Some writing sessions are productive. Words flow from my fingertips onto the computer screen as quickly as I can think of them, and there’s nothing I’d rather be doing. Other times … not so much. Here are some of my favorite ways to procrastinate (number 3 was most apt, today).
10. Re-reading favorite parts of books I liked.
9. Catching up on e-mail.
8. Trying to get the armrests and seat height on my office chair just right.
7. Filing my nails.
6. Inventing complex back stories for secondary and tertiary characters who will probably be cut out of the final draft anyway.
5. Facebook.
4. Reading humorous articles my husband e-mailed links to, then following links on those pages to articles that are less and less funny, until 45 minutes have gone by and I’m watching a YouTube video that isn’t funny at all, wondering how I got to this point.
3. Research, research, and more research! (“How can I possibly start writing a near-future science fiction story without learning everything Wikipedia can tell me about climate change, population trends, and peak oil?”)
2. Reading cookbooks. (I’m not sure how many writers share this one, but for me it fills the role that for others is often filled by television: entertainment that doesn’t require too much attention or engagement.)
1. Extra-long showers (“I’m clean now, but once I get out of the shower I’ll actually have to go work on that story.”)