Teach me how to enjoy doing something I hate
Sooooo everyone knows I write books. Lots of them. And for the most part I'm okay with writing; it's not my favorite thing in the world but I'll sit down and do it when it needs to be done.
BUT EDITING AND REWRITING IS THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD I SWEAR TO GOD, I just hate it ;askgh;alskfj;alsgja
But it needs to get done so I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to hype myself up for something I hate doing.
How do YOU motivate yourself to do something that you need to do? I need ideas.
I put it off for a million years until it turns into an anxious thorn inside my brain hammering to get done after months of procrastination and then I might get around to doing it.
Just ask yourself - what will all of this tedious work get me? Think of the reward.Originally Posted by Pike
Oh man that's the worst feeling. It ruins everything. Every time.
Yeah, pretty much. I'm a terrible procrastinator, and if I don't have a deadline, things can get put off indefinitely. So I guess my advice would be to try to simply set deadlines for yourself. You could create rewards for yourself as motivation to stick to the deadlines.
Uh, I just end up doing it, maybe at a later time if it really needs to be done. If it's not as important, I'll put it aside indefinitely until I feel motivated to do whatever I've been putting aside.
Apparently, I have been declared banished.
I motivate myself by thinking about Future Ashton.
If Present Ashton does the dishes now, then Future Ashton can sit on the couch and eat brownies.
Set yourself daily goals.
Do a to-do list for every day.
"I will edit this chapter, and once it's done I can have a candybar!"
My suggestions are in no way healthy or legal and could easily land you some serious jail time, so I shall stay quiet.
Or you could pretend my dad's moved into your head. "YOU LAZY S.O.B.! GET IT DONE! YOU DON"T KNOW NOTHIN' 'BOUT LIFE!"
.... That probably didn't help at all. Never did me any good, anyway...
Yes. My dad really does talk to me like that sometimes (a lot). He's an un-funny Red Forman. If he says he's gonna shove his foot up your ass, you better run as fast and as far as you can in the opposite direction 'cuz he really means it.
Have someone else edit it.
Pass that buck.
The Pomodori Technique (or a variant) is pretty good. I've seen a lot of praise for timeboxing techniques similar to it and have tried to adapt them myself, since compilation times on my projects tend to make me distracted. Worth a shot.
I have seriously considered this. The problem is that really good editors are expensive. (I've still seriously considered it.)Have someone else edit it.
Pass that buck.
I'll give that shot.
After looking it up, it seems that the Pomodori Technique is something I already employ in my own writing endeavours. I will agree that editing is the most unpleasant part of writing.
Unfortunately, there comes a time where you just have to grit your teeth and dive in with the thing - whether it's exercise, social obligations, doing taxes, or having to put on real clothes. Be brave, and march onward!
Oscar Wilde had the same problems, he'd get the publisher to "tidy up the woulds and shoulds, wills and shalls, that's and whichs" and he'd smurf off somewhere, presumably with lubrication.
Pretend that if you complete it, you get a Writing Victory, which is the best kind of victory.
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