Procrastination -- Or how to do anything except write
**Sorry that I'm posting my blog later than usual today. Blogger was having problems No, I wasn't procrastinating. ; ) **
Before I get to today's blog, I thought I'd tell you all about our trip to the grocery store yesterday. As of this morning Tropical Storm Hanna looks like it'll be 40 mph winds, heavy rain, and tornado warnings here in central North Carolina. While that's nothing to sneeze at, it's not much to get worked up about either. Bring in the plants, put the trash can in the garage, and we're pretty much done with our storm prep.
But yesterday, we weren't all that sure (and neither was anyone else), and besides we normally do our grocery shopping on Saturday morning. And if we have 40 mph winds and it's raining sideways, I'd just assume get the shopping out of the way. Folks here aren't worried about Hanna; we've got our eyes on Ike for next week. I mean come on, naming a hurricane after Tina Turner's abusive ex-husband is just asking for trouble.
As a result of getting our shopping done, we now have plenty of canned goods and kibble (canned goods for me and Derek, kibble for the dogs and cat). Oh, and a big, honkin' box of honey buns. No way am I gonna be potentially stuck in the house without snacks. And this week, I've got a sweet tooth. No Cheez-Its.
What fascinates me is what other people get for storm supplies (be it a hurricane or an ice storm). We saw a guy in the grocery store store parking lot who had a different take on hurricane necessities. He had two cases of beer and one bag of chips. I dunno, I think if it were me I'd have sprung for two bags of chips, one for each case of beer, just for nutritional balance if nothing else. Though with the last hurricane to come through here, some friends of ours said they were all set food-wise -- a box of cereal and plenty of rum. And last night at the store, I noticed there was a big run on Goldfish crackers; there were a couple of lonely boxes left at the far back of the shelf, but that was it. Interesting.
Though I'm one to talk. We bought the usual hurricane necessities -- and a "jeweled" hair barrette. Wonder what the checkout guy thought about that? Hey, I needed that hair barrette; it was cute. Though that's not the most bizarre combination of things I've ever bought at the grocery store. Derek and I once went through the checkout with a bottle of champagne and a box of butter. Oh yeah, we definitely got a look from the bag boy. Hey, get your minds out of the gutter -- I was baking cookies. Okay, the champagne was for something else.
Okay, now on to procrastination. The fine art. The sweet science. The bane of a writer's deadline.
I don't remember how I procrastinated before the Internet came along, but I'm sure I found something to lure me away from the humongous manual typewriter I wrote my two "practice novels" on.
Procrastination and writing go hand in hand. Nowadays most writers (including myself) write on computers, and most of those computers are connected to the Internet. Some writers can claim research as an excuse. I can't. I'm a fantasy writer; what I write, I make up. Don't need the Internet for that. That's the main reason why I'm so productive at my family's mountain cabin -- no Internet, no TV, three radio stations. That's it. I get an amazing amount of work done. Hmmm, I wonder why?
To stay on track (and on deadline), I'm taking the "just say no" approach to surfing. I love chatting with my blog/livejournal/yahoo buddies, and I'll admit to being a news addict (and at the moment, a rabid weather addict). When your friends IM you to find out what the weather's doing, you know you're at The Weather Channel's site WAY too much. When I'm online, I lose track of time. I think we all do. Of course the exception is responding to comments on my blog and answering fan emails. I'll always make time for that. : )
Happy Friday! And for those of you in Hanna or Ike's path -- drink your beer, eat your chips, and stay safe & dry. ; )
Lisa
Coming up on tomorrow's Saturday Fun Pic: I'm not sure what I'm going to post yet. Possibly a pic of the greyhounds, possibly an action shot of something blowing sideways down the street. Dunno. Pop back by tomorrow and see what I come up with.
Before I get to today's blog, I thought I'd tell you all about our trip to the grocery store yesterday. As of this morning Tropical Storm Hanna looks like it'll be 40 mph winds, heavy rain, and tornado warnings here in central North Carolina. While that's nothing to sneeze at, it's not much to get worked up about either. Bring in the plants, put the trash can in the garage, and we're pretty much done with our storm prep.
But yesterday, we weren't all that sure (and neither was anyone else), and besides we normally do our grocery shopping on Saturday morning. And if we have 40 mph winds and it's raining sideways, I'd just assume get the shopping out of the way. Folks here aren't worried about Hanna; we've got our eyes on Ike for next week. I mean come on, naming a hurricane after Tina Turner's abusive ex-husband is just asking for trouble.
As a result of getting our shopping done, we now have plenty of canned goods and kibble (canned goods for me and Derek, kibble for the dogs and cat). Oh, and a big, honkin' box of honey buns. No way am I gonna be potentially stuck in the house without snacks. And this week, I've got a sweet tooth. No Cheez-Its.
What fascinates me is what other people get for storm supplies (be it a hurricane or an ice storm). We saw a guy in the grocery store store parking lot who had a different take on hurricane necessities. He had two cases of beer and one bag of chips. I dunno, I think if it were me I'd have sprung for two bags of chips, one for each case of beer, just for nutritional balance if nothing else. Though with the last hurricane to come through here, some friends of ours said they were all set food-wise -- a box of cereal and plenty of rum. And last night at the store, I noticed there was a big run on Goldfish crackers; there were a couple of lonely boxes left at the far back of the shelf, but that was it. Interesting.
Though I'm one to talk. We bought the usual hurricane necessities -- and a "jeweled" hair barrette. Wonder what the checkout guy thought about that? Hey, I needed that hair barrette; it was cute. Though that's not the most bizarre combination of things I've ever bought at the grocery store. Derek and I once went through the checkout with a bottle of champagne and a box of butter. Oh yeah, we definitely got a look from the bag boy. Hey, get your minds out of the gutter -- I was baking cookies. Okay, the champagne was for something else.
Okay, now on to procrastination. The fine art. The sweet science. The bane of a writer's deadline.
I don't remember how I procrastinated before the Internet came along, but I'm sure I found something to lure me away from the humongous manual typewriter I wrote my two "practice novels" on.
Procrastination and writing go hand in hand. Nowadays most writers (including myself) write on computers, and most of those computers are connected to the Internet. Some writers can claim research as an excuse. I can't. I'm a fantasy writer; what I write, I make up. Don't need the Internet for that. That's the main reason why I'm so productive at my family's mountain cabin -- no Internet, no TV, three radio stations. That's it. I get an amazing amount of work done. Hmmm, I wonder why?
To stay on track (and on deadline), I'm taking the "just say no" approach to surfing. I love chatting with my blog/livejournal/yahoo buddies, and I'll admit to being a news addict (and at the moment, a rabid weather addict). When your friends IM you to find out what the weather's doing, you know you're at The Weather Channel's site WAY too much. When I'm online, I lose track of time. I think we all do. Of course the exception is responding to comments on my blog and answering fan emails. I'll always make time for that. : )
Happy Friday! And for those of you in Hanna or Ike's path -- drink your beer, eat your chips, and stay safe & dry. ; )
Lisa
Coming up on tomorrow's Saturday Fun Pic: I'm not sure what I'm going to post yet. Possibly a pic of the greyhounds, possibly an action shot of something blowing sideways down the street. Dunno. Pop back by tomorrow and see what I come up with.
posted by Lisa Shearin at
2:32 PM
4 Comments:
Your storm provisions sound pretty good to me! Not that I've ever been in a storm...not in england :) And you need something nice to brighten the day (the hairclip). Yup, internet is baadddd for procrastination. I become very good at it when I cat sit (so I have constant, reliable internet) and intend to write/study Japanese. Somehow I never end up studying as much as I'd intended...as for writing, well my procrastination tends to be anime :) I just have to watch one more episode....
I hope the storm/s don't hit too hard where you're at. :( Take care.
Oh, and I've started ARMED & MAGICAL. Actually, I started it last night and I'm up to Chapter 9. I'm lovin' it so far. It's my reward for hitting 20k on my WIP this week.
Have a great weekend!
PS. Gosh, the internet can be such a time-sucker. But it's also awesome. I love it! ;)
Yunaleska, yep there's always one more thing that I absolutely have to do before I start writing. ; )
Hi Yolanda, I'm so glad you're enjoying A&M!
I was living in IN when they got a really bad snow storm, 8 inches (don't even go there). The interstates were closed down and we were being told to stay at home. However, I worked at a drugstore at the time and the pharmasist, the manager, and I were the only ones to make it in that day. The state plolice closed down all of the other stores in the area, but not us. We did have a few customers, but the one that I really remember, is the man who came out in this weather and all he bought was a bag of ICE!!! I guess he really must have had cabin fever.
Tine
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