When I'm Procrastinating

Assalamualaikum wbt and greetings dear Bits and Pieces readers,

Procrastinating is a bad thing for writers; so we've been told. But I beg to differ. In my opinion, procrastinating is only harmful to writers when it reaches a certain level. Below that level, procrastinating gives several opportunities to writers that is nonexistent when we are writing.

1. Daydream
When I procrastinate, I like to lie down on my bed and stare at the ceiling, or make a cup of hot chocolate and relax in my garden. It depends on the mood that I am in. But in both situations, I make sure that I bring my notebook along. Because it is during this time that inspiration would come to me suddenly. And I would quickly ruffle my notebook and scribble the ideas. Better yet for me because I have leave spaces in my novel structure so I can just write in exactly where those inspirations fit in. The inspiration would come in the form of a perfect dialogue, a perfect conflict, a perfect connection or a far more engaging character motivation for my book.

2. Research
I like to put some reality into my fiction; that is the sense that my story could be real or is possible to become real. This is mainly contributed by characters that my readers can relate to and real events that had occurred which could evolve into what I would imagine it to be in my book. Thus procrastinating allows me to explore further on these matters by doing more research and polish my writing skills.

3. Writer's motivation
The time when you procrastinate is the perfect time for you to replenish your body and soul. Listening to that motivational talk on Youtube which you thought you don't need, that exercise you assumed could wait, the prayer that you see as frivolous or the quality time with your loved ones that you had neglected can do miracles. That feeling of loved, de-stressed, healthy and motivated, plus support gained can boost your creativity further. And trust me, after you have attained these, you will be able to write with genuine gusto.  

Now a gentle reminder, procrastinating is only good up to a certain point. When you have passed that point, it is toxic. When, what or where is that point you may ask. Well, it is different from writer to writer. I am sorry to say that you can only figure that out with much experience in procrastinating. Maybe when you and other writers share your experiences in procrastinating, we all can somewhat determine that point together :-)