Let's Talk About Procrastination...Tomorrow

1/3/2019

I was working on a New Year's post, but I really wasn't feeling it. Mostly, it's because I was using 3-400 words to say "Happy New Year!" and nothing else of substance.

I have book news, but I can't share it yet. There definitely isn't any book news in any images or pictures that may or may not be shared on this post, so you probably shouldn't even look.

And in the absence of book news, as many of you know, I'm always struggling to think of what I should share in this space. If I were you, I'd probably only be following this blog to find out about new book releases, and the second there's a post that isn't about the next book, I'm out.

However, today I decided to talk about what's really on my mind. Which has to do with how I write and produce books.

And that "how" is very simple: I panic.

Tim Urban, on his excellent blog Wait But Why (which you should totally read), has a famous post about procrastination. He does a TED talk on the same subject, which I haven't linked but you can easily find on YouTube.

In this post, Tim imagines two forces battling in the procrastinator's brain: the Instant Gratification Monkey and the Panic Monster.

The Monkey lives in your brain and always begs you for something now. It tells you to check Reddit every two seconds, and that you can always start working in just a second, because now you should watch that new YouTube video.

The only thing that scares away the Instant Gratification Monkey is the Panic Monster. When you panic, when the deadline is looming and you have no time left and you're going to fail the class, the Panic Monster takes over. And now the Monkey runs away. It's easy to avoid procrastination when you're panicking.

This concept resonated with me so much that, a few years ago, I actually bought a plush Instant Gratification Monkey that I keep around my house. Here he is lurking behind my laptop as we speak:

I've written a lot of books. More than most people do. But all of them, I've written while the Panic Monster is in charge. Which means I durdle around for too long and then shotgun out a book in a panic.

That's not great. So I've been working on trying to control my procrastination, so that I can write books in a steady, healthy way, rather than with the Panic Monster at the wheel.

...although I haven't been super successful thus far. Maybe tomorrow.

-Will

P.S. For real, though, go read Wait But Why.

79 Comments

Jason

1/3/2019 03:58:07 pm

Someone enhance that picture and tell me what the print says. We might get a page out of it.

Elfishpirat

1/3/2019 04:02:36 pm

The Skysworn are attempting to take them as prisoners.

You’re welcome.

Miriam

1/3/2019 05:28:15 pm

I can mostly read it and am working on a transcription, but I'm not sure if Will would mind if I post it. Or you can have a go at it yourself, it's not as hard as it seems on first glance.

1/3/2019 05:35:37 pm

It is on the Discord AND his FB page. Both are readable.

Quinn

1/3/2019 04:04:36 pm

Oh glorious! Thanks Will ... its only a page, but it was a good page.

Joe

1/3/2019 04:14:08 pm

If you're looking for additional things to write about... you DO live in Florida. You could go hunting for python or alligator and (if you survive) tell us about the adventure,and how it tasted afterwards.

Tren

1/3/2019 04:15:51 pm

I choose to believe it was my comment about Wait But Why in the last blog post that inspired this one.

One thing that helped me in college was setting a word limit for each day. I HAD to reach that many words, and usually by the time I did I was willing to write more.

Alas I write for a job with constant shifting deadlines, so the panic monster is all that I know. When a cool 30 million dollars is (potentially) riding on you getting your work done, you tend to take it seriously.

...but I still spend a lot of time on reddit.

Paden

1/3/2019 04:19:13 pm

ENHANCE!

Diego

1/4/2019 10:38:08 am

The picture is on his FB, it's readable. its basically Naru Gwei and 4 other truegolds trying to take Lindon & Crew prisoner. Seems directly after Ghostwater. Lindon is worries since his striker technique is always lethal and if it comes to a brawl it could result in him accidentally killing someone. That's Lindon the worrier.

Adam

1/3/2019 04:19:34 pm

Dont really know why im so excited for the release (which seems eminent) since I plan on waiting and hopefully letting 2 or 3 cradle books pile up before rereading the whole series, it went by way to fast this time around. How do you guys read this series?

1/3/2019 04:20:55 pm

How? Over and over again.

1/4/2019 02:39:42 am

Seriously I don't know that I've ever read any book series as many times as cradle. Normally I read a book and even if I think it's good I'm like meh... And I move on. Not cradle I've read it probably 6 times... Even though I can get it on Kindle unlimited I've bought most of the books... I know it's bad and I should probably seek professional help but I'm okay with it really so I'm not going to.

Jake

1/7/2019 11:27:53 am

Over and over is exactly right! I've even started buying the audio books so that when I start a re-read I don't have to stop for little things like driving and work.

Kris

1/7/2019 11:34:52 am

Seriously, this.

Like Joe, I've re-read the Cradle series more than any other book/series in my life. And I used to re-read the Wheel of Time series every time a new book came out!

Will, I recently turned a friend of mine onto Cradle, and she loves it. However, something that came up as she was getting into it is that a lot of background information isn't readily available for new readers. I managed to put together a document that had all the information about the Abidan you posted a while ago, but I know there are also tons of little tidbits scattered in discussions here, on Reddit and discord. It might be worth considering having someone from your team collect all that in one place as a resource for new readers.

Anyway, hope you and yours had a great Holiday and I eagerly look forward to whatever your next release is.

But I'm really hoping for Underlord.

Sean K

1/9/2019 12:54:25 pm

Kris, try checking out the Will Wight's Reddit here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/

On the reddit they even have links to WoW's (Words of Will) that he has discussed about his work. It's this HUGE excel sheet that has TONS of juicy tidbits in it! Do note that Will has full right to change anything he hasn't published in a book!

Also a big fan, and Congrats Will on unlocking the Dual Daggers skill!

kris

1/10/2019 08:09:03 am

Sean, is that the Abidan Archive? I don't see anything labeled "Words of Will", and I'm trying not to read the posts. One of the downfalls I've found about the internet is that given enough time and people who are interested in something, someone online will guess/postulate a plot point. I'd rather avoid any speculation if I can.

But thanks for the link, I'll be sure and pass it along to my friend.

1/10/2019 08:27:11 am

@ Kris. The Abiddan Archive or Words of Will are questions asked directly to Will that he himself answered.

Will link

1/11/2019 11:27:11 am

@Kris:

Like Sean said, the subreddit is a great resource, but tbh I'm not inclined to compile any of that extra information. I could change my mind on anything that isn't in the books, and I don't want to hand readers a bunch of mandatory homework that they have to memorize in order to enjoy the stories.

But if they're the sort of person who likes tracking down those little bits of extra content, then great! It's out there!

1/11/2019 12:13:13 pm

@Will

Don't worry.... the fans did it for you!! I was not involved but have had a great time reading it in any case!!!

1/14/2019 10:31:19 am

@Will Lord knows you have enough on your plate. I just think we tend to forget how much background information you've shared through here and other places since Cradle first started. The Abidan especially is confusing without some of that information. I totally understand the "I may change my mind" standpoint for a lot of things, however I do still believe that polishing (and perhaps updating depending on how the story has evolved) the "Cradle World" shorts and publishing them on your site someplace would provide at least a little backstory for new readers going "WTF". Your books are so good, that new readers tear through them all one right after another. That doesn't give as much time between books to ruminate, or re-read where you pick up a lot of little extra details. *shrug*...Just a suggestion from the peanut gallery!

Chris

1/3/2019 04:27:22 pm

Just curious, if Will or anyone else that knows sees this, did I miss the short story for Christmas? I thought there was talk of one but I couldn't figure out whether that happened or not.

1/3/2019 05:11:46 pm

Will did say he was gonna write a holiday SS. However if not writing that gives me UL faster I am good with that!!

1/11/2019 11:38:46 am

Sorry, you didn't. The above image represents what I was writing instead of short stories.

I am shamed.

1/11/2019 01:15:36 pm

No, No Shame!

Do you remember Macho Man? Shamed into retirement in '93.

NO SHAME!

(P.S. You rock and I have absolutly no problems with you working with the monkey instead of on Short Stories! You do what you need to!)

SwordImmortalDarknorth

1/3/2019 05:26:25 pm

My secret is rent money. I always need to write to make sure I've got rent money.

I should probably just move to a less expensive area...

Mike

1/3/2019 05:40:24 pm

https://youtu.be/67Vp7fTgQ3g

Jocko discussing procrastination. You don’t need to listen, just know he hates procrastination. That’s enough to scare anyone into not procrastinating.

Jeremiah (hosoke)

1/3/2019 05:58:33 pm

You do quite well in panic mode. If you ever get to be able to space your work out more evenly, I look forward to seeing what comes of it. Whatever you do, keep up the good work!

Walter

1/3/2019 06:10:15 pm

autosave... off?!

I LAUGH IN THE FACE OF DANGER! WA HA HA HA!

1/11/2019 11:27:55 am

What can I say? I like to live dangerously.

PANIC MONSTER

1/3/2019 07:10:15 pm

OOGA BOOGA

Zach

1/3/2019 07:40:01 pm

Well... why haven't they gotten on with it? I would think Gwei at least has seen enough criminals in his time to know the dangers of monologuing...

Mark C

1/3/2019 09:15:23 pm

"Lindons heart raced as the worst-case scenario played out in his head. If the purple monkey dishwasher" ... and that's all I got

1/11/2019 11:28:41 am

There's a clearer picture on my FB page. I made this one intentionally low-res, but I couldn't do the same thing on Facebook, so I figured...screw it.

1/4/2019 02:17:28 am

That is awesome news!! Hope yu ou had a wonderful Christmas and a ver Happy New Year! Any news from here is good news in my opinion! Looking forward to the next book, whichever one it is and whenever you finish it!

Nitin Shekhar

1/4/2019 05:34:09 am

I see...not UNDERLORD then eh?

Deadnettle

1/4/2019 10:48:23 am

I would love a transcript of that page. I'm stuck at work with garbage screen resolution all day and I want to read it so bad... I can barely make out the text.

1/4/2019 11:52:55 am

Its a lot more readable on his th page

1/4/2019 11:53:22 am

Fb*

1/4/2019 02:13:42 pm

Have you tried tricking yourself into panic mode?

Jacob

1/5/2019 04:19:58 pm

Underlord i need a fix...i can only read the first five 10 or 11 more times!

Knarf

1/6/2019 10:48:02 pm

Yes! Abandon this silly duality of OKAK until Cradle is DONE!

1/9/2019 06:38:55 am

Ignore the above comment, you do what you want and like and we'll read it.

EE is beautiful and I love it, but I also like Cradle. I'll take what you deliver and like it.

See a Dr

1/5/2019 05:13:18 pm

Hey Will,
Although it's tempting to blame "laziness," writing is something you enjoy and can't focus on. I find myself in similar situations when my ADHD gets out of control. Maybe you should see a psychiatrist and see if you're afflicted?

DarthBathrobe

1/6/2019 05:05:42 am

Is there a forum or anything like it to discuss Wills works besides the comments sections here? Thanks!!

Michael

1/6/2019 06:52:36 am

Reddit: iteration 110

1/9/2019 07:03:47 am

discord has some good discussions, especially around the time of releases...

1/6/2019 10:45:50 pm

I love OKAK, but do not want to read another book of it until Cradle is DONE!

1/11/2019 11:38:16 am

I can't wait that long! That's probably another three years!

1/11/2019 12:09:58 pm

I am ok waiting 3 years for OKAK! I also recognize that you will eventually have to get it out of your head to write more Cradle. Can we have UL first regardless?
I love the books Will keep it up!

Dave

1/15/2019 10:27:25 pm

CONFIRMED: 9 more Cradle books in 3 years. Every 4 months. You're overdue for Overlord!

1/7/2019 05:02:45 am

Going by past example..I am guessing Jan 31st..

Under underlord..

Russell Mcdonald

1/7/2019 11:18:57 am

Hi, just wanted to give my two cents. As a child with ADD procrastination, anxiety, panic, etc are somewhat my default setting. Everyone deals in their own way. Two things I've discovered help me greatly first is the rubber duck concept: in programming it's the practice of slowly going over your code like by line and explaining what it does to a rubber duck. It has all sorts of benefits, when I want to write I do a similar process- I look at the dock and say this scene is where blank happens, these people are involved, let's break it down- first dudeface give info, the. These characters react this way, why? Because. Mind you I often physically speak it. It's easier to describe a scene then write prose (like being a Dom). Write down the bullet points then I've got a beat for beat map of said scene/story/app.
The second bit is the pomodoro technique, it's a well regarded too for working on bursts instead of trying to power through larger blocks of time (which never work unless you hit flow)
Like I said everyone is different, but I found these help me so I figured others might like it too.

1/7/2019 11:32:11 am

Procrastinators of the world unite! Tomorrow.

Lyndrek

1/7/2019 04:06:16 pm

Procrastinating introverts unite! Tomorrow and in separate houses.

The Really Annoying Guy

1/8/2019 07:52:07 pm

I know it's only been since October, but I miss the fact that Will doesn't respond to blog comments anymore. I guess he's finally reached the stage in his career where he's aloof and above these minor matters.

MitchyGoodness

1/9/2019 05:22:13 am

He responds. He just can't respond to everything.
Will's commented over and over again that he can't write and maintain the blog 24/7. So if he's being silent take that as a good sign he is writing something special.

1/11/2019 11:32:57 am

I actually spend more time than ever responding to fan comments, it's just that I have more platforms than ever to respond to. Discord and Reddit tend to have more comments than the blog, so those and Facebook take up more of my time than the blog.

Ann R

1/11/2019 02:59:00 pm

Can we get a link to the discord? Thanks : )

Justin

1/8/2019 08:18:11 pm

I have checked this blog for updates at least thirty times a day for the last month. It's become a problem...

1/9/2019 09:06:41 am

You are not the only one!

1/9/2019 11:01:42 am

it feels like release has been imminent since december. surprisingly okay with this though, bc ive just been rereading each novel since

Nicol Bolas

1/10/2019 08:14:31 pm

See, that was what I thought, and then I reread them. It took me 2 days. A couple weeks later, I reread them again (again, 2 days). Now, I’ll reread them again sometime (because they are great books) but I’m now checking this blog daily (at least) to see if underlord is out. I need UNDERLORD (OKAK 3 also acceptable).
P.S.
Don’t let this rush you Will, quality over speed, of course.

1/11/2019 10:32:40 am

Oh believe me, Im doing the same thing. I'm coming up on a 4th or 5th reread any day now. But its exactly as you said in your last statement: "quality over speed". The books are THAT good that I don't mind the wait because I know Im going to get a good product. That trust is really hard to establish as an author, and the fact that we even get a blog where can interact is an extra plus, on top of the fact that they already get released at an amazing rate. When I remind myself of that, I start grinning like Eithan and pick up Unsouled again

1/11/2019 11:35:32 am

I would not dare to disappoint Nicol Bolas.

I believe there are diminishing returns when it comes to quality vs. speed. If I spent eighteen months on each Cradle book, the individual books would no doubt be better, but the series and the experience as a whole would suffer.

So my philosophy is to release the best six-month books I can! (And I'm trying to eventually get that down to the best four-month books I can.)

Drew

1/11/2019 06:55:32 am

Seems like there's there's the Stephen King way to write and the G.R.R.M way to write, you're somewhere in the middle.

King writes 6 pages a day. He might write more if he's in the mood, but when he's not he still sits and writes 6 pages. Perhaps that's useful information for you.

At any rate, I enjoy your books far more than I enjoy King's - I haven't read his work for 20 years. I'll pick up and read yours as soon as it's released.

1/11/2019 11:37:42 am

Yeah, I'm a big believer in sitting down and writing out of sheer discipline just like King is, but when I sit down and hammer out content, I often end up stuck or writing myself into a corner that I then have to dig my way out of.

So I have to spend a little more time thinking, planning, and working it out as I write.

Mike H

1/12/2019 01:49:10 am

Will love your work. Reread all of the cradle and travlers gate over the past few days. I am currently off work due to the government shutdown. Hoping underlord comes out soon so i dont have to take a vacation day to cycle it. Keep up the great work.

1/12/2019 09:15:42 am

Man, I sincerely hope the government isn’t still shut down by the time Underlord comes out. That would suck.

1/14/2019 10:11:51 am

At the moment i am expecting at least the rest of this week. Realistically there is little end in sight. We have hit the point where people are officially missing checks now (due to timing we got one paycheck for work already done). Things are going to start getting dicey. Good news is they are starting a recall for some IRS employees. Means refunds will still go out even if it stays shutdown.

Still hoping for Underlord soonish. Out of the thousands of books I have read over the years, yours are the only ones i have ever re-read. Eagerly awaiting where things will go. Curious how Underlord is gained. Will Lindon will use the axe he presumably aquired from the last fight? Whats the story behind Mercy and why is she still a low gold? Will he share the bounties he gained from ghostwater or keep them to push to the peak of truegold in both cores?

1/13/2019 07:43:34 pm

Will, you’re understanding of the username reference made my week. Mtg players are hard to find these days (my “LGS” isn’t that local, you see).

D rk M tter

1/13/2019 08:01:34 pm

Have you tried Magic Duels on PC? I still love my real cards but I can play online anytime I want.

1/13/2019 09:47:34 pm

I play MTG arena, mono blue tempo. In gold IV right now. Thanks for the tip though.

1/15/2019 06:47:50 am

MTGA is my saving grace. I played physical Magic for years, but I stopped when I began to write, because I didn't have the time anymore. I still played occasionally, but I wasn't playing all weekend every weekend anymore.

And now I can play without having to drive to FNM or a Saturday tournament! Thanks Arena!

1/15/2019 06:48:33 am

...I haven't played much ladder, though. The Bo1 format frustrated me too much.

Connection?

1/15/2019 03:46:13 pm

So I was reading Of Dawn And Darkness a few days ago and I noticed something in one of the quotes. It said “Without the Guilds the Aurelian Empire as we know it wouldn’t exist”. So naturally I had to reread Cradle. In one of the books Eithan tells London that he was from a far away land. He also shows him Ozriels marble. Since Eithan is an Aurelius and was helped by an Abidan are they related in any way? And we already know that there are Abidjan in the Elder Empire.

1/16/2019 09:00:26 am

Abidan are celestial beings. Men or women who have ascended their worlds. Lot of Abidan also come from people born on Abidan iteration Sanctum.

If an "Abidan" is living in Auerlian empire, you will never know.

Aurelius family was never helped by Abidan. Ozriel is founder of Aurelius family, the famous sage of broom. So yes, Eithan is related to him. Ozriel left the marble behind for his descendants.

thanks for the help

1/16/2019 04:13:11 pm

Thanks for clearing that up. One more thing though. If Eithan was able to travel from the Aurelian Empire to the Blackflame Empire is there any chance that Calder or Shera can travel there. Maybe there can be a crossover in one of the later Cradle books. We know there are at least 4 more coming so maybe it will happen.

1/17/2019 05:46:07 am

Ah....
Aurelius family and Aurelian empire is not connected and not even from same universe! Eithan merely hopped continents. Aurelius family came from Cradle. Aurelian empire was founded by the emperor (Asylum). These names are Abidan designation.

That said, yes, Shera can travel to iteration 110 (Cradle) though I doubt she will enjoy it. Valin from Amalgam (travelers gate) did travel to Asylum and was thrown back by Abidan..This very event caused him to discover house of gates..

A Monarch from Cradle can easily subjugate entire Asylum..And maybe even fight Elders headon as long as they remain trapped.

Edit

1/15/2019 03:48:16 pm

I mean Abidan

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.