Another thing that can mess up your writing process– if you let it– is squidgy boundaries. Many writers I know (myself included) are people-pleasing folk who have a hard time saying “No,” as in . . .
- “No, I don’t want to go dog-walking with you, this is my writing time.”
- “No, I don’t want to go out shopping with you on Sunday, because Sunday is one of of my writings days, I need that time to be organized for the upcoming week.”
- “No, I don’t want to watch Netflix at the moment, I am writing.”
- “No, I can’t sit on this or that committee for this or that arts organization, or volunteer to stuff envelopes or update your database, or, or, or, or or . . .”
If remarks like this came easy to me, I think I would have finished Blood Rain faster.
I have developed a script that I use to turn down the invitations I find most tempting– feel free to use or adapt it if it is useful to you:
“I’m sorry, I am in recovery from being a Woman-Who-Does-Too-Much. Asking me for ____________ is like a kind of crack for me, so I must decline your invitation. Thank you for understanding”.
Chloe Cocking 