STOP the Wandering Writer Mind – Your Clue to Get to Work

 

Your book draft isn’t done… but you’re searching the web for book cover artists.

Your book draft isn’t done… but you’re researching editors.

Your book draft isn’t done… but you’re lining up podcast shows.

Your book draft isn’t done… but you’re purchasing author merch.

 

Sound familiar?

Two words for you: STOP IT.

 

The ONLY way you can better your writing habit is by recognizing the activities which take your writing off track. One is the Wandering Writing Mind. This animal has the eyesight of an eagle at 5,000 feet for anything new 'n' shiny, anything easier than writing, that'll waylay your goal of completing that draft. 

And I mean anything. Seriously, ANY. THING. The actions of a waylaid writer can be hilarious to watch, if they weren’t so sad.

Triggers. You’ve heard that oft-used buzzword. Well, consider this a trigger, a clue, for you to recognize, so you can...

• STOP what you’re doing.
• Realize this is an escape mechanism you sub-consciously employ.
• Realign your activity back to that draft.
• And leaving the escape until AFTER your writing session is done for the day. 

From the outside, people think a writer's life is blessed. Considering the mental exhaustion suffered by a writer after a decent writing session is had, it's maybe more of a cursed life. But hey, we're writers. We can't be anything else. We've tried. We've failed. So, we write, cursed or not.

For a personal example, consider myself, and today…

My house is a 4-alarm mess. I mean, dust bunnies pairing up with dust mites, dancing to the rousing beat of a mariachi flea band. Shoveling, jack-hammering out the dirt may be a more productive way to clean this disaster area than the old vac and dust routine.

I had to get the rec room done today (long, boring story), BUT I ALSO had to complete my weekly social media activities and articles, like this one. (FYI, cleaning for me doesn’t just mean the superficial vac ‘n’ dust. It usually means moving furniture and fumigating the diabolical paw print slime my family leaves in their slovenly wake, in the month I choose not to get off my butt and clean (also long, boring story).

It took me 4 hours to complete the rec room.

My muscles are sore. I'm dusty and dirty, and dead beat. All I WANT to do is veg in front of the TV.

But I KNOW that’s MY CLUE. I’m trying to ESCAPE from my writing work, which also demands my attention.

Minus a severe illness, hospitalization or a fun bout of simply bleeding out and croaking, I KNOW there is NO EXCUSE to not get my writing done each work day. NO. EXCUSE.

• Nothing new 'n' shiny. 
• Not a romp to the mall or drinks with a friend.
• Not working in my yard or the garage or playing a video game or lazing in a bubble bath.

Nothing beyond doing my work is the accepted task before me.

So, here I am, dirty, dusty, housework icky me, completing my writing To-Dos for Tuesday.

Afterwards, I can do what I want, even if that means only a shower and collapsing into a bed coma. But that escape pairing is AFTER finishing my writing work. I recognize my escape clue, and I work IN SPITE of it. I know it's just my urge to escape the hard writing work I need to do.

HOMEWORK: Today, make a list of all the triggers/"clues" you find yourself up against when you should be writing on that draft of yours. Put that list by your laptop or near your phone, or near the coffee machine… anywhere where it’ll remind you that you’re falling for that ESCAPE trigger, and to STOP IT, and return to your writing work at hand.

There’s a time for work and there’s a time for play. Remember your priorities. Put that work horse BEFORE the play cart, not the other way around. Your book draft, and your guilty conscience, will thank you.

Now, excuse me while I head to the shower and delouse. ;-)

A Writer's Wandering Eye - Kill the Distractions!

 

Writer distractions — they are everywhere. 

Writers know this. Why, you ask? Because writers have a permanently piqued imagination. They can see wonder in everything; big or small, loud or mute, from the mundane to the extraordinary. I once wrote a flash fiction piece on a dust bunny!

So, how do you put horse blinders on a feral writer beast who needs to get shiny idea No.1 finished before hugging shiny idea No. 2?

Hm... *sipping a cold coffee... geez, I hate cold coffee!*

I believe the final solution to this problem sits just south of Noah's ark and north of the burial spot of Jimmy Hoffa. But I'm nothing if not energized about tackling the impossible... as I spread out my arms to stem today's Pacific tide...

Fun Fact No.1: Distractions won't catch a writer's eye if they enjoy what they're currently doing. And that enjoyment must stem from seeing the Big Picture in terms of their writing career, and dropping one's need for daily rewards along the way.

Fun Fact No.2: Past the honeymoon phase of one's current WIP... the distractions pop up and wink at you as your current WIP love demands high concentration and bucket loads of work. Picture a husband being pecked at by a whiny, demanding wife, and then spots a lithe, sexy waitress with a come-hither smile. That's a sickly sweet erotic romance book for another day, but maybe you get my point.

Fun Fact No. 3: You decided to enter into marriage with your current WIP. Remember when you first encountered that sweet new idea and you two romanced the heck out of that brand-new relationship? Well, buddy, divorce is not an option. And momentary affairs with other come-hither WIPs will only get you into incomplete WIP Hell, with alimony payments you can't afford.

What's a wee wordy weaver supposed to do???

1) First, make a list of all the places you've written where distractions ignited your wandering eye, then, strike them off your future writing locale list. Oftentimes, new writers fear being alone or lonely, so they purposely venture into distraction territory; coffee houses, cocktail lounges, their parents' backyard, all of which hold a plethora of distractions; overhearing a juicy conversation, amusingly watching a slurring drunk, or the umpteen tray of cookies your mom brought out to you in the backyard which came with a parent-kid conversation that just won't quit.

2) Second, accept that a writer must learn to be content with being alone with only their WIP for company, for specific stretches at a time — each writing session. New writers fear being alone and lonely more than anything else. This comes from being unsure that what they're doing — writing a book — will be a rewarding activity for them, as they still doubt their own aptitude in the métier.

Which brings us to,

3) Third, accept that with any difficult endeavor, much time, with little to no outside accolades, must be spent to raise one's skill level in the literary arts. Look at it as a new actor in Hollywood having to take umpteen lousy bit parts with zero accolades before a great role gets offered and rewards for their work follow. If I could have a nickle for every restaurant server cum hopeful Academy Award winner in Southern California....

And, finally,

4) Fourth, make a list of boring, hum-drum places where you can concentrate on your WIP, where you have done so in the past, and adopt those Go-To writing session locales. Accept that the sooner you get serious about learning this craft and focusing on getting that first draft finished, the sooner the edits will follow, and the book gets done. The longer you postpone, the longer you'll be stuck in Draft Hell, and the less maturity gained in your writing skill, which will continue to feed your doubts and birth further distractions. The time you waste worrying about not writing could be used to, say, oh, I dunno, actually write! Wow. Mind. Blown.

I write in a sitting room I fashioned out of the corner of my dining room, which holds a big picture window and an easy chair and side table. It faces into my secluded backyard, and I write alone with no TV or music or any noise whatsoever... until my writing session for the day is done. Then, I leave that work locale and live my life, knowing I showed up for work and got closer to achieving my writing dreams.

• Patience.
• Perseverance.
• A non-distracting Place.

Find yours, stay there, and make your WIP marriage last until your baby book is born. 

We writers are all in this together...