On Avoiding Writing, P. J. O’Rourke
Sometimes it feels so nice to have a reminder that you are not the only writer who procrastinates. Right now I am balancing two Research Assistant jobs, my thesis writing/researching, household chores and errands, and planning my upcoming nuptials (we’ve decided to have a winter wedding!) - because I’m CRAZY. I am in the habit of making myself busy. Anyway, P. J. O’Rourke just made me feel a little better about those times when I dilly dally.
Usually, writers will do anything to avoid writing. For instance, the previous sentence was written at one o’clock this afternoon. It is now a quarter to four. I have spent the past two hours and forty-five minutes sorting my neckties by width, looking up the word “paisly” in three dictionaries, attempting to find the town of that name onThe New York Times Atlas of the World map of Scotland, sorting my reference books by width, trying to get the bookcase to stop wobbling by stuffing a matchbook cover under its corner, dialing the telephone number on the matchbook cover to see if I should take computer courses at night, looking at the computer ads in the newspaper and deciding to buy a computer because writing seems to be so difficult on my old Remington, reading an interesting article on sorghum farming in Uruguay that was in the newspaper next to the computer ads, cutting that and other interesting articles out of the newspaper, sorting—by width—all the interesting articles I’ve cut out of newspapers recently, fastening them neatly together with paper clips and making a very attractive paper clip necklace and bracelet set, which I will present to my girlfriend as soon as she comes home from the three-hour low-impact aerobic workout that I made her go to so I could have some time alone to write.”
— P. J. O’Rourke
The Wit and Wisdom of P. J. O’Rourke
Did I spot a typo in the mention of “paisly”? At any rate, via.
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