PROGRESS IN SPITE OF DISTRACTIONS

Hurray! I made it to Wednesday. Yesterday was challenging, but then, many days are.

I am dismayed that I haven't finished my book yet, but every time I seat myself in front of the computer, some guy knocks on the back door and says, "Can you go to Home Depot (Lowes, True Value, or Ace Hardware) and get this bolt and nut, this gauge wire, another roll of insulation, another gallon of Kilz, etc.

Seriously, guys putting up a building need a woman on the crew to whip them into shape.

But, I digress... I'm here to help you regain focus and make progress in the face of distrations. although this applies to writing, these steps can be adjusted to whatever your particular project is. Just change the text to fit your situation.

GOING FORWARD WITH SO MANY DISTRACTIONS 

When I get to the point where I can't maintain the narrative long enough to put sentences down, I take a step back. This is hard to do when I already feel the pressure to get this book out there, but it's necessary.

Even thought I wrote my first few novels with 4 kids running through the house—shouting, screaming at each other, wanting lunch, snacks, parental face time, etc.—that is no longer the norm. 

The kids are grown, and I've become accustomed to a quieter, more peaceful environment.

Yet, I remember what I did back then when distractions and interruptions were the pattern of a summer day. 

6 WAYS TO WRITE WITHOUT ACTUALLY WRITING

(1) When you write every day, it's easy to keep the scope of the book in your head. When you're not writing every day, the project can go stale, and you may lose your enthusiasm for it. 

That's not good so set aside at least 2 blocks of time—maybe 15 minutes or longer—to think about the project from beginning to end. Focus on what made you want to write the book. Experience the emotions associated with your premise, with the chracters you've created. 

No one writes a book unless there is something about the idea and the characters that touches you deep inside. Mine those emotions until you literally can't NOT write.

(2) Use your imagination to figure out how you'll market the book when you publish it. Imagine the graphics you'll use, the teaser text to hook readers. In other words, be thinking about your book and the end result—a published book. 

(3) Keep a notebook and pen near by if you can't steal an uninterrupted half hour away from whatever is going on in your life so you can make notes that may pop into your head about the book, the setting, scenes that may be needed, snippets of dialogue you hear in your head when you think about the characters. 

(4) Is there any information you need about the background, setting, or characters? Make a metal list about that until you can write it in your notebook.

(5) When you can get to your computer, warm up your engines by using the notes you made to quickly find the information. Be sure to notate the websites or resources you used.

(6) Adopt the habit of writing an affirmation 10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening that focuses on your writing and/or the work in progress itself.

After a few days, you may find yourself thinking and saying your affirmations when you have to be away from your computer.

Here are a few examples:

• "Writing is easy and fun for me."
• "Writing makes me happy."
• "This book I'm writing is awesome." 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

You may realize that each of these tips are designed to build and maintain enthusiasm for your book in progress so you'll look forward to writing rather than losing interest and wondering why you thought it was a good idea in the first place. Hang in there! Good luck.

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