I’ve been having a hard time for the past few days getting into editing my novel. I’m able to force myself to work, but then I come up with any number of excuses to do something else, every other sentence I fix.
Candy Crush Saga is only the tip of the ice cream cone. (Make that a mint chocolate chip Klondike Bar.) How about those dishes in the sink? Or is that another email? And let’s not even mention WordPress stats. And if all else fails and I’ve done everything else I can do, or eaten everything in the house (damn, I just ate tomorrow night’s pork chops… and why do my teeth hurt? Must be the fact that they were still frozen…) I start to notice that my butt’s starting to hurt because I’ve been sitting on it too long.
It has to be time for a glass of wine.
You can see how it goes. I sit down to edit at times like this and I get SO MUCH ACCOMPLISHED! just not any editing. Is it really worth spending three hours just to slice the hell out of two paragraphs that I end up not happy with anyway because I wasn’t really concentrating?
How does anyone get this job done for goodness sakes?!?
lindaghill.com 
June 16, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Lol, I identified with many of your distractions. Editing is not my favorite part of writing and let me tell you I had to discipline myself to stop looking for diversions. I found that I set goals of how much I was going to get done in one day and that way, no matter how many distractions I let captivate me, I knew the clock was ticking and I’d eventually have to assert myself so as to avoid double the work he next day.
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June 19, 2014 at 12:44 pm
I try to do the same, in fact I’ve just really seriously started to set myself a time every day to edit. It makes a huge difference over the mindset that I’ll do it when I get a chance. 🙂
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June 19, 2014 at 8:11 pm
We all need to find our best fit. Eventually we will develop a comfortable rhyhm 🙂
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June 14, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Agree with reading it aloud, taking a break, and also, if you’re frustrated, work on a different section — sometimes the “answers” just present themselves.
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June 14, 2014 at 9:53 pm
Actually with Scrivener it is a bit easier to skip ahead and go back, so I might just try that. Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Just await your moment…it will come and you will be ready when it does. I have total confidence in you…just wait for it.
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June 14, 2014 at 9:35 pm
Thank you! Your confidence is inspiring 🙂 I did manage to get a little done last night, so as it turns out, you were right 😀
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June 13, 2014 at 7:35 am
…everything but the pork chop and you’ve got me. I hear ya, Linda. It’s break time. Don’t worry, you’ll be back on the flip side of this full moon.
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June 13, 2014 at 10:35 am
That’s what it is! The full moon! I’ve heard it’s a rare one this month, too.
Thanks for your commiseration, Maggie. 🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 10:48 am
an don’t forget: Friday the 13th and Mercury Retrograde – a triple threat if ever there was one!
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June 13, 2014 at 10:50 am
Oh no, Mercury’s in retrograde too? It’s only a matter of time before all the electronics go kaboom!
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June 13, 2014 at 10:54 am
Rogers was offline yesterday…
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June 13, 2014 at 10:59 am
Ha! Rogers crashes my computer every time I try to check my account. Worst site ever.
My phone was fine though.
It’ll be interesting to see what goes down today. I’ll be happy as long as it’s not Bell, since they provide my internet ser
😉
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June 13, 2014 at 6:40 am
Been there! Not with editing novels, but other things. All of a sudden boring stuff like ironing and cleaning gets very tempting.
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June 13, 2014 at 10:33 am
I do think it’s good to step away for a while to let our minds rest – just not too much! 😛
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June 13, 2014 at 4:37 am
Answers on the back of a sealed envelope please. xxxx
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June 13, 2014 at 10:29 am
Oh I wish. 🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 6:54 pm
🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 3:24 am
And I highly suggest this background 😉 https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jurawa-design-wolf-1920×1/opdbaaklfgojcgnkhkdccmamlhhhkhfi?hl=en-GB
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June 13, 2014 at 10:28 am
Haha! I love it. Very motivational indeed. Thanks for that, Bee 😀
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June 14, 2014 at 11:25 pm
I am glad you like it. Some might find the language a bit offensive but it is my Chrome background and it works wonders, believe me 🙂 (am up at 3.30 am to do some writing…..)
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June 15, 2014 at 9:52 pm
Ahh! Too early (or late) for me!
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June 16, 2014 at 2:06 am
LOL for me too …
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June 13, 2014 at 3:20 am
Have you thought that maybe you were not ready for that editing at that day and time?
Sometimes we make a plan but our mind and soul don’t agree in same time. Then it is time to do something different, as made you feel happy in another way.
If it is important to do something in one day, then try some meditation first to find yourself and your inner peace.
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June 13, 2014 at 10:27 am
I just try to work when I can – which isn’t very often and won’t be really at all when the kids are off school. But the meditation idea is a good one! Thanks, Irene. 🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 11:07 am
Sometimes we need help to concentrate andI often use meditation 🙂
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June 15, 2014 at 12:29 am
That’s actually a really good advice. It so often works for me and brings me back to what I need or want to do. Thanks Irene
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June 16, 2014 at 2:07 am
Hi Irene and Linda your conversation has inspired a blog post of mine 🙂 http://riverflowing572.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/good-morning-writers-procrastinating.html
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June 16, 2014 at 1:21 pm
Cool. I’ll come and have a read 🙂
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June 17, 2014 at 5:54 pm
Thanks for stopping by Linda. Much appreciated 🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 3:16 am
I should be writing several blog posts…. but look where I am 🙂 You can do it girl!!!!!
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June 13, 2014 at 10:26 am
So can you, Bee! 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement!
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June 14, 2014 at 11:25 pm
Anytime!
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June 13, 2014 at 2:24 am
LoTSSSSSSSSSSSS of self-discipline. Very hard to do i tell you.. very hard 🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 10:23 am
Lots of self-discipline OR get someone to tie me to the chair. 😛
Thanks for the comment, my dear. Nice to see you back again. 🙂
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June 13, 2014 at 12:05 am
Sometimes,switching the eye to the ear helps. Try reading a chapter aloud and listen to what you are saying. You’ll hear things your eye didn’t pick up. You’ll be more aware of repetitions, of grammatical mistakes, of wordiness, of pacing, of sequencing, etc. If you want to record it and listen, you can do that. It affords you a different vantage point.
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June 13, 2014 at 10:22 am
Reading aloud does all that? I had no idea. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks very much, Professor. 😀
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June 12, 2014 at 11:52 pm
I find that when I am in this same situation, I will tell myself to take a break for awhile. Sometimes they are short breaks (1 day off of writing/editing) and sometimes they are long breaks (a few days, to weeks, to a few times, months), but usually every time I go back to my project after this, I am much more focused and have new ideas to bring to the page.
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June 13, 2014 at 10:21 am
That’s probably what I’ll end up doing anyway, since I have kids to look after on the weekend. Thanks for the advice! 😀
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June 12, 2014 at 11:30 pm
Aw shit! And here I thought is was just me.
My house gets Navy Cleaned ever’time I need to finish a serial series of posts.
I throw something out there (which is a serial story), promising “More to Come” then I see the yard needs attention. The dishes need washing, the dog needs a romp, that book I started weeks ago needs to be finally read to the end, and hey! is that dust I see before me?
And on and on and on…
I feel ya Sis.
I truly do.
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June 12, 2014 at 11:32 pm
Oops! “it” not “is”
See? I am so distracted, I cannot even post a proper comment without some typos.
Damnit!
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June 13, 2014 at 10:20 am
Nice to know I’m not alone. And I wouldn’t have noticed the typo if you hadn’t pointed it out – some editor I’m gonna make, eh? 😛 Must be wearing the wrong hat. 😉
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June 12, 2014 at 11:11 pm
I did not do a single thing at work yesterday, except reading jokes , posting a few, reading blogs and music. Thank God it’s Friday. I at least have an excuse today.
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June 13, 2014 at 10:17 am
Must be the weather. 😛
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