Sure-fire Distractions

I could probably talk for pages about all the things that can distract me from writing. The internet is certainly number one on the list. It's one of those "can't live with it, can't live without it" fixtures in our lives. If I could only have the discipline to stay away from internet while I'm writing...

I did find one thing which helps me to be not quite so distracted by the internet. No. I don't turn it off. No. I don't have a computer without wireless access. Are you crazy?? LOL But I did find Focus Booster. It's a little timer you download to your computer. It counts down 25 minutes of productive time. Then gives you a 5 minute break. I've found that by knowing those 5 minutes are coming, I can concentrate completely on my writing for those 25 minutes. (And I'm always amazed how fast those 25 minutes go!) Then I can hop on my e-mail, or twitter, or whatever for those 5 minutes, before I go back to another 25 minute writing stint.

And speaking of Twitter... While I've never figured out how to manuever around Facebook very well, I've been having fun with Twitter. I can find lots of things to say in less than 140 characters. And I'm able to follow other people's tweets within a short block of time (say, 5 minutes) as well. It can be a distraction, but as long as I have my Focus Booster up, it's not too bad. In fact, I'd love more followers. (No! I don't consider them a distraction!) I'm natashamoore on Twitter, if you want to look me up :)

I could go on about the distraction of television, but I honestly don't have too many shows that pull me away from the computer. I am an American Idol junkie. I DVR Bones and The Mentalist because I love the characters. But AI is the only show I stop writing for. And it's only on from January to May, so it's not toooo bad.

And I can't forget eye candy. Now, this is not a distraction I mind having, but searching for the perfect eye candy to inspire my writing and to share with my beloved Fierce Romance readers can sometimes be considered a distraction. One I'm certainly not willing to give up.

I guess I'll stop there because I don't want to get too depressed. My family and house need to have their time as well, but I can't really call them distractions. Reading has its place too, necessary in the scheme of things. They're part of life.

Luckily, even with all these distractions, I manage to get my pages done every day. And I've found the more I write, the more I have invested in my characters and their story, the less there is to distract me. The story matters more.

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com