This is another post for the monthly IWSG created by Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can Click Here to join the Linky List so that you can participate. His awesome co-hosts today are Bob Milne, River Fairchild, Julie Dao, and Sarah Foster! Please be sure to thank them for their time and effort to make all IWSG members feel welcome.
North America is in a deep freeze. At least, most of North America. Here in Florida it is cold *by Florida standards* but "deep freeze" is overstating the situation. The last few days people were encouraged to Stay Home in many states. This is a writer's delight. Stay home? Really? I can get all sorts of work done on my WIP...
So, did you? Get work done on your WIP, that is?
Or were you distracted by a less than clean house? The Christmas decorations that still haven't been put away? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? PinInterest? Getting caught up on taped movies or TV shows on the DVR? Did you have kids that were also home and bored with cabin fever?
Let's face it... distraction is everywhere. If you are writing a lot, distraction is necessary. But if you're not writing a lot... what can you eliminate so that the time can be spent writing? If you are anything like me, you can fill up an entire day easily without writing a lick. That means creating time and space for writing is crucial if you actually intend to do any. And that means something that used to be part of your daily routine must go.
What have you eliminated for your writing? Do you have writing penciled in on your calendar? Do you prefer morning, afternoon, or evening? Are you one of those amazing people who works on your WIP eight or more hours a day? I am curious to hear what you do that works!
For those of you who participated in the most recent installment of Battle of the Bands, the song was The Prayer of St. Francis. All Angels vs. Sarah McLachlan. I was hoping that the vote would be more evenly split, but that was not the case. All Angels only got 2 votes, while Sarah got 11 votes. Not that it matters, but my vote was also for Sarah... just making the landslide bigger. Come back on January 15 for the next Battle and vote for your favorite!
If I didn't have a job I could write eight hours a day.
ReplyDeleteI've set aside a minimum of an hour every evening since just before Christmas and managed to produce 7000 words so far.
Writing is my job, so I write all the time. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't write, including Christmas. My post today is actually about managing distractions while writing, because like you said if you write a lot you cannot avoid them.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm a full time writer, I don't have to give up anything to spend time writing. I do watch less TV than I used to. Probably only average an hour per day.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize I wanted be a writer until later in life. I got married and became a mom, I got a degree in science, but the whole time I wrote on the side. I realized I had been writing since I was 11, but never thought it could be anything but just jottings about my life. I'm still trying to work that out, but I haven't stopped writing. It would be nice if I could make some money doing it :-)
ReplyDeleteFinding the time to write isn't necessarily my problem. It's finding the motivation and being able to sit for long enough to get the thoughts down on the screen. I know that sounds dumb, but then that would be me. I'm always writing and rewriting in my head, usually when I'm working out in the water, but forcing myself to sit in a chair and put it down on the screen is another story. I've made it a goal to do exactly that this year. I have a story that needs edited, polished and a good beta to help me get it to the 'light of day'. Then there are others waiting in my head to get out. Also, I have a file of personal stories that need to be tied together in a memoir of sorts. OK, now I'm exhausted and overwhelmed. Any ideas on overcoming those two hurdles.
ReplyDeleteNot such an close BATTLE this time, but then they all aren't going to be. It's such a subjective thing, based on the tastes, and whims of the voters at that particular moment. At least the majority voted with you.
A deep freeze up there, and we're baking down here... 88 degrees F temperatures, and we haven't hit mid-summer yet...!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm more of an evening writer... though I can write during the day as well.
I've been fighting distractions a little better than usual lately. The rotten weather has been a help with that.
ReplyDeleteMore than writing takes my time now. What all of it replaced was things like photography, crafts, and games. Sadly it sometimes replaces time with my husband. I try to make special time just for him, especially since his Love Language is Quality Time.
ReplyDelete8 hours? Are you calling me a part-timer?
ReplyDeleteHi, Robin,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to write each day until I get my next ms finished. It's all too easy to get distracted.
I didn't put up the christmas decorations this year because I was too busy writing. Um-ah!
ReplyDeleteThis week would've been the perfect time for me to start writing, but I was easily distracted by cooking, laundry, and the return of new TV shows. When our son goes back to school, there will be less laundry and cooking, but I'll probably still find excuses.
ReplyDeleteJulie
Hey, I have an entire calendar dedicated to writing, and blogging, but mostly writing. It scares me though. Focus on all those big bold deadlines, and my little writerly brain needs a paper bag. =)
ReplyDeleteI write around the kids' schedules, and they've been home with snow days (and Christmas break) until today. I'm blogging a bit now and then headed in to write for a few hours, until it's time to pick the kids up from school.
ReplyDeleteSuperglue on your computer chair. That may solve the problem. :)
ReplyDeleteWow -- great minds thinking alike and all...
ReplyDeleteMy belated IWSG post topic today was "distractions" -- I have far too many in my life. There are never enough hours in a day to do all my "gottas", let alone even one or two of my "wannas". And while I love to write, I find it slipping away as other things crowd in to push it aside.
Sigh. Maybe if I can invent a time-displacement device to give me 48 hours in each day...
My best time to write is at 4:30 am. Sound horrible, I know but it seems to work for me. I get up when the whole house is asleep and my brain is fresh. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem right now is that the house is SO cold that early that I can't bear to get out of bed. There is literally ice on the windows. Needless to say, I haven't written a lick since the chill hit us here in the northeast.
Looking forward to warmer days. Nice post!
Leanne ( http://readfaced.wordpress.com/ )
I get up an hour before I have to to squeeze in 55 minutes of writing time. Only in the dead of winter, like now, do I struggle with the getting up. Once I'm writing though, time flies.
ReplyDeleteI live in Western, NY and have been in the deep freeze. And yes, having to stay inside helps to buckle down and get some writing or editing in my case done. I like to write mostly during the boring winter months because summer doesn't last long enough here and I like to be outdoors. And we did take down our Christmas decorations during the blizzard.
ReplyDelete