a coffee shop or a restaurant, most of us need some relatively quiet space where it’s a little easier to concentrate. I’m generally in the quiet camp, but there are also specific components of the process that I find I can do almost anywhere. Not surprisingly, I tend to be fine in a louder environment for the more active aspects of the job, like brainstorming, concepting, and outlining. On the other hand, I usually need a more serene environment for tasks that involve more passive listening and comprise the heavy-lifting part of the process. For instance, if I’m focused on dialogue, I tend to require a pretty cloistered-type space. Writing dialogue is probably the most passive thing you do as a writer, as you are basically listening to people talk in your head and acting like a stenographer.
Consistency
Up until the day my first child was born, I pretty much always wrote at home. My wife was around here and there, but she was usually busy with her own stuff, so the house was, for the most part, a fairly serene place. Newborn infants, however, are not always very accommodating, as anyone who’s had one will attest. Consequently, when our first little girl came along, I found myself in dire need of a place where I could go to get my “alpha state on.” I could have looked for office space somewhere, but I wasn’t too keen on spending the money, so I continued to pursue other options and eventually arrived at a very attractive alternative.
One of my best friends is an acupuncturist. My ingenious plan was to ask him if I could use his office after hours and write at his desk when no one else was around. Fortunately, he was very amenable to this arrangement. All I had to do was promise to keep the place clean and not stick needles in anybody in his absence. I didn’t know it at the time, but this actually turned out to be a very significant development in my writing life, because now I actually had a set schedule in which I had to write or else I knew I would never get anything done. I could come in every evening at around six p.m. and work as late as I liked. On the weekends, the place was all mine.
The significance of having a place like this is huge. One of the best screenwriters of all time, Woody Allen once said that eighty percent of success in life is just showing up. I couldn’t agree more. I’d also say that it’s a whole lot easier to show up when you actually have a place to show up to. You may not be as lucky as I am to have a friend who’s willing to share his or her space, but you may have other options. Consistency is the key. The best gift you can give yourself as a writer is to find that special spot where you can go, day in and day out, with little or no threat of it suddenly becoming unavailable to you. This is your safe house, your asylum, where your writer gene is always free to express itself.
By the way, my eldest daughter just turned seventeen and guess where I’m sitting right now as I write this? Oh how time flies in the asylum!
Environmental Association
In addition to providing consistency, my buddy’s office also provides me with other benefits (some of them quite unexpected) that have definitely made me more productive.
For one thing, there aren’t any of my own distractions and temptations around (bills to pay, dogs to walk, TV to watch, etc.). Second, I always have to be mindful that I’m a guest and that everything has to be neat, tidy, and presentable when I leave. It is, after all, his place of business, and that must be respected. This simple fact keeps me focused on what I’m there to do, which is to write. But by far the biggest benefit is how I have come to associate the space itself with successful writing. To this day, I literally start to feel the rush of alpha waves come over me as I walk through the door. It’s as if my body is programmed to be productive simply because of the physical location in which I have placed it—which gives me the peace of mind that whenever I come up against a tough creative challenge, I absolutely know that I can solve it when I step into that room.
Changing the Scenery
As much as I cherish working in my buddy’s office, I also think it’s important to have multiple environments, other writing silos where you can work and be stimulated by a change of scenery. As I mentioned, there are times when I will go to a coffee shop or a restaurant, but it’s usually not for more than an hour or two, and it’s usually only to brainstorm or do more high-concept type work. In this case, it’s the change that provides the creative spark I’m looking for, not necessarily the location itself.
I also belong to a place called The Writers Junction, which is a shared office-type space near my home in Santa Monica, California. Membership at The Writers Junction ranges from about $80 to $140 per month, depending on the
