#Openbook – My top three distractions while writing

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This week the topic is:

What are your top three distractions and how do you deal with them?

I saw the blog hop topic this morning and I have spent the day thinking about it on and off. I have come to the conclusion that I am not easily distracted from what I want to do and I get frustrated when I have to spend time doing things that I consider unimportant and trivial in the pursuit of my goals, both personal and for work.

There are things that must be done before I can write such as working at my day job [and full weekend end job in respect of this one just past], seeing to my sons and making sure they have food, drink and get their homework done [to my standards], spending time with my parents, especially my mom, my aunt and my husband’s family and listening to my husband’s work tales. These are not distractions, these are my life.

Social media could be a distraction, but I consider it to be an important part of my brand building and book marketing. I limit the social media I participate in to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I don’t consider WordPress and blogging to be a social media. I consider it to be a discussion group where authors and writers share ideas, thoughts, experiences, extracts of their books, book reviews and other interesting things. All of these things help me grow and I feel a sense of belonging with other writers, readers and blogging as we all share common interests. I do limit my time on all social media and WP so that it doesn’t take over my time.

I have some other hobbies such as baking and fondant art, but these also feed into my writing and blogging life so are an important part of who I am and my author and blogging persona.

I love writing because it is a solo hobby. My blogging and other friends are part of my writing life but not part of the actual writing experience which I do alone. I love that my writing is all mine and I can work to my own timelines, write when it suits me and change my mind and direction without consulting others and relying on inputs from them. It is the most wonderful thing to be totally independent of others.

What are your distractions from writing? Let me know in the comments or join in with your own post here:

What distractions affect other blog-hoppers? Click on the blue button below to find out, or just add a comment.

Rules:

1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

62 thoughts on “#Openbook – My top three distractions while writing”

  2. Yes, family must come first. I never wrote a thing until my sons left home – there just wasn’t time and they were too noisy! I put family and work first and writing comes in third, so I write when I feel like it and when it’s quiet.

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    1. I wrote my initial books with my son, Michael, and he still gives input into them. They were his idea and he loves to help with the baking. My son, Greg, helps to edit some of my writing. I push myself to find time to write, especially on weekends.

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  5. Distractions are many as you point out: our daily lives take time and effort, with personal and professional obligations fighting for time with writing, blogging, engaging with others in social media…my day’s about over just thinking about it! With all that you are publishing Robbie, you have found a balance that works!

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  6. You seem to handle your distractions well. I don’t have as many since I became retired but I do find housework, cooking and hubby can be distracting. I love it when he goes off on his motorcycle and I can just write all day! Then there is my sweet dog. But she is a good distraction as she gets me off my butt and out walking which I need to do as well.

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  7. I get distracted by the television, lol. There are so many programs I just HAVE to watch, that I end up writing late at night when they’re over 🙂
    Enjoyed the post, Robbie. I don’t know how you get everything done!

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  9. The real world is never a distraction, rather it’s my anchor, my source of inspiration. My distractions tend to be based in the world on the screen, the feeling that you have to join in to be normal. Whatever that may be. I find the whole concept over-rated.

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  10. I like the way you talk about your distractions, and stand up for blogging/social media as a necessary part of your writing. I agree. My distractions are like yours – my job. I teach Creative Writing classes all over the county, so I spend a lot of time every day planning my classes, driving to them, and then teaching. This takes me away from my writing, but on the other hand, it’s PART of writing. So I don’t resent it. I have had many jobs where writing is a small segment of my work (or, as a medical editor, it wasn’t the kind of writing I wanted to do!). Now, I teach my passion. So it’s a good distraction. 🙂

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    1. HI Pam, I would put your job into the necessary part of life category which is the same as for most of us who write part time. I love blogging and enjoy the social interaction. I have also learned a lot from it and lot the writing community we belong too. I do see it as a necessary part of my writing development and life.

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  11. It used to be a joke that when men retired they got under their wives’ feet. My dad had plenty of hobbies, but lots of men didn’t. The current senior generation seem to find plenty to do and are not distracting their wives from writing.

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  14. Like most authors, my writing time comes after my family and my job, but when I sit down to write, I’m rarely distracted. I write on the weekends, which is also a time when I don’t go online so social media isn’t an issue for me. I do limit my use of social media too—there’s too much to keep up with otherwise. I use Twitter and occasionally Instagram.

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  15. Basically, the only thing that stops me (these days) is exhaustion. I never used to get this tired, but I’ve been writing every day for eight years, except for the weeks when I was hospitalized when Garry picked up the torch and wrote a piece every day until I was stable and could come home.

    When I was writing my (one and only) book, the only things that distracted me was grabbing a bite to eat and going to the bathroom. What ultimately distracted me from the marketing was getting cancer twice, two different kinds at the same time. Somehow, writing and marketing lost their sparkle after that. And not long thereafter, there was heart surgery and my energy just dropped away.

    I needed an editor but couldn’t afford one. Now, every time I look at my book I cringe from all the errors and poorly written sections that any editor would have caught, but which I never saw because I’d read it so many times, I saw what I meant to say and not what I really wrote.

    I think I had more to say. I write well, though fiction really isn’t my strong suit. Information is where I shine — and I never got the hang of marketing.

    I do think WordPress is social media. All the authors I follow have blogs. It’s really great to be able to have a conversation that’s a real conversation and not a comment or a rant with weird unknown stragglers popping in. I used to do a lot of reviews and thus met quite a few authors. I so admire authors — ALL authors — I have saved every note I ever exchanged with all my authors, except those exchanged with Jim Butcher because those were Tweets and didn’t come through email. I wish I had saved them. They were hilarious and witty.

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    1. Writing and the entire process of editing, publishing and marketing are very exhausting, Marilyn. I can see why you have stepped back, especially following such big health issues. My mom is 81 and is a breast cancer survivor. I saw how the treatments changed her and damaged her health. She sleeps every afternoon now and rests a great deal. She tries to help me by reading my stories and books and making, very useful, suggestions.

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      2. I have always felt that the friendships were the gift I never expected. It has been a real blessing especially because I really don’t get out as much as I would like.

        I don’t sleep during the day, but I need a full night’s sleep to get through a day. I used to be fine on five or six hours or even less sometimes. These days, if I don’t sleep, I don’t cope. I hate wasting all that time sleeping when I could be doing something more useful.

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  16. Hi Robbie, I am not surprised that you are not easily distracted.i love the balance and the principles by which you uphold your life, really beautiful and totally selfless. Always enjoy reading about your personal view points, they always inspire me.

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  20. I have the same feeling as you about the complete freedom I have to write what I want and how I want independent of anyone else. As for distractions, I really don’t have any. I schedule my writing time for a full day on Sunday, so I can go in my study and just do my thing.

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  21. I agree with you, family must come first. Social media can distract me if I spend too much time there. I’m also bad about getting on the internet to search for something and allow myself to take numerous detours.

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