(Another campus photo I took. I think I was on my way to class or something. Or the library? I don’t know. But I do know I absolutely had to stop what I was doing and take pictures of these awesome flowers. Now that I’ve said that, perhaps you won’t steal it from me? I can only hope.)
What distracts you/keeps you from writing?
Mine is the Internet. On a whole.
If you had told me that twelve years ago, I would not have believed you. The computer was mostly used for teaching me proper typing techniques and research. If I didn’t have to look something up for homework, I didn’t use it much when we first got the Internet. There were a hundred search engines, and Google wasn’t even on the radar.
But here I am, hooked on it. I look at a lot of stuff on the Internet. No, not just Facebook. Lots of things.
So what’s a writer to do when the entire freakin’ Internet is a distraction?
I discovered the answer a while back: Turning off my Wi-Fi. That works great until I need to look something up. Then it starts again. Oh, another awesome Cracked article? Ooh, and it links to three more that I haven’t read and have an extended interest in? Huzzah!
Crap. I’ve done it now. I was going to make this entry super-short because I’m on a total roll with writing tonight. I’m at 729 words for about half an hour’s worth of work. So I’d really like to get back to that.
It looks like this blog has become a distraction for me. If it’s become a distraction for you, then finish up this entry and get back to writing. Seriously. That’s the whole point of the blog.
I’m trying to keep you focused as well as myself. Here’s hoping it inspires you to just get on with writing. Look at what you can do when you put your mind to it. The Internet will still be there. (Speaking of which, that’s sort of one of my ways of getting myself off the Internet–I get so sick at myself and how I’ve wasted so much time on there and get guilty and make myself write and then I’m really glad for it and stuff.)
Anyway, my 729 words aren’t just crappy “I need to write, so I’m going to” words. They’re pretty good, if I do say so myself. A good portion of it is pretty close to par for the opening pages of the book, and that feels good, because the opening chapters are pretty excellent. I’ve yet to find anyone who disagrees with that. So I’m pretty much feeling great right now.
Crud. Now you guys are going to expect me to get more written every day, aren’t you? Well, I guess I’ll have to talk about expectations another day. (Speaking of which, there are endless topics for this blog to tackle! I’m pretty excited about that.)
Soooo, I’ll give you an assignment off the top of my head because I really want to get back into writing right now. Your assignment: Put your computer into sleep mode. No, not right now. Finish reading the assignment first. Go run a lap around your house or backyard or something–any place that isn’t terribly close to the street. Go to the local high school’s track or whatever. Just run a lap or two. Then sit back down at your computer and write about anything that invigorates you. Maybe write a poem. Spend at least 10 minutes doing nothing but writing. (That means that if you stop and think about it, then your time starts back up when you’ve started writing again.) What are you waiting for? Go outside! Run! Burn off that excess energy! And then burrow into writing like your life depends upon it.
UPDATE: The night ended at 949 words! Yippee! 😀