Writer Not Writing

Have you ever had one of those days?

Of course you have.

I should be writing, but I’m not. Or I could be creating illustrations for the comic series I create with Charlene Brash Sorensen, but I’m not. What have I been doing? Well I did write a post for another blog, TVWriter.com on shutting up.  And, of course I’m writing this.

That doesn’t change the fact that I should be photo-shopping a small blue horseshoe print (don’t ask, but it goes with this 

 - note the blue hoofs). And then there’s the manuscript I need to create from a screen script (if you read this blog you no doubt saw the wonderful illustration associated with it last week). Yeah, well, I’ll get to writing that tomorrow…or maybe I’ll stay up late tonight. 

I do take some pride in the fact that I spent some time today helping an aspiring writer. He has a bit of a way to go yet, but he’s already come a long stretch. Kuddos on him! His project has gone from a long book to the idea of a trilogy and then back to a single long book. Long, of course, being relative, as it fits cleanly into its genre.

The trouble with a day like today is the distractions from writing  are plenty and the urge to play at anything other than being a writer great. It’s easy to give in to those distractions when they’re so close at hand – like a click away to hit Facebook or Twitter. And there’s beautiful spring sunshine outside. On top of that they tell us it’s going to snow by next Monday, so maybe I should take a bit of time off the indoor task of writing now before it hits again ahead of the real spring that’s coming when no doubt I'll get spring fever and want to skip the writing again.

Ah, yes, but back to where I am today. I have a writer's to do list on my desk just to my right and I’m scratching off stuff as I get it done. So far, despite my dithering on this day instead of writing, I’ve scratched off two of the eight things on the list and will scratch off another once this blog post is added to my site.That leaves five and probably a long evening ahead.

This is the kind of day I’m having. I’m almost looking forward to the need to take a break and fix dinner, and I don’t particularly like to cook. But, it’s my night, so I will.

To top it off, I look down at my keyboard (I usually don’t because I touch type at a high rate  of speed) and I see the ‘n’ and ‘m’ are both worn off…again.  Probably should buy a new keyboard but who needs the expense? Besides, I touch-type so I hardly look at them. But when I do a correct and do need to look down I almost always hit an ‘m’ for the ‘n’ because the letters are worn off the keys. A small writer's plague.

Sigh.

That’s the kind of day I’m having. Distractions and procrastination. I can only hope the rest of the world is accomplishing more than I.

Okay, back to that writer's to do list. I guess I’ll photoshop the blue horseshoe print.  Not exactly writing, but who knows, it may lead to greater things.

Tomorrow will be better…I'll just add to my list.

Writers Have Problems

Writers have problems.

Big surprise, right?

Well, the life of the self-employed and self-motivated can be very much different from going to an office at given hours. Freeing in many senses, but then there are the other problems.

For example when a writer is confronting emotional issues ranging from simply not being in the mood to depression or just reacting to distractions like a dog fixated on squirrels, it can signal lots of problems or merely a bump in the road.

If you find you’re hardly ever ‘in the mood’ to write whatever you have before you maybe you need to rethink this whole writer thing. Perhaps it isn’t for you after all. No harm, no foul, just think about it.

If you’re incredibly easily distracted it’s another problem to think about. If there are problems going on in your life maybe it would help to deal with those first or even to go see a counselor of some species.  If there are ALWAYS problems going on in your life that prevent you from writing, then really, seek some kind of help.

Though personally I have to say I find writing can help with mental blips. Going into another world of your creation, using focus, putting words down in neat rows can help to get you moving forward. It may not be easy to just start writing and it might be crap what you throw on the blank page, but it would well be of great help in getting past those blips and bumps.

Another problem writers have are impediments to our writing. I mean things happen, right? Your kid broke his leg and you have to run him to the emergency room. No writing today. The way things are going with climate change maybe a forest fire is heading your way. Maybe no writing for a couple of weeks. Maybe your computer crashed big time. God knows how long it will take to get it fixed. Maybe YOU broke your arm and are having a helluva time typing. Six to eight weeks to heal. The dog got bitten by God knows what – run for the vet! Hmmm.

Okay, okay, things like that are hard to dodge and they can get you off track for a while, but think about it, are you letting other, smaller things intrude on your writing time, all the time? Like the neighbor dropping over, or the phone ringing, or paying too much time to texting? If you want to continue writing you’re going to have to get the upper hand and take steps to ensure your writing time is protected.

But you’ve been told this before I’m sure, in many ways, on many blogs so I won’t go into detail on that subject.

Writers. We have problems. We are problems. If there’s a writer in your life be patient, supportive and maybe occasionally lock us in a little room where we can do nothing else but write. Your efforts will be greatly appreciated!

Dump the Distractions Writers

Writers have many plagues in our solitary worlds. There’s writer’s block, procrastination and upfront for this article, distractions.

Now, many of us writers are so skilled we can even use Distraction to enable our Procrastination and thus not complete an article, story, grant application or any other writing task before us.  Quite an accomplishment in a negative sort of way.

But that's probably not the best idea. We do have to get something done. Really. Freelance writers have to get their work done - hopefully on time.

So, how to deal with everyday writing Distractions? First, try to limit them. Don’t answer your phone when you’ve set your work hours. Let it take a message and return the call later. And that really does mean later. If you hear the phone ring, wait for it to take a message, then listen to it that’s kind of self-defeating

If a cell phone, turn it off, all the way off; it can take messages while it sleeps. And you don't have to see very text or cute message that comes through right when it does. It peppers your day and punches holes the size of those in your Swiss cheese in your writer's work hours. It boils down to probably one of the chief reasons you can't get anything done.  It’s kind of hard to say cell phone without putting ‘damn’ in front of it. Seriously. Turn the thing off. Put it away. How obsessive are you?

New magazine just arrive in the mail? The one you love to read and view the pretty pictures? Well put it aside. No, you can’t flip through it right now. In fact why did you even visit the mail box before the end of the day? Unless you’re expecting a very important letter that'll send your writing career to the moon resist the urge to run to the mail box. If you already have, perhaps you can glance at the new magazine at lunch? Set a definite time. Then return to work.

Beware the internet. It can be your best friend or a demon of distraction. It can be as bad as your phone or worse; larger screen.  How easily have we writers all been lured off the path when researching a project and a new line of inquiry grabs us by the eyeballs?

Learn to limit your time online and how long you’ll spend researching a particular subject. And if not actual time limit if you need to do a thorough job, then subject limit.  Then get off the web when you aren't actually completing some research, sending a business email or in some way utilizing its assets for your writing. No, you can't just wander around and enjoy the off-shoots of your research; you can do that later during your leisure time when you're not trying to write.

Finally you must identify and admit what your particular distractions are. I might not have covered them here.  There are many others beyond what I’ve written about. You might jot things that unexpectedly (or expectedly) distract you down in a notebook for a few days just to get a feel for them. Don’t get obsessive and keep this up forever, it’s just a tool. Then limit or eliminate those potential distractions from your writing day.

Another bit of advice. If you find you’ve been distracted for a while and you begin to feel guilty, don’t. Stop what you’re doing. Take a short walk away from your work station. Maybe grab a quick, healthy snack (emphasis on healthy) to bolster your energy. Then get back to your work in progress and leave the distraction behind.

You can do this and amazingly increase your productivity.  Just keep yourself aware of time passing and focus on what you need to accomplish in your writing for that day. It might seem hard at first, but really it isn’t.

All right now, focus, jump off the web and turn the damn cell phone off…writers write.