My love/hate relationship with procrastination

Here's the thing, for me, about the writing life. On good days I jump out of bed ready to spill a couple of thousand words onto the page before breakfast and by the time I call it quits for the day I've gone beyond the scene I first envisioned and have knocked out an entire chapter or two, in other words, I'm on fire.

I vaguely remember having one of those good days a few years back.....

Most of the time I do absolutely everything on my to-do list before I even start writing. And then check Facebook just once more. And my email. And do a little online shopping. Maybe call a friend. In fact, I doubt I'd get more than a hundred words written a week if I didn't set regular "office hours" when I've pledged to keep my bum in the chair and work.

The problem is, there's not a lot of external accountability in this job. Sometimes I have a deadline a few months off, but I'm not sure the sky would fall in if I didn't make one of those. Nothing like the consequences I'd encounter if I blew it in the not-really-so-very-evil day job. Instead, getting the words down and growing my stories requires an internal commitment, a responsibility to the story itself and to the people who might want to read it.

People talk about writing as a passion. It's certainly that. And for me it's a necessity, even an addiction. I go a little crazy when I'm not working. But sometimes I just don't want to. The trick to consistent production is to have that little tantrum, then sit back down and get to work. Still learning that. But at least I'm trying.

What keeps you going when things aren't smooth?