“Productive” Procrastination for Writers - Part 1

As a writer, there are times when I spend as much time procrastinating as writing (if not more). Let’s be honest, sometimes the words just don’t come easily. Sometimes we aren’t in the right head space. Sometimes we’re thinking about our stories—and that can be just as valuable as writing, in my opinion. But there are things we writers can do when we’re not writing that can still, at least sort of, be productive.

1. Character development sheets

A classic, really. I feel like there about a million of these floating around, all going into varying levels of detail. They’re probably not useful for everyone (I don’t often use them myself), but they can be fun and informative. Character sheets prompt you to fill in almost everything about your character, from their age, height, and eye color, to their zodiac sign and what three items they’d bring with them to a deserted island. By the way, you know you’re in deep when you figure out your character’s zodiac sign and then you have to make sure their love interest’s sign is compatible. (Yes, I have done that. No, I am not ashamed.)

2. Playlists

This could be for a novel, a short story, a scene, a setting, a specific character. You can use songs to help you figure out a mood or tone, or just as inspiring background music. Regardless, you need a playlist you can listen to when you finally get around to writing. Unless, of course, you prefer working in silence, which is also cool.

3. Character design

Knowing and describing a character’s physical appearance can help them come to life, and it can be fun to not only imagine them, but to see, as much as we’re able, what they might look like as real people. For the artistic among us, this might mean character sketches or drawings. You can also look for character “models”—people or drawings that already exist and share physical attributes with your characters. Recently, I’ve spent far too much time on the website, Hero Forge, which allows you to design (and buy, if you so desire) custom miniatures. The target audience leans more towards D&D players, but I’ve really enjoyed creating my characters on their platform.

4. Mood boards

I think mood boards or collages can be a lot of fun, but maybe that’s the artist in me talking. Again, this could be for a novel, a scene, a character, a setting. You could include colors, textures, architecture, clothing, landscapes. Mood boards can inspire and depict aesthetics and worldbuilding details, or you can just use them as an excuse to look up pretty images.

Check out an example below:

This is a mood board I made for Chapter 1 of the novel manuscript I’m working on. All images from Unsplash.

5. Plotting

Not all writers are plotters, but for those that are, outlining your plot is a great way to work on your writing without actually writing. I used to consider outlines constricting, but I’ve come to find them helpful for planning and giving me direction. I think of my outlines as flexible guidelines, offering me a path towards a goal (the story’s ending), while remaining open to changes when my characters decide they want to do something else (it happens; they have their own minds, I swear). So, instead of writing, just plan all of the scenes you have yet to write! What’s more productive than that?

Well, now you know how I spend my “writing” time. How about you? Are you a “productive” procrastinator? What other techniques have you used?

Part 2 coming soon!

Stay tuned,

KNB