I talk a big game, like I have all the answers.
Truth is, I actually DO have a lot of them. Applying them to my own life though?
Well, that’s a different story. Radically different.
While I’ve never had any sort of formal diagnosis, let’s just say that there are signs. I’m easily distracted, a chronic procrastinator, highly inclined towards dopamine seeking behaviours.
I have read SO much about techniques to overcome my natural bent towards… well, doing everything except what I’m supposed to be doing.
You’d think that having self-imposed set of goals would overcome that, wouldn’t you? Well, not if you’re me.
I’ve always tended towards a slothful sort of existence, but it’s never been a ‘doing nothing’ kind of sloth. Sloth with a book though? That was my jam, as a kid.
Something in my psychological makeup resists ‘shoulds’. Growing up, it was called laziness, but it wasn’t that. It was interest seeking behaviour and a tendency towards transgression.
I consistently resist doing anything I ‘should’ do unless there’s pressure… near immediate pressure. I hold down a job perfectly well, because I know that if I don’t? Homelessness isn’t that many weeks down the road.
Work for clients? I set expectations with them, and frame them as deadlines for myself. Same mental threat of consequences, and I stay on task quite nicely.
My own work though? Projects like this site/business, or my own writing? Well, there’s no deadline, no dire consequence of taking a day or a week or a month or five off, so the days become weeks and roll over into months, and suddenly it’s almost October and I’ve achieved pretty much nothing this year.
I’ve helped a few other people with their writing though, so that’s a good feeling.
“Coach, coach thyself.” (with apologies to the biblical Luke)
So, that’s what I’m going to do. Coach myself. In public.
On here.
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First off, I need to define my goals.
Goal: Finish my current WIP before Christmas.
The book is called After Checkmate, and it’s been my current WIP for over a year. I’m about 30k words into it, and it’s high time it was done.
That’s a big, and somewhat abstract goal though. Hard to reach for. I need some rungs on the ladder that will get me there.
While I know the overall shape of the story, I don’t know what the next bit needs to be.
Task: Write next chapter of After Checkmate.
That’s all well and good. Easy to say, but I don’t know what the next bit needs to be.
Sub-Task: Figure out the next chapter of After Checkmate.
That’s my goal for tonight. After I finish this post.
Because I’m me: I never have just one project on the go. I’m restricting myself to drafting a single novel at a time (I haven’t always—it doesn’t go well for me) because I know I need that constraint. Doesn’t mean I don’t have other things (like this site) on the go.
Commitment #1: Coach Myself In Public. At least once a week.
That’s one thing, but I also have my little weird fiction side project—a project that has also been languishing in recent months.
Commitment #2: Write something weird with tentacles. Once a week.
No, that’s not enough. More precision is needed. A deadline.
Commitment #2 (revisited): Write something weird with tentacles. Once a week. If not done prior, it will be on Saturday mornings.
Both of those are side projects though. So, I need a commitment #0, something to base my structure on.
Foundational Commitment: I Will Write Before I Game Every Day
Tentacle fiction counts. Writing here counts. Just sitting down and free writing for 10 minutes/500 words counts.
I do like to game, so if I want to game? Gotta write first.
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I’ve ‘always’ been an avid reader, but in recent years, that has fallen away. The weekend that just passed, I spent at my sister’s house—keeping a couple of dogs company (and walked, and fed) while she was out of town.
I read a trilogy. Well, it was a re-read, but still.
Among the MANY books I’ve read over the years was Stephen King’s On Writing. He puts it quite plainly:
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”
Supporting Commitment: Read A Book A Week
If I don’t get there through the week, well, that’s what weekends are for. Let’s start burning through my TBR mountain. I think even just my unread books will take me a year to get through at that rate. Audiobooks count (great for doing housework with), but words on a page or a screen are preferred (they’re faster).
I know, from pure experience, that completing a task gives me a boost. It’s not just writing that’s languished through 2026—it’s relationships with people I care about, it’s housework, it’s exercise. I also intend to pick these up a bit, but as that’s not what this site is about? Yeah, I’ll shut up about them here, other than the occasional mention in passing.
So. That’s where we are right now.
This has been an accountability post. I know you’re there. I hope you’re following along. I’m relying on you, faceless readers.
Thanks for being here.
Let’s see how I go…