Rita: How to Stop Procrastinating and Write Your Book NOW©

RITA EMMETT

2331 Eastview Drive  

(847) 699-9950

Des Plaines, IL 60018 

E-MAIL: Rita@RitaEmmett.com                                                                                                                                           

WEB:  RitaEmmett.com

How to Stop Procrastinating and Write Your Book NOW©

by Rita Emmett

What do you do when there is definitely, absolutely, undeniably a book in your heart that aches to be written, but you cannot get yourself to:

vOutline it

v  Title it

v  Research it

v  Organize it

v  Jot notes about it  

v  Start it

v  Continue it

v  Finish it  or

v  Do anything with it.

And sometimes, you won’t even allow yourself to think about it or talk about it because the anxiety produced by thinking or talking about it almost makes you sick. So you keep repeating (to convince yourself? convince others? who knows?) that it’s simply not a priority or that you’d love to get to it but never have the time.

Something keeps popping up that has to be done right away or somebody needs you or any one of a dozen (hundred? thousand?) excuses.

How to begin

Did you ever hear the phrase "As a man thinketh, so he is"? Another way to say it is “Whatever you think about all day long, that’s who you’ll be and how you’ll spend your time”.

If you think about food all day long, you’ll eat. If you think about golf all day, you’ll MAKE time to play golf.

Are you spending time and energy NOT thinking about your book? Have you been deliberately AVOIDING any thoughts about writing your masterpiece?

Fill Your Life with Thoughts about Writing

This is where I found myself as I put off writing what eventually became my first best-selling book. I decided to turn that around and began by brainstorming a list of ideas to ensure that my life would be so full of input about writing that I could not help but think frequently, maybe daily, about writing my book.

Here are some ideas from my list. You could:

1.    Join a writers’ group.  You can often find them at local book stores or libraries. If they don’t have a writers’ group meeting there, ask if they know of any. You might even find a writers’ group on-line.

2.    Buy a book about writing. I read at least two a year. Am now reading one by Stephen King (of all people).

3.    Read the book by Stephen King titled On Writing.

4.    Take a Creative Writing Class.  Try local Non-credit college classes or ask your local library to offer one.

5.    Type up and post signs around your home or office to get thinking about writing. Here are some examples:
“Rita Emmett --- Best Selling Author”
“I’m so happy my book, The Procrastinator’s Handbook, is on the Best Seller List.”
“All the top TV shows want to interview me about my best selling book.” (By the way, once my book was published, I was soon interviewed by Katie Couric, among many others)
“Ahhhhhhh - - the joy of writing a best selling book.”

6.    Print, post and read the daily affirmations page I have included near the end of this lesson.

7.    Print out your book title or book cover (if you have one) and post it over your computer.
If you don’t have a title or cover idea, but you do know your purpose for writing it, print it in big letters and post it where you can see it when you write. This will help to propel you.

        For example:

Ë All over the world, people will blast away their procrastination

Ë My book will bring hope to the hopeless

Ë People who thought they were losers because of their procrastination will become winners because of my book.

8.    Subscribe to Writers Digest (a monthly magazine for writers.)
I don’t  think anybody ever reads the whole thing, but every month there are articles for writing fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, poetry, children’s’ books, e-books and so forth. Read what you choose; only what applies to you. Or/and subscribe to Publishers Weekly. I subscribe to all of these because I not only wanted to sharpen my writing skills; I wanted to learn about the publishing industry.

9.    Buy MP3’s or audio recordings about writing and listen every time you’re in the car. Don’t play anything else till you start writing your book.

10. Buy a poster about writing and hang it on a wall above your computer. After a short time searching for posters, I found one of Snoopy typing away on top of his doghouse. It says: “It’s exciting when you’ve written something that you know is good!” They are available at stores for teachers. I called the local school and got a teacher’s catalog and ordered my poster from there.

Doing It All

I dove into this list and did it all. In between my monthly writer’s group meetings, I was reading magazines and listening to audios about writing every day. It worked like magic. I started to think about, puzzle about and mentally write my book. In fact, I couldn’t STOP thinking about it.

Meantime, I still lived my life:

Ø  Running my business as a Professional Speaker,

Ø  Traveling all over the country presenting Keynotes, Seminars, and Training sessions

Ø  Spending time with our blended family of five adult kids and our seven glorious grandchildren (Now we have nine … the most recent two also are glorious. Imagine that!)

Ø  Traveling with my husband

Ø  Running our household

Ø  Kicking back with friends,

Ø  Volunteering my time for my favorite worthwhile charities, and

Ø  Finding quiet time for spiritual nurturing.

Finally, I realized I had to stop hoping to GET the time to write; now I had to MAKE the time to write. At last the decision was made. It was time to start writing my book. 

NOW is YOUR TIME!  To help you get started, print out these affirmations. You will be surprised how they help. And now, sit down and start writing.

MY DAILY READING

I don’t wait for inspiration. Work inspires inspiration.

Images and words come easily when I sit down to write.

I write daily with excitement, enthusiasm, and confidence.

I do not presume that my audience will understand me, so I make sure to write as clearly as possible.

I support my assertions with specific details, facts, and examples.

I take short breaks as needed during my work periods, coming back fresh & raring to go again.

    I use my time wisely and efficiently, resisting procrastination as best I can.

Everyday, in every way, I’m getting better

and better as a writer.

       Rita Emmett is a "Recovering Procrastinator", a Professional Speaker, and best-selling author of The Procrastinator’s Handbook;  and The Clutter-Busting Handbook.

For more articles on this subject, go to www.RitaEmmett.com

Rita can be reached at 847-699-9950  or REmmett412@aol.com.

      To subscribe to her free monthly “Anticrastination Tip Sheet” with quick short tips & ideas to help break the procrastination habit, go to the first page of her website  www.RitaEmmett.com