I’m not a poser. I’m not one of those wannabes who just says he’s a writer but who never actually writes, that much should be clear. However, to be fair, I can be a king of procrastination. In the struggle to find balance in “research” versus pen-to-page, my scales tip a bit too heavily to “research,” and the word has a broad definition. I am a fits-and-spurts writer, sometimes going weeks without a pen- or keystroke, then kicking out tons of pages in a few days. Yet my productivity is on par with the more disciplined writers who claim to write on regular schedules. I’m not sure how that works out… One of the problems with dedicating your life to writing is that each moment spent on NotWriting has a small twinge of guilt tied to it. I WANT to become the kind of person who has a certain number of hours dedicated each day, and who therefore can enjoy his NotWriting time, but typically haven’t found sufficient regularity of schedule. NotWriting sometimes has a mind of its own.

At any rate, I’ve taken the last couple of weeks to concentrate on organizing and arranging my workspace, eliminating many of the excuses that have kept me from being productive this year. Sure, I’ve written some shorts that I’m happy with, and I now have a swell blog to keep my writing sharp, but my longer projects have been stalled, and I want to unstall them. Since moving into a new place on New Year’s, I’ve had my computer set up on a dresser. With the departure of a housemate recently, I inherited a proper desk. This has meant a complete rearrangement of my room into what my housemates call an office with a bed in it. Perfect. Plants and lighting and better use of shelving has made it a place you actually feel comfortable spending long amounts of time. We also (finally) got a DVR installed, so if inspiration strikes during Lost’s time slot, I no longer need to make a choice. (DVRs really are the pinnacle of human invention, right up there with the light bulb and the cotton sun dress.)

I was trying to explain these improvements to a writer-director friend last week, and she held my feet to the fire, saying I should need nothing more than a flat surface to be productive. Yes, I recognize that my obstacles have been nothing but excuses. Yes, I should be able to write all the time. But I have always been best able to be productive when I first have handled my other stresses, cleaned my room, put gas in the car, etc. And even if they are just excuses, the point is that I have now eliminated those excuses, so there is literally nothing to keep me from concentrating on productivity. Meanwhile, where are her pages, hmmm?

I do still need to find a really great office chair, instead of the ergonomic kneeling one I got to fit in front of the dresser. I also need a friendlier keyboard, due to the repetitive motion injury I gave my right index finger, via a four-month indulgence in Everquest II. Those last improvements will likely have to wait. Next week is my turn to submit something to my super-awesome writers group, so it’s time to crank out the pages. I’m going to try to finish the second half of my nerds road trip movie over the next five days. Commence super productivity. Wish me focus.

Perhaps, after this draft is done, I can take a real look at my schedule and set myself up to be one of those disciplined people. That or watch seasons one through five of 24 on DVD. You know. For research.

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