Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Five Things Writers Can Do Instead of Writing

by Pat Stoltey


1. Memorize a poem

2. Listen to a meditation CD

3. Take silly photos



4. Crochet granny squares

5. Chop up a chocolate bar, mix it with peanut butter, and eat it with a spoon


Procrastination. We all do it. What’s your favorite way to waste your writing time?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pat - Oh, I just love that 'photo! And yes, writers are inventive at finding ways not to write :-). There are some wonderful online games out there that serve that purpose quite well... ;-)

Unknown said...

haha ..maybe i can find another alternatives instead writing ..maybe i can go travel..or, read a newspaper...i guess

Kathryn Elliott said...

I’m a chronic furniture rearranger – (OK – that’s not a word, but it needs to be!)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Play computer games...

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Clean the house, even! Ha!

Jan Morrison said...

Oh, I can add to that list!
1. read blogs, post, and comment.
2. play frozen bubble three times.
3. simply have to dust under the bed right now...

Patricia Stoltey said...

Margot and Alex, I know what you mean. I play 2-3 rounds of Minesweeper each day, but wait until just before I'm ready to shut down my computer for the evening.

Spudin, at least travel would be constructive procrastination.

Hi Kathryn and Elizabeth -- I washed a couple of windows yesterday...now that I'm able to see through those, I'm tempted to do a couple more. :)

Jan, I like your style...although I leave cleaning under the bed to the cat.

Anonymous said...

I'll go to YouTube and watch live performances of songs from artists and bands I like. Three hours later I'm busting my butt to catch back up on my writing.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Stephen, I've been heading for You Tube to watch silly cat videos. Very entertaining.

Susan Spann said...

Guilty.

#6 (#2 on my list) would be Twitter.

Guess how I found this today? Now guess what I was supposed to be doing instead...

Thanks for the chuckle Pat! You got me!

Unknown said...

How about wasting time on Twitter ... or worse, playing Solitaire.

Patricia Stoltey said...

Susan -- I love it when I drag folks away from their work for a bit of fun.

Hi Kay! It seems there are quite a few of us who manage to waste a bit of time on Twitter...although a tweet is not wasted if it lures a reader to a blog post.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Me too! Social networking--obviously!

Cindy Keen Reynders said...

I'm an Angry Birds addict. Great time waster!

Patricia Stoltey said...

Hi Jacqueline, thanks for joining us today at the rock. I've carefully avoided many of the social media venues because of the time demands, but I'm hooked on Twitter and Facebook.

Cindy, I've heard about Angry Birds but haven't checked it out. Maybe I shouldn't go there...

Claire L. Fishback said...

I call it "avoidance behavior" and it is anything I do that is not writing when I am supposed to be writing. Today it was shopping for new bedding. Sometimes it is the dishes. Yeah... I do my chores when I'm supposed to be writing!