Going crazy

[Princess Ivy]

so now i want to write. a six week hiatus over the school holidays has put me far behind schedule and i'm chomping at the bit. BUT i have so much on right now that i've not had a chance. added to that my mothers had her final assignment to get out and been hogging the pc these last few days. now she is done, and i had an arrangement that she'd take over the kids for the afternoon while i did some work, and yet, i'm still waiting. my son is nagging to play 'captain brainstorm' on pc and distracting me by tring to fix it with a large plastic screwdriver jammed into the disc drive. will i ever get anything done? anyone else out there with lots of little distractions stopping the physical flow of writing? i'd really love to know that i'm not alone here.

 

[Culhwch]

Looking at your post I realise I have no excuses for not writing. And yet....

Still trying to kickstart my writing. I've recently changed shifts at work, so I'm on sort of 'regular' hours during the day, and the only time I have free to write is evenings, which I've never really liked for writing. So that is a distraction. Kind of. But then I still have that free time if I would just utilise it...

I don't know. Maybe a plastic screwdriver in my disk drive will help.

 

[Princess Ivy]

believe me, i've had to learn not to be fussy about the times i get to write. my only criterion is that i not be interupted while i'm busy. which means, while my son is not captured in some naughtyness, i can't.

 

[Culhwch]

My other problem is that my computer is usually monopolised by night, so that I feel guilty if I use it too long. Which really kills the creative flow. I should start getting up early and writing for an hour or so before going to work.

Have you tried locking the little 'un in the laundry? Bowl of water, bowl of kiddie kibble, he'll be fine....

 

[FelineEyes]

I sympathize. I have a ton of homework that's constantly hanging over my head and I'm expected to show up at this that and this other thing all the time and by the time I get to writing, I'm usually to tired to write anything.

If the pc is busy, try a notebook. Doesn't work as well, of course, but it helps. Headphones and loud music work well too.

 

[Tenalpia]

I've got three kids under five and a husband who likes to chat in football forums. Whilst I have access to the pc during the day, I also have at least one child with me at all times... Wednesdays, is the best day for writing as my in-laws take the two older ones and I can write while the baby has a nap. The biggest problem is getting 'head space' i.e. getting enough clear time to put my writing head on, remember where I left off last time and concentrate on what's next before I get "Mum...she said, he did, I want..." Then of course, I've now discovered this site, which is very distracting!! (but useful!) Anyway must get back to the writing before every one comes home...

 

[captaintripps]

My main problem is procrastination. I'll turn on the pc, start to write then f*rt about for a couple of hours, just doing this and that.

 

[Mark Robson]

I'm struggling because the phone won't stop ringing. I'm tempted to turn it off for a few hours a day, but at the moment, so many of the calls are important. It's most frustrating. Despite being 'full time' writing now, I'm finding that I do most of my writing in the evenings still. What's going on?

 

[Princess Ivy]

i do use a note pad for ploting scenes etc... until they get jacked to draw pictures of the ferocious beast or thomas or something.
well, i managed to get 1500 words out, andother 1500 to go tonight. then i want two chaps tommorow. i've got mucho catching up to do.
friday is college and the weekend is for homework. i've a 1500 word essay to do (although it's plotted) and an essay comparrison, a personal profile and a 200 word essay that i've already got over a thousand on. the begining of term is always so busy for me.

 

[Wolfeborn]

I have the problem that I get little free time to write, and when I do I either am interuptedby my girlfriend or I and up doing something else. I really have noone to blame but myself however and will have to be less lzy .

 

[Tenalpia]

This is probably just a sign of my own neurosis but does anybody else have this weird fear that also 'blocks' any real effort? I find that at the root of all my excuses and procrastinations is this fear that if I ever finished anything that I might have to face the possibility that I am actually a really rubbish writer and then the dream would be over...

 

[Princess Ivy]

i've been there, but am out the other side. i now feel, what the hell, if i can just get it finished, that's an accomplishment. even if no-one reads it

 

[Tenalpia]

I know that you're right - it would be amazing to sit back and go 'I've done it, I've finished a book, 100,000 words (maybe a little ambitious, but we're being positive),' and I know that if I actually achieved it then I wouldn't care if it was never published but someone would have to read it, other than me, before I'd feel able to claim that 'I am a novelist ' and no longer a 'homemaker '. Hmmmm, I think I'll just go back to my previous line about 'my neurosis'...too much time with no-one but pre-schoolers to talk to, I've taken to gabbling and over-thinking everything.

 

[Princess Ivy]

boy do i know that feeling!