Can you beat this procrastination record?

In an article in the (London) Times, children’s authors told how they got started. Meg Rosoff said, “I procrastinated  about writing a book for 35 years, always sure I’d never write one good enough.”

 So what finally got her writing? “When I finally tried to write a novel,” she says, “I was inspired by some really bad books I’d read, thinking, ‘at least I can do better than that.’”

 That’s not a bad strategy when you lack confidence. While you don’t necessarily want to compare yourself to the worst, it’s a prescription for disaster to compare yourself to the best. Don’t ask whether you can write like (insert name of best author you can think of)…ask whether you can write like you. And then start! At least you (probably) won’t have procrastinated for 35 years!

(for eight free mini-lessons how to overcome procrastination, go to www.tameyourinnercritic.com. There's no charge and we never sell or share our list.)