My excuses vary day to day, hour to hours, much like the Melbourne weather. But I found a terrific podcast that both validated and elucidated the reasons behind the dreaded procrastination. Funnily enough, it's called Writing Excuses.
About them, in their own words:
"Writing Excuses is a fast-paced, educational podcast for writers, by writers. It airs weekly, with new episodes appearing each Sunday evening at around 6pm Eastern Time. The show is hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells, with guests featured from time to time.
Our goal is to help our listeners become better writers. Whether they write for fun or for profit, whether they’re new to the domain or old hands, we have something to offer. We love to write, and our listeners do, too."
And frell me if it doesn't motivate the pants off me every time I listen. One of their latest episodes (from Season 11) was on Imposter Syndrome - a thing I and, it seems, many other writers have in abundance.
Ahem: "This is the frame of mind that many successful writers suffer from, in which they worry that they’re not really good enough at writing to be enjoying their success. Worse, this mindset can prevent us from continuing to create."
I've written three books. After the first was published - BAM. Paralysis. Stage-fright. Doubt. After a year, I am only just coming out of it to write my fourth. It's a real thing.
But I have now run out of excuses so...I will go write.