The guilt factor

I'm in a rut.

I'll admit, part of it's the summer, the hot days where it's too hot to think straight.  I'm deep in the editing process of my new novel, the second in the Witch Hunter Tales series, and I need to motivate myself to meet my publisher's deadline. But it's August and there's so many things to do. So what have I started feeling? Guilt.

I think of it as the guilt factor. If you've got an overbearing friend or relative, someone who guilt trips you, or perhaps remnants of a religion you used to follow, these might be affecting you. But for writers, I find I've started feeling guilty whenever I've got a bit of free time and I'm not spending it writing/editing/proofread/revising/pitching/querying/etc.

Do any of you feel this way? Do you start experiencing pangs of guilt if you find yourself doing other things rather than writing?

I'm feeling it now. Wish me luck. Sitting down to write is the only way I get rid of it. Maybe it's a helpful demon, or my conscience, or a really annoying guardian angel. Whatever it is, it's the guilt factor.

cheers
​ELJ