'Cause I just can't seem to do it. I'll have an idea, maybe two, and I'll like them. I'll want to sit down and write and write like I actually have some sort of clue as to what I'm doing. I'll have an image in my mind of me maybe 10 chapters in and still going strong. Maybe I'll even have a plan to follow, like I'm actually organised. But, in reality, I might write one or two sentences - a paragraph if I'm lucky - and then stop. I'll be browsing the internet, doing absolutely nothing. Its frustrating, but once I start doing nothing, I then have nothing to write down, so the procrastinating continues.
How do you start writing, and then continue to do so?
I sort of have a routine that I have to activate to get me in the mood for actually writing. It tends to go something like this:
1) Turn on coffee percolator and make a huge jug of it.
2) Retreat to the bedroom (my writing area) with the coffee and check up on any outstanding Internet business (EG: Comments here, Yahoo! Answers, e-mails, outstanding bits of research, etc).
3) Open YouTube and fiddle with my playlist until I find something I want to listen to.
4) Read through the last chapter or so of my story, making minor corrections if I spot them, expanding previous scenes to take into account later ones, fixing hair colour problems, etc. Also, this ensures that by the time I reach the point I last stopped at I know what is actually written on paper, not chat has happened in my head since I last wrote.
5) Start writing new material. I will jump online to check facts, look up mythical beasts or an obscure piece of legend if I need to.
6) Recognising that when I am spending more time "researching" than writing, I have probably had enough for today.
7) If it carries on for more than a week, recognising that I have probably hit an impasse in the story that I am just not happy with. Back-up story, delete offending material, re-write down a different track.
Sorry, finger mal-function. That should have read 'after connecting to wi-fi, e-mails first,' etc.
I agree with a combination of the above. I also have a set routine after connecting to wit of wi-fi, e-mails first, then Facebook, then a bit of browsing. After that my mind is ready for concentration and so I start to write. But I do find that I work better if I have a deadline looming. I set a date that it must be finished and work towards that.