Monday, March 26, 2007

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow…

by Chuck Zito

The list of tasks I've taken up 'instead of writing' includes alphabetizing every CD in the apartment; planting an herb garden in my kitchen, and a five hour quest for the perfect bath mat. Now however, I'm involved in the most detailed procrastination of all.

To understand the depth of this diversion, you have to know that I have loved only one other pursuit in life as much as mysteries: the theater.

As with any habit that reels you in when you’re innocent and unaware, one little production at age fifteen led to another led to a degree led to a job and soon I was a full blown theater junkie. As an adult, I've occasionally reconsider this love affair. I’ve tried to get out. Each time, like a disgraced 12-stepper, I’ve crawled back into rehearsal to spend sunny afternoons in dimly lit rooms while directors and designers argue over look and movement, and actors ask, “why aren’t I the lead?” Then, it came to me: if I wrote mysteries set in theaters, maybe I wouldn’t have to do theater. (Ok, so I'm slow at the figuring out thing.)

Enter Nicky D’Amico. For a few years it actually worked. I stopped doing theater the year before the publication of the first book. Then I kept busy writing the second. The Nicky D'Amico mysteries are the prefect theater substitute. In each book Nicky works on a new production. In A Habit For Death it's the failed musical comedy Convent of Fear. Ice In Veins (which comes out June 1) centers on a very problematic all-male production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Of course, Nicky, as the stage manager, is always at the center of the action. It was the perfect setup for me. Which is just another way of saying there was no way this was going to last.

Two weeks ago I was once again killing time instead of writing Nicky #3. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) I started cruising Craig’s List, looking for funny ads. There, snuggled alongside such gems as “Will Sell My Boyfriend” and multiple rants against airlines, was a single word: “Macbeth.” Without even realizing what I was doing, I’d opened the link and – boom – I am now just a few weeks from the start of rehearsal for a one act I haven’t even finished writing.

The project is The Kings and Their Dead for the Are The Fish Happy? Theater. It's a three-act evening of Shakespearean kings and their victims. I'm doing the Macbeth/Banquo segment. I get to riff for 20 minutes using Shakespeare's dialogue and characters. Now I'm not complaining about the task itself. This play is part of a greater project called Peace on War of which I am very proud to be a part.

But here's the thing. In my effort to put off writing, I've taken on a one-act. What if my procrastination is progressive? Where is this going to end? What do other people do 'instead of?'

12 comments:

Joe Moore said...

Chuck,

I don’t procrastinate when it comes to my writing. I jump right in to it right after I:

Check my Amazon numbers
Visit Backspace writer’s forum
Check my B&N numbers
Read Cabbages and King’s blog
Check my Ingram numbers
Read Joe Konrath’s blog
Visit WritersNet writer’s forum
Read Buzz, Balls & Hype blog
Read CrimeSpot blog
Check my UK Amazon numbers
Visit WritingForums
Check my German Amazon numbers
Visit the forum on Writer’s Chatroom
Visit CrimeSpace forum
Check my Canadian Amazon numbers
Visit the Novelists Inc. forum
Check my Japanese Amazon numbers
Read Mark Terry’s blog
Check the Yahoo discussion groups for ITW, MI, MWA, Crime Scene Writer, ThrillerFest, MWA-Breakout, and a couple of others whose names I can’t remember
Visit InkSpot
Check the traffic numbers for InkSpot
Check the traffic numbers for www.grailconspiracy.com, www.thelastsecret.net, and www.hadesproject.com
Check my Amazon numbers
Eat lunch

As you can see, I never let anything stand in the way of my writing.

Joe

Nina Wright said...

Greetings, Chuck, from fellow playwright and MI scribe. Procrastination aside, playwriting is good for your soul--and your novel-crafting skills. I believe we all need to write stuff outside our regular gig. It sharpens our skills and keeps the series fiction fresh. As we say in the theater, *merde*!!! Happy riffs on the Scottish play....

Nina

Mark Terry said...

My day looks an awful lot like Joe's, although I'm a freelance writer, too, so sometimes writing can be procrastinating from writing, depending on deadlines.

I just flew in from Austin, TX last night after a 3-day trip for my nephew's wedding, and it's safe to say I'm not getting any writing done. I did, however, book my next trip at the end of May... and signed up for frequent flier miles... and, well, went out to lunch, and...

G.M. Malliet said...

Once you notice the little "Edit page appearance" link that leads to the area where you can change all the colors and fonts and graphics and things on your Crimespace page, you can pretty much kiss the rest of the afternoon goodbye, if not the entire month.

But I'm not a procrastinator. Really. I just think some weak-willed people like Joe might be tempted by this and felt I should warn you.

Wait, I do think I liked the brown and orange color scheme better. Really ought to change that and it will only take a second...

Joe Moore said...

"But I'm not a procrastinator. Really. I just think some weak-willed people like Joe might be tempted by this and felt I should warn you."

Gin, I can't imagine why you would say that? But, just to be safe, I have added "Customize my Crimespace page" to my list of things to do every day. :-)

Candy Calvert said...

Omigod--did you HAVE to tell me that about tweaking the Crimespace page??? I'm totally OCD--the Edward Scissorhands of tweaking.
I'm doomed.

Loved your post, Chuck--"roar of the greasepaint, smell of the crowd" (is that circus or theatre? Either way, it reminds me of my stint in the ER)

By the way, I finally found your website. After being convinced for days that you were a Hollywood Kung Fu stuntman . . . who'd obviously had plastic surgery. Who's that other guy with your name???

Sue Ann Jaffarian said...

Chuck, at least you are doing something for the arts and writing.

My boyfriend recently (just last week, in fact) told me he can always tell when my writing is going well ... my apartment is a bit messy. When it's sparkling clean, he worries.

The "instead of" list of shame:

cleaned the cat box (ok, it does need it from time to time)

played Scrabble online ... for a long stretch of time

organized my sock drawer

Watched an entire season of "Big Love" in one weekend

Dusted knick knacks kept behind glass doors

Took knots out of long-haired cat when she didn't need it.

Cleaned out my purse.

And the list goes on and on and on...

It's amazing any of us gets anything done. :)

Julia Buckley said...

At least you, Chuck, and apparently lots of other Inkers, are productive when you're not writing. Sometimes my not writing just takes the form of me sitting there, and my mind going "zzzzzzz."

How can you resist Macbeth? It's the greatest play--and those soliloquies! This is why I reference the play many times in my book. I just love it. I wish I could come out there to see you perform!

And Joe, at least you have Amazon numbers in all those countries. That's pretty awesome.

jbstanley said...

Joe,

I thought I was the only one! Here's how I operate:
Check Amazon numbers. Remember what I was writing by glancing at outdated outline. Check B&N numbers. Hammer out a paragraph. Re-heat coffee in microwave for 14th time. Check Amazon numbers. Write another paragraph. Feed cats treats, Change diaper. Answer phone calls. Check Amazon numbers. To roll in mood of doom and gloom, call Ingram to find out sales and stock numbers. Have more coffee. Go for a walk while trying not to think of numbers. Type another page, then start at step 1.

jbstanley said...

Joe,

I thought I was the only one! Here's how I operate:
Check Amazon numbers. Remember what I was writing by glancing at outdated outline. Check B&N numbers. Hammer out a paragraph. Re-heat coffee in microwave for 14th time. Check Amazon numbers. Write another paragraph. Feed cats treats, Change diaper. Answer phone calls. Check Amazon numbers. To roll in mood of doom and gloom, call Ingram to find out sales and stock numbers. Have more coffee. Go for a walk while trying not to think of numbers. Type another page, then start at step 1.

jbstanley said...

Sorry folks. Blogger trigger finger was twitching.

Too much caffeine today...

Bill Cameron said...

The internets are my procrastination source. If I have a connection, I click, Google, ruminate. All over everything else out in the world. It's why I write away from home. In fact, it's why I picked Starbucks, because you have to pay for the Wifi access there and damned if I'm gonna pay twice for internets!