There are a lot of things that writers pretend count as “writing.” Sorry, but I’m here to rip off the veil and expose the truth. There are things that are NOT writing and are likely holding you back from finishing your book (or even starting it):
1. Answering email.
2. Reading books written by other writers.
3. Watching TV shows and movies related to your current project.
4. Facebook/twitter/instagram/tumblr.
5. Laundry (even though you may need clean clothes to write in).
6. Getting a snack to help you write.
7. Doing online “research” all day long.
8. Trying out recipes that might be used by characters in your book.
9. Making outfits that might be worn by characters in your book.
10. Imagining the fanfic that might be written about characters in your book.
11. Planning out your imaginary book tour.
12. Rereading fan mail from your last book.
13. Trolling the internet for bad reviews of your last book.
14. Writing your own outtakes.
15. Planning out how you will spend the millions of dollars in advance you will get from your next book.
16. Thinking about how many books in this series you could write.
17. Writing a fake author bio for the pseudonym you intend to use next.
18. Playing an RPG you’ve invented from your book.
19. Taking an on-line poll to decide what should happen next in your book.
20. Plinking out theme songs for each chapter of your book on the keyboard you keep near your computer for just such a purpose.
21. Making lists of character names for your next project.
22. Inventing a new language for your elves to speak.
23. Writing epic songs and poetry that will never appear on paper.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with doing any of these things. They are fun! I’ve done plenty of them, especially the imagining the crowds of roaring fans at my next book’s movie premier. It can be really useful to keep yourself interested in writing and having fun with the writing. But just be aware that there is a line between things that are actually getting words down and things that aren’t.
You’ll notice I didn’t include things like “staring off into space while sitting at the keyboard,” because I think, strangely enough, that this IS part of the writing process for almost all writers. But if you’re distracting yourself from the hard work of writing, you’re avoiding doing the work of getting the words on the page. What you’re basically doing is trying to keep from doing it wrong, because as soon as you start writing, you’re going to have to accept that you haven’t done it right, and that’s the most painful thing of all.