Writing Distractions

 

Writing Distractions

 

What are the most distracting items that every writer deals with and how to solve them in order to get as much writing done as possible?  Each of these items are what usually happens when you sit down at your computer or laptop, then immediately get distracted from your goals of writing for that timeframe.

1)      Social Media

Do you schedule writing time only to get distracted by checking your email, or some form of social media account? If so, stop it! Turn off all internet access during the scheduled time you are supposed to write. That means turn off your phone, unplug your laptop or computer from the internet or better yet get a separate laptop that doesn’t touch the internet and use that system for your writing.  If you can’t afford to buy another laptop them down load an app that turns off your social media and blocks it for a specific period of time. Like Freedom, Self-Control or Stay focused.

2)      Can’t stay awake or low energy:

When being creative sometimes your brain decides it needs a nap or just shuts down on you when you least expect it. So, take a nap during the day, take a shower to wake up, or better yet go to bed earlier at night than you have been going to sleep. Get plenty of rest so that your creative juices flow the right way. Open all the curtains to allow as much natural light into the room as possible. Maybe work out if your so inclined to get the blood pumping.  Avoid drinking coffee late the day or into the early evenings so that you can get rest once you lay your head down on that pillow.

3)      People interrupting

This is one distraction that I find not only rude, but down right disrespectful. Due to the fact that I work from home and have a free schedule everyone thinks I can stop and have a coffee, or take a phone call that hasn’t been scheduled and wonder why I get a negative attitude when they stop by without an invite or call just to chew the fat. That’s because I’m busy with a project, or in the middle of a thought that pertains to a storyline or script plot and don’t need to be interrupted. Even though you tell people as politely as you can that between the hours of this and that please don’t disturb me. I once lost my cool when someone called my home office number and when I didn’t answer they decided to call my house number and when I didn’t answer that number, they called my cell phone number. When I answered the cell believing that there was an emergency and asked what the emergency was and their response was, oh no emergency I just wanted to see if you wanted to meet me for happy hour today? I agreed to meet them for happy hour just so I could say it face to face, if I don’t answer that means I’m busy, just leave me a message and I’ll call you back once I’m freed up, but please don’t call every phone line you have for me because honestly, it’s not only rude and disruptive but also down right inconsiderate and distracting to my work.

4)      Waiting for Inspiration

Inspiration comes from a number of different venues. I myself use brainstorming to get my inspiration. What is brainstorming you ask? Well, it’s a way to get back into your writing mode by writing down ideas until they meld together into a story. It’s a way to write down all your ideas into a list until your creative juices begin to flow and make sense. I do this once a week to help me flesh out an idea for an article, or a storyline.

5)      Getting Lost in Research

This is an area that I am totally guilty of getting lost in – research is my favorite pastime especially when I am writing a book or movie script because I always want to ensure that if I am using history that I am on point and accurate in my research. So, when I start to research, I better have a good outline of what I need to search for or I could waste a ton of hours on the internet or in a library doing research on my subject matter. Its ok to learn something new or a piece of trivia that could enhance my storyline or plot, but to get lost in reading and reading about stuff that has nothing to do with your plot is a waste of time and energy, so be prepared to know what you’re looking for before you start doing research.

6)      Messy Desk and home

I know from personal experience that I become distracted if my desk is cluttered and disorganized when I try to write anything. If my house is a mess and disorganized the same thing happens to my brain, it shuts down and I can’t get anything written down on paper.  What I recommend is this, each night before you close up shop for the day, organize your desk, get rid of the clutter and make sure you are ready to work the next day without the clutter and mess. Same thing goes for the rest of your home/apartment. Straighten up each room, do your laundry and dishes so that you have no worries or guilt for not doing something else when you decide to sit down and start writing that novel. The more distractions you have set for yourself the less writing you will get accomplished each day.

7)      To do list that never gets completed

Years ago, I learned that if I created a list of things to do and never accomplished any of them, I couldn’t consider myself a success, but once I started to cross off items that I wanted to get done, I was able to accomplish so much in life and I felt so much better. So, my suggestion to you is this, make a list of things that need to be taken care of like laundry, dusting, wash floor, clean bathroom, clean kitchen, make dinner or plan out meals for the week, even just a shopping list. Then make a list of things you’d like to accomplish in your writings – like write 1000 words per day, research a segment of history and condense it down to a paragraph of information to include in the storyline. How about creating an outline for a storyline? Or better yet, create your story bible. I write up my to do list on Sunday and list everything I need to do for the week that way when I go to bed, I can wake up on Monday morning, turn on the coffee pot and review my list then get to work. What I don’t get done on Monday, there is always 5 more days to clear off the list. By the end of the week, I feel like I have accomplished a lot of things since I had all week to complete the list. When you begin to see your list crossed off each week, you know you can accomplish anything you put on a future list.

8)      Losing Focus

If you find yourself losing focus as you write, it’s time to get up and do something else to reboot your mind. I find cleaning helps me reboot my brain to better focus on what I want to write. It also helps to reread what your outline has to offer, or read the contents of your story bible. When you do something else it helps you regain the focus you had once you started on the endeavor of creating that novel or movie script. Since I start every project with the movie script, it’s easier to stay focused since it’s only scene and dialogue to contend with to write. 100-page movie script is easier to write than 125,000-word novel.

9)      Lack of Direction

If you find yourself feeling as though you have no sense of direction in your writing, this is when you have to decide to write that outline and create that story bible. If you don’t know what a story bible is, I’ll go into detail what it is in another post in the future. It’s a must for any writer. Create that outline and write up three lines or a short paragraph of what you want to say in each chapter, so you have a roadmap to your very own storyline with plots and character names to use in each paragraph throughout your novel.

 

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, and creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months