"Better is the enemy of done.

The posting on Facebook thing is a good idea.

I posted a New Year's Resolution some odd years back about writing 3 spec features that year on a blog I had.

I did it. 3 specs that year. Mainly, because it was a commitment I threw out there into the world.

And some of the comments were not so pleasant and others downright crude about my goal. But truth be told, 3 specs a year seems like child's play now.

Setting tangible goals and being held accountable to those goals, however preposterous they may seem, is priceless.

@tracinell: Priceless.

@James: You reminded me of this post, one of my Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work. In a very basic way, there is nothing quite like the threat of embarrassment or humiliation to motivate someone to get something done.

"I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline."

—Duke Ellington (1899–1974)

@WL: Wow, I've never seen that quote. Excellent. Definitely becomes an On Writing post with a HT to you. Thanks!

Got the exact same problem.

What I do now is, I just jot down ideas that pertain to these other projects. Or, if it is fitting, write an idea as a 5-10 page short (plus notes on how to expand it in the future).

Still what bugs me a lot more is what Sylvia Plath said: "The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."

Because I basically write a lot of stuff that I don't really think is good or anybody wants to read or watch on a screen. I'd like to write like a real writer. Do stuff that matters or whatever. And what I come up with (almost always) in the end is some weird Sci-Fi stuff. And I say to myself: "It was supposed to be a drama for Chrissake, why is it Sci-Fi now? Could you please tell me that? Huh?" And then I shrug and say, "Go start something else?" "Sure."

I think I read too many comic books. Who knows...

But great post. Great quotes. Put them in my own personal "on writing" folder. Thanks, good stuff.