Time to share a personal revelation -- right in the middle of having it.
I'm typing away in Mr. Authoress's office, miles from my own cozy nook where the majority of my writing is done. It's freezing in here, and too quiet.
But you know what? I'm getting something done. And I know exactly why: I am distraction-free.
Well, the Mac is a distraction, to be sure. But my lack of prowess on this non-Windows machine is serving to keep me from wandering off into directions in which I shouldn't go. It's too frustrating to surf when windows keep disappearing and swimming around on the screen. It's a definite plus when it keeps to sticking with my manuscript and plugging along.
I don't have my normal, non-computer distractions around me, either. Like...food. And "Other Tasks." And dozens of other things that so easily pull me away from my writing.
For as passionate as I am about my craft, I have to ask myself why. Why do I so easily go astray? Why does a foreign, sterile environment lend itself to increased productivity?
Why do the cashews in the cupboard call more plaintively than the character who's stranded in the middle of a scene?
It's true that I'm more divergent than convergent. Divergence seems to go hand in hand with the creative temperament. Yet in order to be truly productive, the "artiste" in each of us needs to know how to focus on one task (namely, writing) in order to get it done.
I can't exactly mosey over to Mr. Authoress's office every day simply to get some writing done. And even if I did, I suspect that history would soon repeat itself. I'd become comfortable on the Mac and in the no-longer-foreign environment -- and my distractibility would once again rise to the top.
Yet I'm convinced there must be a way to combat this.
Thoughts? Personal experiences? I'm all ears.
Miss Snark's First Victim
Yes. And to prove it I came directly here when I saw your RSS feed title on my blog.
ReplyDeleteA therapist once told me to keep a notepad handy just to write down my distractions and promise myself to look them up later. This was during a particularly bad time of addiction to pop-culture news.
Create a distraction to-do list and get back to it later when you aren't distracted by writing.
Yep, came right over here when I saw you'd posted. I'm not easily distracted... no way!
ReplyDeleteahem.
I do get distracted by the Internet. A lot. I recently just took a break from it all, though, and managed to write a huge chunk of my book during that Internet-distraction-free time.
However, I like to be distracted sometimes. It helps me take a break when I start to feel overloaded with the creativity at my fingertips. Sometimes I just need a breather from those characters screaming in my ears. Sometimes I need distraction-free time. It depends wholly upon my mood.
I usually set aside at least two hours of time a day that I can write without chat windows popping up or the RSS feed telling me blogs have been updated.
Sometimes I just need to turn off the computer and write in a notebook. It doesn't stop the food from calling (though a cup of coffee or tea usually does), but it at least stops me from reading blogs when I should be writing... ahem.
ReplyDeleteI'm going, I'm going. :)
I've just started sending out queries for my first novel, plus I'm working on a new book. I'll be writing a scene when the urge hits to research another agent for my list. And if that isn't enough, there's always the blogs to read.
ReplyDeleteOkay, having ADHD doesn't help either.
Funny, I was just thinking this today from my desk. If I love writing so much (and I do), why do I practically have to tie myself to my down to do it?
ReplyDeleteYesterday I actually disabled my Internet connection when I found hand wandering over to IE, as if it wasn't even attached to my body!
I have made a resolution only to check the Internet on my designated break-times. So far, I've broken that resolution countless times, mainly for Twitter.
I think maybe it's the isolation of writing that prompts me to connect with the world (via the Internet). I was never quite so twitcy when I worked in an office.
Here's to distraction-free writing!
Yep, first thing I did when I sat down, was head here. I think all writers have ADHD. And I'm too scared to go to Twitter. I know it'd suck me in, and I can't afford another distraction.
ReplyDeleteNow, off to read Nathan's blog. :)
Write or Die- you say how many words you want to write, and, if you stop, it's starts eating what you've typed.
ReplyDeleteI'm very easily... I even stopped half-way through this to read a chapter in a book. Part of it is the multi-tasking, in the modern world we're so used to doing multiple things at once (drive, while eating and chatting/chasing kids while cooking dinner/ three projects and four presentations and two meetings all today) that sitting and doing only one thing becomes a bit of a challenge.
But I don't think it's entirely a bad thing.
You have to remember the human brain can only focus on something for so long before it's starts to spazz out and the memory fails. Forty-five minutes is the longest recommended period for a study session, followed by 10-15 minutes of down time, and back to studying.
And, don't forget, cruising the internet only means NOT TYPING, not NOT WORKING. A writer is constantly turning over ideas in the back of their brain, no matter what else is happening. So you might let the conscious mind wander while the rest of the brain comes up with the next sentence, and as long as you get back to writing, it's not really a waste. Just a slight delay.
I thought I was a focused person until I started working on my novel. The laundry, snacks in the kitchen, my cat, none have ever been so interesting. I finally started going to Starbucks with a friend. Much more productive. Even when I feel semi-distracted I look up and see him typing furiously and feel like I need to keep up.
ReplyDeleteYup, me too. Unfortunately, my attention has always (my whole life) been too many places at once. The internet can be distracting too and I end up disengaging my computer sometimes. But sometimes I need to research stuff for the book and I end up on a rampage, searching interesting but not useful for the current novel stuff. Terry Gerristen has a interesting post on how curious research can turn into sometime, at least I can hope for that.
ReplyDeleteWow, I too was having a day. I was wondering WHY I have to force myself to focus (and not very successfully) on writing. I don't get it and I can't figure out how to JUST DO IT.
ReplyDeleteoh well off to not write.
I'm with you Crimogenic. The other day I started doing some research on colored contacts for something in my novel. I got distracted and next thing I knew, I was ordering a certificate for a free pair. As if I'd ever use them! This doesn't sound too bad, but I spent half and hour figuring out which type and color I wanted since you had to specify this in the request.
ReplyDeleteDistractions come all the time, and very easily. For me, I do best in the middle of a quiet classroom, in a desk. I'm not sure why. Stephen King confessed to having the same problem. He suggests writers lock themselves in their basements for a few hours each day. For some reason, the writer's mind, in all of its creativity, hates to simply SIT and WRITE when there are other things to do. We will blog until kingdom come before we actually commit to a manuscript when cashews (or coffee, or chocolate cake, or any number of things) are in the other room. I think that's part of the reason we are writers. our minds simply wander so much. But a naturally wandering mind takes a lot of reigning in to get to sit still and focus on the character...probably because it already knows what happens, or the gist of it, and wants to go make up something different.
ReplyDeleteAt least...that tends to be my problem
Argh, SO yes. All the time. But it's funny - I get so distracted by chatting on the internet that I don't write - but if I try to write with the internet off, I feel like I'm trying to write without one finger, or something.
ReplyDeleteNice to know we are not alone, though :D hehe.
Yes, I can be easily distracted. Before Christmas I would lock myself in the public library where I was too afraid to hook up to their wireless for irrational fear of getting 'something'. I wrote a NaNoWriMo novel in something like 40 hours, just going there for 2 hours several times a week. But now I've fallen into old habits and take 'breaks' all the time to go 'check things out' online. Being somewhere else works for me.
ReplyDeleteNope I'm not easily . . . I heard a beep. Did I get an email? Nope, false alarm. Where was I? Oh yeah . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm not easily distracted at all. I start writing and only stop writing if I need to go online to research something. And since I'm already online to do the research, there's no harm in checking my email and reading a few blogs. And since I'm reading some blogs, I may as well comment on them. And once I comment on them, I might as well check my email to see if someone responded to the comment I left . . . because some of my writing friends might be researching online the same time I am.
;-)
Joan
Are you a TV watcher? I've heard people argue that TV has destroyed people's attention spans. The second something fails to entertain us, we just click a button, and the program changes, and we can keep it up all day. It creates the mindset for instant gratification and easy amusement--- two things that writing *isn't*. Of course, the internet's sort of replaced the TV that way, so... "Oh, I'll just click one more link---" Ye gods.
ReplyDeleteI like the "Distraction to-do list" Jarucia mentioned. What I do is make notes on what I get distracted by, and then I just get it all ready before I get started. I cover my desk with my sketchpad, some drinks, some snack foods, whatever, and then bring out a blanket for when I get cold at my desk.
When I get restless, I try to reward myself with louder music instead of internet sites-- I blare techno music and chair dance until I'm tired and just want to settle down and write some more. XD
I can be...but this year I'm trying to make more use of my time :)
ReplyDeleteThe net is a big one, especially when I have 24 hour access to it (when I cat sit). Over the holidays I turned it off for an entire morning, and achieved quite a lot of writing! It's nice at work though, to take a few minutes break from the day.
On the BlackGate blog (I think), one of the contributors has been talking about various technologies that writers can use to become more productive. One was the Write or Die software which someone else has already mentioned. I'm not sure if that would work for me. The one he mentioned which I thought would was the AlphaSmart Neo. But it's quite expensive... So I'm waiting for a good excuse to give myself a present.
ReplyDeleteNormally, I'm not easily distracted. I think reading this post yesterday afternoon doomed me to distraction. Picture it - the words are easily flowing last night, my fingers flying across the keyboard, and my cellphone rings. Do I ignore the phone, let whoever leave a message, and get it later? Heck no, I answer the phone and all coherent thoughts quickly fly out of my brain . . . mid-sentence, no less. Try as I might, I could not get back into the writing. I gave up for the evening . . . not that I hadn't written quite a bit already. SIGH!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I'm pretty good about maintaining my focus while writing. I just need to turn off the cell phone next time.
The internet is a HUGE distraction for me :) But getting away from home helps too. I get great ideas when I'm on vacation and write a lot too. I might need to just unplug the wireless some days...
ReplyDeleteDistracted? I opened my wip file two.. umm make that three hours ago and just took a moment to check my email while it was loading. Havne't been back to it yet. *curses internet*
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:20,
ReplyDeleteBeen there. :)
slife has some great tools for monitoring and even blocking computer distractions; just seeing how much time is wasted works for most.
ReplyDeleteOther effective plans:
- get with another writer, set goals and monitor each other, set consequences for slacking
- disable internet access during writing sessions, use a paper dict./thes., research/verify during revision
- have spouse/friend check on you every 30 mins during work hours
Along those thoughts, Wulfie...
ReplyDeleteWhen I was finishing up my WIP last week, I was vocal about it on Twitter. My writing Tweet buddies did keep me accountable, and cheered me on. Kept me WAY more focused.
I always have problems with distractions. Lately it's been Twitter or Facebook. I'll be in the middle of writing something and think, "Hey! I wonder what new statuses have been added since I last looked 10 minutes ago!" lol
ReplyDeleteShort attention span? Me? Oooh, look, a brightly colored zombie!
ReplyDeleteO:)
Yeah, I'm highly distractable. I figured a good way to make myself sit still and work, though--a ferret in the sleeve.
I see if I can get my ferret Byron when he's sleeping, let him curl up in my robe or sweatshirt sleeve, and then I'm required to sit still with one arm propped up on the chair or desk to accommodate his new "hammock". Weirdly, having only one free hand makes me more likely to write than play around online, becuase I have to let go of the mouse and use the keyboard more. ;)
The catch is getting a sleeping ferret to stay asleep for longer than a minute. Talk about your short attention spans. O:)
~Merc
I think I can be distracted when I'm unsure what a character needs to say or do. When I come across a place in my ms where I have to make a choice -- should the character stay here or go with her friend, should I revert to her boyfriend's POV in the next chapter, should I put this description in here -- it's the choice, "the deciding" itself that freezes me up.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, I'm distracted. I suddenly need a snack. Need to turn on the TV, etc.. But if I sit there a minute, or get up and pace and THEN sit there for a minute and DECIDE, yes, I'll go with her boyfriend's POV here, then having that small goal settled makes me not distracted.
(I'm big on pacing; it "undistracts" me)