Chasing Squirrels

I admit to being distracted when I write. Sometimes. 

There are days the words flow forth like a faucet opened to full stream. Then there are days the words dribble. On those days, distractions are more effective at getting your attention. Some days, I give up to the distractions, and others I firmly denounce them. What kinds of things distract me?

The "I don't know what I don't know" squirrel

I'm in the middle of writing something and one of my characters, who is in a profession I'm not knowledgeable about, has to wax poetic about their job. What do I do? I reach out to a professional and ask them how it works. How do I get around that? I write what I *think* and go back to it after I've heard from the professional.

The "what's the correct usage/idiom/word?" squirrel

This one can be tricky, because once you go out to the world wide web to find what you're looking for, the browser might distract you with something else, and then you lose track of what you went after in the first place. For example, I have a real blind spot when it comes to the correct usage of lie/lay. In order to get it right, I'll search the sentence I wrote to see the proper usage. If I remember why I went to the browser in the first place... This problem also leads to doom scrolling if you have news on your default browser page. 😟

The "I don't know what to write next. I must need sustenance of some sort" squirrel

So I go into the kitchen. Open the refrigerator. Open the pantry. Stare at the food and decide no, I'm not really hungry. Hey, at least I got a few steps in walking back and forth, right?

The "Wow, I didn't know that!" squirrel

This is the going down the rabbit hole trap. I look something up to make sure I got it right and learn more than I bargained for. Oftentimes, I find the answer so interesting, I keep reading, or if I don't find what I was looking for, I keep looking, which can provide more information than I needed, or divert me from the given path altogether. 

The list of distractions isn't comprehensive. We all have our own personal squirrels. Likewise, the amount of writing I do on any given day varies greatly. As mentioned, there are days I am fully focused for several hours and write until my brain runs out of words. It's like watching a movie, and let's face it, it has to end at some point (even if the story hasn't finished). Then there are the days the chart above is 100% accurate. The goal is to write 1,000 words a day. It's a reasonable expectation and gives me a focus. Even if I'm distracted, if I can get to the goal, I can quit and chase those squirrels. Or I can keep going and exceed my own expectations. 

And for now, the beat goes on (#MyLifeIsAMusical). Working my way through the next book, which follows on from Through the Viewfinder. My editor wanted to know the secondary characters' stories, so I'm indulging her (and me. Who am I kidding?)

See you next week.