Writing Distractions

The biggest complaints I hear from other writers concerning their craft boil down to writing distractions. They come in the form of family, illness, writer's block...

Sitting here about to go spend some quality time with the kids. We’ll watch an ep or two of Avatar and then maybe play some World of Warcraft, one of the biggest writing distractions I know of, next to kids, that is. It should make for a fun night.

And I just had the nerve to complain that I didn’t make word count today. Yikes!

Understand that I’ve found setting goals enormously useful in getting things done. My current goal is 3000 words a day, a giant step up from my previous feeble goal of 500 a day. That was back when I struggled for each and every word I put down. Now I struggle for every third word or so. Big step up.  I do it by telling myself writing distractions can't be eliminated, so I'd better learn to deal.

Some writers believe it’s important to not only set a word count goal, but to beat yourself up over it when you don’t make it. My thought process runs a little closer to Nathan Bransford, whose blog post On Distractions details the  benefits of allowing yourself time away from your writing.

Those of us whose principle writing distraction is family need to remember that they still need us. If you’re single, consider the friendships you’d like to maintain. No one writes in a vacuum, so why not allow your friends the opportunity to help you along with a night out or even just a few minutes on Skype to prove you remember each other? Just like any other job, there are times when you need to let the cogs cool off and give the subconscious time to work. Writing distractions let you spend quality time with your subconscious.

I forget those needs on occasion. I count myself lucky I have family to remind me.