As we've discussed in those pieces, procrastination can be a response to our fears about writing ... or similar a bad habit that we fall into.
Sometimes, though, procrastination can be a symptom of a problem in our writing itself. In those cases, it might manifest in:
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Feeling unenthused about your project – you might have reasons to want to finish it (e.g. to get paid), but the project itself bores you.
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Putting off writing sessions, or even feeling a sense of relief when you come up with a reason not to write.
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Never feeling like your writing is flowing: every word you write feels like a struggle.
If any (or all!) of those sound familiar, then it's worth taking a big step back and looking at your project itself. You might want to think through some questions like:
Why are you working on it? What would happen if you gave it up? Would you feel disappointed – or relieved?
How long have you been working on it? If it's a novel that you've been writing, on and off, for years, then perhaps your initial enthusiasm for the idea faded long ago.
Do you feel like you're making forward progress? Or are you spinning your wheels, endlessly rewriting sections, or writing new material but never feeling like it's all coming together?
Have you hit some sort of roadblock in the writing? Perhaps your characters seem flat and one-dimensional, or your plot simply isn't developed enough to sustain a whole novel.
Some options might be to:
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Quit your project altogether. If you're not enjoying what you're writing and it's not helping you reach a goal, then maybe you could simply let that particular piece go and start something new.
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Put your project aside for a set period of time (perhaps a month). This gives you the chance for a guilt-free break ... and an opportunity to see whether you do, in fact, miss working on it.
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Dedicate some intense time to working on the project. If the root cause of your procrastination is that, deep down, you know there's a problem in the writing itself (e.g. your plot feels thin and hackneyed) then spending a concentrated period of time pushing through this might sort it out and get you moving again.
It can be difficult to face up to problems in your writing, whether the problem is that you've simply lost enthusiasm, that you've realised it wasn't the right project for you in the first place, or that there's an issue with the writing itself. Procrastination can sometimes indicate that there are problems you're trying to avoid thinking too hard about.
Some projects are well worth salvaging; with others, it might be time to let them go. If you're not sure, give yourself a break from writing (at least on that project) for a while, before you make a firm decision.
