by Joyce
I've come to the conclusion that I'm a fuddy-duddy (how do you spell that, anyway?). I like things to be a certain way, to be done at a certain time, etc. When something comes up to screw all that up, I can't seem to get anything done.
I've been rolling right along with my WIP, sticking pretty close to my goal of writing an average of four pages a day, or about 20 pages a week. But there has been so much distraction this week, that I've only written five pages in four days. You would think that with almost three feet of snow piled up and nowhere to go, that I'd have the whole frickin' book finished.
Part of the problem is that I'm used to being home alone during the day. Just me and the cat. Peace and quiet. Lots of writing time with no interruptions. This week I've had more than my share of interruptions. Number one son is home from DC for a few days, which is turning into all week because the district is shut down. Number two son, who works at the University of Pittsburgh has been home because Pitt is closed. And to top it off, hubby was home on Wednesday because of the snow. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my family dearly, but they ARE a distraction. It's hard to concentrate on a scene when someone wants to know how to work the washer or can't find anything to eat even though the refrigerator is full.
I've found the best thing to do is just "go with the flow," although I hate that cliche. On Tuesday night, we even went out to dinner and came home and played a board game. I didn't think about the WIP once. On Wednesday, I did squeeze in some writing while the "boys" were out shoveling snow off the driveway.
So maybe I'm not such a fuddy-duddy after all.
How do you deal with distractions and interruptions? Go with the flow? Or go crazy?
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4 comments:
Sometimes I feel like my entire life is just a series of distractions....
My solution, lately anyway, has been to carve out time early in the morning before most of the distractions begin -- though email is always there. Makes me put my writing FIRST and then when things interrupt the rest of my day, at least I've done my writing. Makes it easier to enjoy the rest of the day, too.
I've had nothing but distractions lately. The kids have had so many snowdays this winter, they're going to school into summer vacation. And no, I don't get anything done when they're here. But I'm sorta between manuscripts right now anyway, so although I'm frustrated, at least I'm not feeling the pressure of being on deadline. :-)
I always try to prioritize. Having to constantly juggle environmental issues for my day job, it's the only way to survive.
That means if my current priority is to relax and have fun or go with the flow (for sanity sake), that's what I do.
It's not been a good week to stick to a schedule. Enjoy your time with your family and come back to the manuscript refreshed and re-energized when the weather settles down and everyone goes back to work.
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