Podcasts, Books, and Excuses
A Professional Procrastinators Tale
What am I going to write about this week? I borrowed this from J. Kevin Tumlinson’s latest newsletter on Substack. It’s a great approach to writing a hopefully interesting and/or engaging newsletter of my own. My mind was blank before I read this, as it almost always is when I sit down to write the weekly. From a couple of years of experience, though, I know I don’t have to worry or allow myself to stress out. Something always comes.
I've been listening to a lot of podcasts recently, covering a slightly diverse but loose range of subjects. They’re either tech, business, or writing-related. There are a few outliers, of course. The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy is one. I’ve been listening to it for around two years, maybe a bit more. For example, I’ve discovered several authors I hadn’t heard of. Ada Palmer from episode 495 is a good example. Not forgetting the many movie and series recommendations.
I’m not a big video consumer, but I’ve at least tried to follow a few. More than a few, really, but it’s a rare one that I’ll watch all the way through. I’ve started several but have never finished, to be honest. The problem is that I get bored with passive consumption entertainment very easily. Give me a good book, though, and I’m a happy chappy.
Creative writing podcasts are my main interest at the moment, obviously. I've been listening to The Creative Penn for more than a few years now, and through this, I’ve recently started listening to Kevin Tumlinson’s Wordslinger Podcast (also on YouTube, but it’s always nice to put a face to a voice.) This, in turn, led me to Writers, Ink. Both are highly recommended, informative, and entertaining at the same time.
I’ve also been reading a lot recently and listening to several audiobooks. But it occurred to me that all I’m doing is just putting off sitting down and writing my book. Yes, I produced a bit here and a bit there. Surprisingly, the last thing I wrote in the book was a page or two of extended dialogue. I've been frightened of dialogue until now and tried to put it off as much as possible. The trick seems to be to read it back aloud to yourself. If it sounds stilted and stupid, then change it, make it less stilted, less stupid. I have a modicum of confidence now, something I’ll admit has been taking a steady hit over the last month or two.
The novel is coming on, but very slowly.
The day job, you know, the thing we do to pay the bills? Well, yet again, it took precedence over my planned writing time. I’m contracted for four days a week, with Fridays (and weekends) devoted to writing and family time. The time-blocked schedule is to spend an hour or two on various administrative tasks, and then the rest of Friday is earmarked for writing. But it hasn’t worked out like that for the fifth or sixth week in a row.
A priority call from work for an urgent issue affecting a client during a particularly critical time in their process. It had to be resolved, which, unfortunately, turned out to be more difficult than I had first thought. It was resolved eventually, after about four hours. By that time, it was two o'clock in the afternoon, and I had several appointments that I couldn’t postpone. By the time I got home again, it was close to 5:30 in the evening. Any motivation I had to work on my writing was gone.
Tomorrow (today now) was another day. So, instead, I cut my losses and enjoyed the evening playing cards and watching movies with my wife. Well, she watched the movies. I just faffed around on my phone. Yet another day gone, with no work done on the book. We’re going to friends for dinner this evening, so there won’t be any time for the book until tomorrow. What you’re reading now is the only creative writing I have time for.
This leaves me with Sunday, which gives me a bit of time early in the morning to get some writing done, though only if I wake up on time. I want to finish the conversation two of my characters are having. They seem to get on well together, so I only have to listen and note what they say. I can’t decide what direction the conversation will take; the characters will decide. And of course, this will affect the layout and flow of the following chapters.
As an aside, on Sunday evening last weekend, I headed to bed at my usual time (early as I had to be up again at 5 AM). I sat at my desk and was about to shut down the laptop. Then I thought of something for the story, so I wrote that. Then I wrote a bit more and then wrote a bit more still. Before I realized it, I was already an hour late to bed, so I had to stop. A couple of days later, I couldn't sleep very well and woke up at about 3:30 AM. I got myself a cup of coffee and wrote for another hour, so that was cool—micro-creativity in action.
A month or two ago, I thought I had figured out the type of writer I was; I was reasonably sure I was a Plantser. I like to have an outline, only not overly detailed and with plenty of room to maneuver.
So far, it’s been working out this way. I am most certainly not a Pantser. I really don’t like that term; it sounds weird to a British English speaker. I much prefer the term ‘Discovery Writer,’ thanks to Joanna Penn for this.
The last thing I want to mention is some personal/creative news from last week. I finally backed a Kickstarter and signed up for a creative retreat weekend near Dublin, Ireland, in mid-April 2025. I’m regretting it now, though. As an introvert, the prospect scares the heck out of me. I don't know what to expect as I've never been to one of these before. I'm worried, but as I see it, people can’t grow unless they force themselves out of their comfort zone.
I wanted to back the reward that was staying in the hotel for the event, but I was just too late. There were only five places anyway, so I had to back the self-accommodation reward instead. I found somewhere to overnight, but it’s several kilometers away. I’ll have to figure out what effect that has on the itinerary; I'll email them nearer the time.
I can’t say I’m looking forward to it; it’s best to let it sink in for a while. I’ll try to follow the advice of the late Douglas Adams, “Don’t Panic.”
Final Thoughts
Again, it’s been a bit of a rambling newsletter. But I enjoyed writing it, and that’s what counts. If others enjoy reading it, that’ll be a bonus. Hopefully, you did. There are only so many ‘how-to’ articles a person can take in (or write) before it starts to feel repetitive. Sometimes, it’s good to wing it (Pantser it?)
A large chunk of this post was dictated and transcribed at midnight last night. If you ever want to try this for yourselves. Better warn your nearest and dearest that you will be, apparently, talking to yourself for a while. There’s no point in worrying them that you’ve finally lost it, is there?
If you got this far, well done. You are incredibly patient; I appreciate the effort.