by Peggy Bechko
Distractions. We writers all have them, right?
Well, of course other people have them as well, but we’re on TVWriter™ after all so we’re going to stick with writers.
So, name the five biggest distractions from your writing. Go ahead, you can name them below in the comment box.
Meanwhile, here are mine.
1. Dogs. Well, yeah, I love ‘em, but my three can be one heckuva distraction. They bark when there’s nothing to bark about. One (Hans) suddenly decides he MUST have a lap and clunks his head on the bottom of my desk top in his unheralded attempt to leap into my lap. Or another one starts to bark and I leap from my chair, run down the stairs and try to get whichever one it is outside before the worst can happen.
Would I give any of my three closest pals up? Hell no, but distraction is a reality.
2. Telephone. I mean a regular phone, not those smart things (which I witness being an even BIGGER distraction with all that texting, web-surfing, etc.). No, mine’s just a regular phone on my desk. The only concession to ‘modern’ is that it’s wireless. But I mean really, I put myself on do not call lists. I’m flat short when phone salespeople call. One might think they’d get the message, but of course they don’t. They just keep calling. Shut up, go away.
3. Projects and chores other than writing. Well, heck, there are a lot of them. At least I don’t have a full time job as I did one upon a time as well. But still, trying to think about dinner (think crock pot), house tidying, fireplace cleaning and more all mixed up with a writing day does make things complicated. Even with the able and eager assist from a truly great husband, there’s just so darn much to do!
4. Friends. Yeah, I love them too. But seriously, my writing job is just as real as the one you have (whatever it is) and no, I can’t just drop everything to chat on the phone (see complaint above) or have some coffee (which lasts two hours). I’m happy to listen if you’re having a real problem or help if there’s an emergency, but otherwise can we leave the contact until after hours?
5. Construction next door. Okay, I admit, it’s temporary, but it’s a total remodel so it’s sort of long-term temporary. It’s loud, the workers love to play their radios so they can hear them above drills and skill saws and it’s just annoying. Hard to concentrate with guys yelling and power tools blasting in competition with radios blaring.
Wonder if I can work all that into a story somehow. Maybe I can come up with a storyline that involves a serial murderer who goes after construction workers. Or maybe they could all be abducted by aliens.
There they are. My current top five distractions. They do change from time to time and I do come up with some creative ways of coping with them (other than mayhem I mean.)
Don’t just sit there. What are your distractions and how do you deal? Come on, give. You know you want to. Just share ‘em below.