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| Silk Parachute Cord Knotted Bracelet |
USA Today bestselling author Jeannie Lin writes groundbreaking historical romances set in imperial China as well as an Opium War steampunk series, the Gunpowder Chronicles. The Hidden Moon, a historical romance and murder mystery set in the pleasure district of the Tang Dynasty imperial capital will be available September 1, 2020 in digital and September 8, 2020 in print. Learn more about Jeannie and her books at her website.
I’m not just a procrastinator. I’m a procrastination specialist. My procrastination efforts are an artform.
Normally this comes with a lot of schedules and to-do lists to try to keep myself on track. And guilt. Oh, the guilt – why can’t I stay focused?!
But over the last months as I was writing The Hidden Moon, I tried something different. I tried to be a little kinder to myself.
I realized that labeling myself as a procrastinator – as I did above there -- or saying that I’m too easily distracted….these are all negative judgment. It’s me telling myself that I need to be different. What I was doing was not good enough, not productive enough.
I spent the last four years thinking I needed to cut things out of my schedule that were distractors. That I needed to focus and be more efficient. It led to me wanting to write, but not really writing. Yet still feeling guilty for it.
It led to burnout at work.
It led to a very sad me.
Whenever I start writing a new book, I post a paper with a quote on the wall above my desk to give myself a little encouragement.
My current quote is: “I hate writing. I love having written” along with a cute little stick drawing of the “Instant Gratification Monkey” from Tim Urban’s talk on Why Procrastinators Procrastinate.
There’s a reason for that monkey in my head. He’s not there to fight me…he’s there to tell me that all those “distractions”: googling trivial research, YouTubing craft tutorials, making cool swag that’s not really going to sell any more books …that was all more important to me than I realized.
So I put up the sign, not only to remind myself to get to work, but to remember to let the monkey play. Which led to one late night when in the middle of writing, I wondered….hmm, what’s something my hero could make by hand that he ends up giving to the heroine? Which led to a YouTube journey on how to tie decorative knots. An hour and many videos later, I was ordering red paracord off the internet.
Okay, Monkey, I said, you’ve had some time to play. We have some pretty red cord coming. Now I’m going to write, and I promise, I PROMISE when this draft is done, you’ll get to try it out.
As a result, I developed a recurring motif in The Hidden Moon, created a neat little piece of swag to mail to readers, and had a fun craft project to reward myself with that I could do with my little girl once the draft was done. (see above)
My procrastination monkey is not there to hold me back. He’s there to tell me to remember the things that bring me joy. And that these inputs, this brain candy that I love, is there for a reason. They’re not needless distractions to be locked away. They are the fuel for my productivity and refill the well in little sips to keep me going.
Confession: The silk bracelet wasn’t the only wandering I did with this last book, by far. Let me present to you the combination lock box I created out of cardboard and glue. I thought it would be fun to put together a mystery in a box adventure with games and puzzles for my readers since The Hidden Moon has a murder mystery!
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| Combo box made out of cardboard with three cardboard dials. |
Down, Monkey. Down.
It was a lot of fun though. And a good six hours covered in glue.
What’s the brain candy that gives you joy and keeps you going?
The Hidden Moon
A well-bred lady and lowly street hustler team up in a historical murder mystery set during China's glittering Tang Dynasty. Part of the best-selling Lotus Palace series.
Impetuous and well-educated, young Lady Bai has always been the forgotten daughter between two favored sons. However, when Wei-wei’s older brother is tasked with investigating a high-profile assassination, he turns to his clever younger sister for assistance.
Gao is a street-wise scoundrel with a checkered past and a shady reputation. He knows better than to set his sights on the high-born Lady Bai, but when she asks for his help, he can’t refuse.
As the unlikely pair chases down a conspiracy that reaches from the gutters of the capital to the imperial palace, Wei-wei is intent on seeing justice done, while Gao is determined to solve the mystery just for her – even if the attraction between them can never be more than a moment’s longing.
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