Steamed Punks

…angry Victorian musicians?

I’m working on a Brewerton Village synopsis (and the final poll) for later today, but to tide you over, here is a crossposting of something I put up on another blog, where the discussion was writers procrastinating. I have expanded it a bit from the original.

When I have had writing projects to finish, I’ve always found that I write like hell until I reach about 2/3 of the way through the manuscript. Then, I just stop. Why at the 2/3 mark? Beats the hell out of me, but at least I’m consistent.

Anything can distract me…Television, an invitation to go drinking, cooking, sex (well, ok, sex could distract me from treating a cobra bite), a good run of tunes on the radio, a trip to a flea market, movies, birds chirping, a bit of shiny metal…it never fails, something lures me away when I have that last third to write. And by golly, I stay distracted until the deadline is looming on the horizon like the Mongol horde come to trample me into the dust.

Then, feeling the hot breath of Deadline Khan on my neck, comes the panicked rush to the big finish. 20 hour writing sessions, mugs of black tea so strong they could arm wrestle the Hulk, frantic calls from editors who tell me at length about their oncoming coronary problems that are all my fault, bitter cursing by both myself and those who come anywhere near me, blatant ignoring of personal hygiene and the repeated mantra “I suck as a writer! I’ll never be this lazy again!”.

Finally, usually about 24 hours before the deadline (and, one assumes, the last breath of my editor), I send off the manuscript and either sleep for 15 hours before getting drunk, or get drunk and then sleep 15 hours. There would be celebratory sex, but who the hell wants to fuck a stinky, drunk, exhausted, self pitying RPG writer?

A few weeks later, when I even care to think of writing again, I vow to be a better man about it. Which, as it turns out, is a blatant lie.

As for great ways to procrastinate, my faves include…

Concerts by my favorite rockers
Japanese monster movie marathons
Pub crawls
James Bond movie marathons
Obsessive cooking, usually based on one cookbook. (last time, it was “The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines”)
Sex
Computer games (most notably anything that starts with “Sid Meir’s Civilization” or “Sim —-”
Reading damned near anything, but often the works of other game writers, where my reading is punctuated by “Oh man, he/she is so good and I’m so fucking terrible”
Masked Mexican Wrestler movie marathons (El Santo rules!)
Gardening (my wife refers to my garden as “Your Mistress”)
Road trips
1950’s Sci-Fi movie marathons
Eating