Dear Readers,

I hope you are not procrastinators.  Procrastination is nasty.  I’m fighting it. 

Some years ago, a friend persuaded me to write a book.  Oh sure.  Why not?  I’m impulsive.  Let me try it. 

Did I know how to write a book?  No.  I did it page by page, chapter by chapter, and ended up with lots of material that I pulled from my friend’s brain.  “Oh no, I can’t remember,” Antoinette would say, and then she’d remember.  The same with her sister, Rachel.  Her Cousin Art sent me what he remembered.  Her friend, Lois, sent us letters that Antoinette had sent her from Cuba.

Now I have some hundreds of pages of story and notes that are begging me to read, reread and to revise.   Ooh, now I am reading it again after having hidden it away for a long time.  It’s such a good story.  Why did I ever procrastinate?

This is my time to get my book out there.  No excuses.  I put so much time into this book–the story of my American friend whose dad sneaked them out of Trenton, New Jersey, to live in Havana, Cuba, during the Cuban Revolution.  She’s stuck there.  That’s the story and it’s worthwhile to finish so people can enjoy it.

Having the time to do it is a real gift and it would be ridiculous to squander this retirement time by lying in bed, eating dark chocolate Hershey Kisses and watching HGTV with my cats.

I’m not going to stop walks with my husband, time with family and friends and facilitating a writing workshop.  I’m not going to stop cleaning, cooking and doing laundry.  (Although it is SO tempting…)  I AM GOING TO FINISH THAT BOOK!  I WILL WORK ON IT FOR THREE HOURS A DAY!  I WILL TRIUMPH!  (However, I will take breaks for food, drink and noooooooooo, not Facebook and not checking my blog stats.)

Send me a comment and cheer me on!  Do you have any suggestions about how to fight procrastination?

Written by Marguerite Ferra, Cramer Hill

PS  If you live in the South Jersey area and you are interested in joining an afternoon writing group, check out woodlandwriters.com  for information about location and fees.