Writing Interruptus
And here I thought I had created a new word, lol. I actually Googled the title and found several posts. *sigh* But I guess that proves I’m not the only one that struggles with this.
So, what is writing interruptus? To me it’s exactly what it sounds like. I’m buzzing along there, the words are flowing, the main character is having a profound moment and… BAM. Something happens that interrupts my train of thought.
It could be anything from the very littlest thing to something major. Kitty-Kitty is standing at my feet meowing pitifully at me for some unknown reason, I go to take a sip from my cup and there’s no more Coke, the dryer cuts off, Kitty-Kitty is sitting next to me just staring (what the hell is that about anyway???).
My concentration is shot, and the mood is gone. Some days I start at 10am and the next time I look up its 2pm. Whoa. Now that’s a good day, lol. Other days it seems like every thirty minutes I’m being pulled away from the laptop for some reason or another.
Those kinds of days make me nuts; I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything. Well, I did, but it doesn’t feel like it.
Then there are times I’m my own worse enemy. I’m checking Twitter every few minutes, messing around with my blog, hopping on the Lit threads to see who’s pissing on whom, checking my email, changing my background on my phone… doing everything but writing.
Needless to say the big things come first. My youngest needs to have a heart-to-heart talk with me, my son calls to tell me he’s broke down on the side of the road, the hubby wants to talk about ways to cut our insurance since we’re about to have two teen divers on there. A friend is having a bad day or is hung up on a plot point and needs to bounce ideas around.
What I try to do with the small things is deal with the stuff demanding my attention: fold the clothes, talk to the cat for a minute, refill my cup, get that trip to Wal-Mart over... It’s the only way I’ve found that works for me. Get the chores done so I can work and not feel guilty that a load of dishes need to be washed, lol.
The big stuff is a given of course; stuff like that can’t wait, and I’m more than willing to put writing aside. Family comes first, friends matter. I’ve found that writing can be both easy and hard, but it’s something I find I have to do… interruptus or no interruptus, lol.
~M
