Most of us find the prospect of writing anything other than a text or email slightly less appealing than a root canal, which at least gives you time off school or work. However, if you procrastinate for too long, you can turn what ought to be an unchallenging jog into the equivalent of a marathon. No weekend jogger can tackle a marathon without keeling over, probably somewhere around mile 12. And writers, even the seasoned ones who write for a living, can seldom afford to procrastinate for more than a few days. You might think that your 25-page term paper is fine, despite being cranked out overnight on a combination of caffeine and panic. But anyone who reads it will recognize the signs of a writer hard up against a deadline, hurling sentences on the page. Your readers will wince their way through every paragraph.