Writers are, by nature, the world’s greatest procrastinators. The thought process is simple: “Why should I start that crucial first scene when I can make the word “zax” in online Scrabble for a double-letter and triple-world score?” Quickly followed by “I just nailed an 87-point word. That deserves a snack.” Then, “must check for emails and who clicked ‘like’ on one of my brilliant Facebook posts?” These time-tested, time-sucking gambits are effective across all writing platforms, but those of us in the book authoring trade have a unique procrastination resource at our disposal. Sure, TV and movie guys make the big bucks, but we can check our Amazon Sales Ranking every five minutes. You heard it right. I have the luxury of sitting back and beaming as my novel rockets to number 10,000 on the best seller list at 11:00 AM, and then drowning my sorrows in beer as it sinks to 384,089 by midnight. It’s a roller coaster ride, but oh, so worth it. Since the numbers change constantly, this is an activity in which I can participate ALL DAY LONG. How cool is that? I can just write that new chapter tomorrow. After I make the word “Suq.”
It’s an arab marketplace.