Tag: Procrastination

LK LohanLeave a comment

The Ghost of Opportunities Lost

This past week was another powerful reminder of the transience of opportunity, and the dangers of procrastination. Several years ago I heard about a course that David Wolverton, a.k.a. David Farland, was teaching at BYU. Basically a full semester of instruction on how to write marketable books and make a career out of writing fiction, taught by a master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre. It sounded interesting, and I told myself that some day I might want to take that course. Then I forgot about it. When it came to my attention again in 2021, I had missed Read More …

LK LohanLeave a comment

Relationships, and Keeping Score

I’m just coming off of one of those post-Holiday conversations where one family member rants about another family member: “He never calls.” Voice heavy with reproach. Disappointment. Anger. “Why should it always be me who initiates contact? I’m not going to call again. If he wants to talk to me, let him call for a change.” And if he doesn’t call, either the relationship withers and dies, or the person who’s complaining reaches for the phone after all, full of resentment, and what could have been a perfectly good conversation, sours. It doesn’t have to be that way if you Read More …

LK LohanLeave a comment

Productive Procrastination

I’m currently in a slump. The writing just doesn’t want to flow. I’m fumbling my way through possible plot twists, and they all propel the story forward – straight off a cliff. That’s the trouble with us discovery writers. We need to write in order to find out what happens next, and sometimes what happens next is just not very interesting. It’s not like it’s the first time this has ever happened to me, and I’ve always found a way out of the slump. I know that I will this time, too. I trust the process. Sooner or later, the Read More …

LK LohanLeave a comment

Reading vs. Writing

In my world, reading and writing have an unfortunate tendency to clash. As a matter of fact, reading often kicks writing’s ass. So last year I made a New Year’s resolution to read less. That didn’t work out so well: I nearly doubled my reading for that year. This year I didn’t even bother with a resolution. I’m kind of resigned to the fact by now that my default mode is reading. I read for entertainment, for information, for research purposes, for inspiration, for an escape from the mundane, and, yes, for procrastination. I read in the morning, if I Read More …

LK Lohan

Reading Too Much

I just finished reading my thirty-first book for the year. It’s mid-May. Unlike the more common New Year’s resolution, mine was to read less. Well, unless I drastically change my trajectory, this is one resolution I’m not going to keep. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with reading. As a writer, reading is what I do for knowledge and inspiration, for learning about the craft, and for keeping up with new trends. It’s also one of my main sources of entertainment — not to mention a major source of procrastination. When I’m reading, I can always tell myself that Read More …