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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Procrastination: The Writer’s Secret Weapon

by Chautona Havig · 6 Comments

101 Ways to Procrastinate

  1. Check email
  2. Get a drink
  3. Check facebook
  4. Reread the last section
  5. Edit something
  6. Research something
  7. Open another document
  8. Make a snack
  9. Pay a bill
  10. Take a nap
  11. Reread from the beginning to “make sure it flows and has proper continuity.”
  12. Plan your writing.
  13. Plot out the book in greater detail
  14. Watch a movie to “inspire you.”
  15. Blog  😉
  16. Write down the great idea you just got before you forget it
  17. Write the first chapter of that book while you’re excited about it.
  18. Scrub the bathroom
  19. Check email– again
  20. Play solitaire to stimulate your mind
  21. Plan menus
  22. Schedule a dental cleaning
  23. Remember that you wear dentures and cancel the cleaning
  24. Write a paragraph
  25. Erase it
  26. Read a book on overcoming procrastination
  27. Search Istockphoto.com for the perfect cover photo
  28. Design a mock up to see if it works
  29. Trim your daughter’s hair– you know, that hair that you’ve been saying no to for weeks but now you’ll do because it means you don’t have to be responsible.
  30. Balance the checkbook
  31. Realize you don’t have a checkbook register anymore and wonder what it was you just balanced.
  32. Send a birthday card– for someone you haven’t sent one to in years.
  33. Read a story to your child/grandchild.
  34. Oil hinges
  35. Clean your monitor
  36. Blow out your keyboard
  37. Exercise to get the juices flowing
  38. Take a nap to recuperate from the exercise
  39. Pick your nose
  40. Trim your fingernails
  41. Clip your toenails
  42. Make a color coded schedule with time blogs FOR procrastination so you can do it later.
  43. Turn on messenger so you have an excuse.
  44. Change your facebook profile picture
  45. Defragment your disk
  46. Download a trial for a writing program
  47. Check message boards to see if anyone needs you immediately.
  48. Update the website.
  49. Start a new budget
  50. Make cookies
  51. “doorbell the neighbor”
  52. Twiddle thumbs.
  53. Put chicken chests into the sink to defrost
  54. Clean your fingernails
  55. Moisturize your hands
  56. Scold the kids for running in the house.
  57. Ask if they were born in a barn
  58. Realize that there’s nothing wrong with being born in a barn– Jesus was.
  59. Start a novel about the birth of Jesus.
  60. Decide you don’t like historical novels and delete it.
  61. Check your email again.
  62. Click 5 dozen MyPoints emails to get 300 MyPoints.
  63. Decide you need new business cards
  64. Design new business cards
  65. Rearrange the living room
  66. Clean off your desk
  67. Delete the trial programs from your computer
  68. Clean out your ears
  69. Design the perfect workout schedule
  70. Delete the schedule
  71. Eat hot cookies
  72. Answer the phone.
  73. Chat with the telemarketer
  74. Convince them to look at your books online
  75. Start an online serial story
  76. Make a blog to post it on
  77. Delete the blog because you decided it would be a great story
  78. Ask your editor fifty questions, one or two per email
  79. See a long line of emails in your inbox.
  80. Clean out your inbox.
  81. Go Christmas shopping online– yes, in February.
  82. Plan a new wardrobe
  83. Make soup for a shut in
  84. Take soup to shut in
  85. Put gas in the car– yes, even if it was 7/8 full from yesterday’s procrastination attempt.
  86. Organize photos for scrapbooks
  87. Remember you hate scrapbooking and put it away
  88. Look up a few dozen words in the thesaurus
  89. Change the wax in the scentsy warmer
  90. Dust the shelf the scentsy warmer is on
  91. Dust the rest of the shelves
  92. Have an asthma attack
  93. Close your eyes and dream out the next scene
  94. Take notes
  95. Consider a nap but two in one afternoon is too much
  96. Fall asleep at the keyboard
  97. Look up the meaning of pulchritude just to be sure you used it right five chapters back
  98. Decide that pulchritude sounds revolting instead of exquisite and decide to use exquisiteness instead.
  99. Answer the door
  100. Tell the pizza guy that he’s got the wrong house– dad burn it
  101. Read the newspaper– you know that thing you haven’t read in six years.

 

Then, once you’ve exhausted every procrastination device you can imagine and you really are interested in writing… your document is open and the juices are flowing, your words are flying across the page– realize that it’s time to get up and make dinner.

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Comments

  1. Yvonne says

    June 19, 2012 at 11:11 am

    I noticed number 62. Click 5 dozen MyPoints emails to get 300 MyPoints.
    Have you tried swagbucks? You can earn digital dollars and redeem them to purchase any of several gift cards, and/or products. I earn most of my swagbucks by searching the web, but there are several ways to earn those digital dollars.

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      June 19, 2012 at 11:23 am

      I’m a big fan of swagbucks. I’ve got a nice big pile of gift cards to Amazon thanks to them. And with all my research, I rack ’em up pretty quickly!

      Reply
  2. Teresa Cypher says

    February 4, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    Love it! Some of them have me pegged. Okay…many of them have me pegged. 😉 Thanks for a funny post. Like Ron–who commented before me, I wandered in from the A to Z list 🙂

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      February 4, 2012 at 10:49 pm

      Aw, thanks. I enjoyed the silly little ditty too. Can’t WAIT to do a-z. Gotta get my posts lined up soon! I’ll have to step over and see what fun ditties you have on your blog!

      Reply
  3. Ron Easton says

    February 4, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    I love this list! I could have written it, I do an edited version of this list every day…just wandered in from the Z-Z blog challenge list, I will return!

    Reply
    • Chautona says

      February 4, 2012 at 10:49 pm

      Thanks! I’ll have to check out your blog. I’m really looking forward to that A-Z challenge. I love to blog.

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
byChautona Havig

I had a chat with actor and author Henry O. Arnold a while back, and boy did we have a lot of fun. His Song of Prophets and Kings series features the advent of Israel’s kings from Samuel’s birth through David hiding from Saul (so far) and onward. Listen in as we chat about his most recent release, The Singer of Israel.

 

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

What Made David Such a Man after God’s Heart?

I think this series will show us. I love that Henry O. Arnold started back at Samuel’s story to prepare us for the story of arguably the most influential king of Israel. Yes, Solomon was the wisest and richest, but David offered something that Solomon didn’t have. He was an average guy—a shepherd, no less—chosen by God to lead his country.

In a sense, it’s kind of the ancient Jewish version of a poor, everyday guy growing up to become President of the United States. If you know what I mean.

This five-book series is available as an eBook, in print, and as an audiobook, too! Henry read a snippet of it to us, and boy you get a feel for his love of Scripture and God’s people as he reads.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even gave us a hint of his upcoming Christian suspense/thriller “series. He says he has two books planned for sure, so… at least a duology, but maybe we can talk him into a trilogy at least? Get those odd numbers and everything?

The Singer of Israel by Henry O. Arnold

A singer’s voice inspires a troubled nation…A shepherd’s courage vanquishes a giant

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul’s troubled mind. But when the singer/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as “the giant slayer.” Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul’s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.

The Singer of Israel is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love, and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice…and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings.

You can learn more about Henry on this WEBSITE.

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