Somewhere in your mind, there is a writer looking to get out. This terrifying truth cannot be avoided, and if nothing is done, this side of your psyche will overflow with ideas until you find yourself regularly engaged in that most heinous of tasks: writing. Without immediate action to stem the tide, you might even end up with unwanted and unexpected completed work. Avoiding this fate takes great determination, and some unfortunates succumb completely, their lives taken over by endless composition. However, by following the steps outlined below, you can have a good chance of overcoming your creative tendencies and living a normal life. Step One: Poor Time Management The easiest way to be unproductive is to not write. This takes planning, because if one is inclined to write, it tends to seep in around the edges. Ideally, you shouldn't have time to think about writing. If you have a full-time job, this is a great place to start. Plan your day so that you will inevitably be exhausted during the only hours you would otherwise have free time to write. In these circumstances, you will inevitably find other less difficult activities to occupy your hours. Sleep is also important. Figure out whether you're more productive in the morning or evening, then adjust your sleep schedule to overlap that time. In many cases, these steps will be enough to prevent a person from writing for months at a time, making other countermeasures unnecessary. Step two: procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate! Even the strictest schedule can only last so long. Sooner or later, you'll probably find yourself with some free time to write, and possibly an idea or two. This is a danger... middle of paper ...... still writing? Don't understand what you are inviting into your life? Certainly, you may feel a momentary sense of accomplishment after completing a work, and your work may even be well received at first. But these feelings only lead to more writing, until the task fully consumes every waking hour of your life. And before you dive headfirst into the lifestyle, consider this: How many happy writers do you know? If history has shown us anything, it's that writing for a long time is a gateway to isolation, poverty, depression, alcoholism, and a host of other unfortunate circumstances. Prolonged writing has also been linked to cancer. Perhaps if procrastination and perfectionism can't keep you from putting pen to paper, simple conservation will do. Next time you sit down to write, remember that your life is on the line. And it's best to leave this line blank.