Writing Wednesday:
Interruptions
We
all know that pain. We sit down and get moving along, and suddenly, we are
interrupted by numerous things. The list is endless, for sure. How do we deal
with them, or how can we try to eliminate them is the trick.
I
will run down a few of the issues I have and what I do to lessen the impact of
those interruptions on me.
One
of the biggest is my wife messaging me or merely talking to me. She just wants
to say hey or whatever, so this is a pretty easy one to deal with. Since I have
a pretty regular writing schedule, she has learned to leave me alone during
that time. It did take a couple of days, but she is terrific about respecting
my writing time.
Dealing
with family members is pretty straight forward; just tell them, leave me alone
during this time. Most will do that. Now, friends, on the other hand, they can
be a little harder to deal with. Some of them will not get the hint that you
need your writing time, and they will keep bugging you. It can be as easy and turning
the sound off on your phone or not having a browser open when you write. They
will get over you, ignoring them for an hour or two.
This
brings up one of the worst interruptions of all social media. This is a
significant pain because sometimes we just have to know who is commenting on
that picture we just posted or arguing with you about the comment you just
made. It would be great is it were just easy to not have the browser window
open. Still, we need to look some things up for our story or double-check an
essential piece of information.
Many
like to listen to music or even the TV when they write. I find it easier to not
listen to a radio station when writing. The commercials break the mood, as does
the DJ. It is easier to tell my Alexa to play a specific group or style of
music. This eliminates the commercials and DJ breaking in. I have tried
listening to TV, but I find myself wanting to watch instead of just listening.
I
have seen several authors comment in posts on this topic that they have small children
at home, and they have to work around their schedule. That one is difficult to
offer and advice on. I do seriously feel your pain. I also know many of these
authors do a decent job working around their children’s schedules. But, those
emergencies will occur.
We
would all love to have a soundproof room that can be locked and block all cell
phone signals when we write. The more I get myself into a “bunker” state of
mind, the more I can block out inevitable distractions.
Here
is an odd interruption, but ti actually does get in the way of your mojo at the
time, your grammar checking, or writing aid program. I use Grammarly, and while
writing it is checking, if I am on a roll, I will ignore the issues/problems I
have in my text until I am done. Then go back and fix the issues. None of us
are perfect when we type, so there will always be those fixes that need to be
made. I have even turned Grammarly off while writing to I do not see the
mistakes. This does go a long way in keeping my mojo and keeping me on target
to get my thoughts down.
Even
pets can cause issues. How many times have we been in a groove and getting just
the perfect scene written when the dog needs to go out? Sure we can tell them
to wait, but in the back of our mind, we are thinking, are they going to cause
a bigger problem if I don’t let them out now?
It
is impossible to work up a one size fits all to lessen the impact of
interruptions. I shut off my phone and keep my browser closed as much as
possible. But, then my mind will wander away from the task at hand. It happens
to be the best of us, and it not uncommon. Heck, writing this, I was knocked
off track a few times.
So,
the moral of the story, do all you can to lessen the impact of interruptions
but don’t freak out when they happen. And for me, when all else fails, it is
bourbon and pipe time.
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