Joseph Bentz asks, “Do you ever worry that other writers seem to get so much work done each day while you find yourself mired in delays and procrastination and frustration?” I’m less worried than astonished by how much writing Joe gets done while leading a life that’s at least as busy as mine.

He’ll be sharing his “Top Ten Strategies to Become a More Productive Writer” at this year’s ACFW Conference — oh, to be a fly on the wall!

He explains one of these strategies in his guest post on the ACFW blog, “Don’t Mistake Ideal Writing Conditions for Necessary Writing Conditions.”

I felt like he was holding a mirror up to me when I read this part:

Let’s look more specifically at how this works. Take the “I Need Big Blocks of Time” condition for writing….

If those writers insist on that ideal condition, their thinking may go something like this: 1. I need big blocks of time in order to write. 2. I don’t have big blocks of time. Therefore, 3. I won’t write! I’m off the hook! I have a perfectly good excuse for not being productive, and no one can blame me.

Once I get over that, think of how much fanwriting I’ll get done!

[Via Diana Glyer.]