by Richard Hooton

Created on: May 25, 2008

The greatest adversary of creative writing is procrastination, and its greatest ally is passion-passion for life, passion for writing, and most importantly, passion for the subject of that first novel that has been rattling around in the back of the mind for so very long. It lies there, waiting to get out-waiting for the writing hand to stop avoiding that inevitable work of genius, and put pen to paper-or fingers to keyboard, as most writers prefer today.

That roadblock called procrastination is often the most daunting obstacle to overcome for any aspiring writer. It can prevent a novel from getting started-for months, sometimes years-or ever. The good news is, it can only prevent that great novel from being written when the writer lacks passion and resolve. A serious writer will not permit himself to be overwhelmed by such a weak adversary. When confronted with procrastination, the writer need only to walk around it, step over it, or walk right through it-treat it as though it is not real. Treat it as though it does not exist.

Writer's block, on the other hand, does exist-however temporary it may be. When a word or a sentence or an idea just won't surface at precisely the place and time when it is needed-it may seem to the writer like the novel will never be completed. But all that is really needed is a little time. Time to reflect, time to relax, perhaps some time away from the project to allow thoughts to regenerate-an idea will come and the sentence will flow-and that perfect word will reveal itself to begin or end a most profound slice of narrative thought or character's dialog.

Time itself is not a writer's enemy. It is a novelist's best friend. It need only be used wisely. Everyone has to sleep, eat, and take time for personal hygiene. A serious writer who has been seized by the passion to write will forgo an hour or two of sleep, either at night or early in the morning. A serious writer will make a sandwich or heat up a frozen dinner in the microwave and set it next to the keyboard, taking bites in between words. A serious writer might even spend an entire day off writing in pajamas, without taking the time to shave, brush teeth, or even get in the shower. People will stay away and let that writer write.

The best advice to aspiring novelists for overcoming adversity? Take the time to begin. Find the time or make the time-spend the time-it's right there, waiting to be used efficiently. Finish that outline, name those chapters and use them as guideposts for your storyline. Stop worrying about writer's block and just write something-something like "This is the first sentence of my first novel, and it's going to be a bestseller. Critics will heap their praises on my outstanding work and parents will name their children after me!" Revise it out later in the second draft. Other good words will come to replace them, words more relevant to the storyline. Procrastination? It's probably not even in the dictionary-so don't bother to look it up. Just write-you know you want to.

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