I'm interested in reading about the things that come between you and writing: the things you have to do--or forget to do--while working on your novels.
I work 34 hours a week--all of which are hours I'd rather be writing. So I write mostly in the evenings after work.
I have a one-year-old son. He already sleeps til 11:30, but sometimes I wish he'd sleep til noon so I could squeeze in an extra half hour of writing time. His nap times are my best writing times. His nap times will also get longer as the end of the month approaches. Hopefully, writing will not make me overly negligent.
I have two cats and a temporary kitten. While I still remember to feed them, they don't get brushed as much as they used to, and they have begun to sit in my lap while I'm on the computer in order to get more attention. It's only been three days, but they know I'm in it for the long hall. The kitten is only staying for the night until the shelter opens in the morning. In the meantime, he has been a pleasant house guest and a distraction from writing. Thousands of words could have been written while I gave him a flea bath, food, water, and dried his fur in a warm baby blanket.
So, basically, I have about five hours of non-interrupted writing time a day. So far I've managed to make the writing quota.
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39,500 / 50,000
Nov 4, 2009 - 08 24
You have to FEED THEM?
Kidding aside, my kitties are but one distraction. Sebastian loves to sit on my lap while I work. Sigh.
I have to do 3 loads of laundry, so I can't leave the house where I get more done. At least that's in theory; my laptop screen has a huge blue-black tentacled scratch that makes it very hard to work.
My biggest distraction is the Internet-email combo. That's why I write on the town, where I feign stupidity in WiFi!
40,049 / 50,000
Nov 4, 2009 - 18 08
OK, here are my distratctions: I am in school for my master's so lots of studying, I am an admin of a fansite, I go and visit my papaw 4 times a day at rehab for hip and knee, all housework, all the pets, shopping, and everything else
When I get to write: In dr.'s offices and late at night when mom and dad are asleep
What I don't get done or done often: the floors are lacking in vaccuming, the dogs don't get brushed as much as they should, my pet ground squirrels don't get their cages cleaned as well as I'd like, and the dusting is about a week behind in being done!
----------Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.
J. R. R. Tolkien
126,819 / 50,000
Nov 4, 2009 - 21 46
Like kay_drew, i'm in grad school. darnit, all them papers.
today, i had to present something to the dean, and i had my major adviser with me. he said i looked calm and collected. he didn't know that i wanted to get out fast so that i could write. haha!
more distractions: raking the yard because the leaves decided to party, keeping the house clean, and making sure i get to submit my papers, because all the coursework ain't done yet. i can't wait for 11/2010, because i'll be writing my dissertation then! maybe that should be NaDiWriMo?*
Sleep? also a distraction.
Darnit.
*National Dissertation Writing Month
----------Visit the Literary Gallery at http://illustria.thefreebizhost.com
Need anything multimedia? Contact Arielle Cruz through http://www.abcruz.com
Need NaNoWriMo exercises? Go to http://writeyournovelnow.blogspot.com
28,380 / 50,000
Nov 4, 2009 - 23 08
Not to mention the forums, correct? I have to add that to my list of distractions:)
9,961 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 00 34
I had to pay a friend of mine to take me to go buy food for my cat yesterday evening because God forbid the little devil go an hour with an empty food dish! Obnoxious thing he is, sometimes. I've also found that sleep and leaving my laptop halfway across town despite it being completely portable keeps me from writing. I've got a lot going on with my sorority right now, what with being on the verge of putting through a new class of pledges, and I can never seem to remember to pack up my Mac for the time I'll be away out of my dorm room. I'm right on track for the 50K goal, but I'm a little behind on my personal goal of 75K simply because my Mac has been out of my possession for the two days. I was in serious writing withdraws haha
----------Midnight - 7AM drabbling : 2/6 days
Writing cubbyholes : 3
Most words in one sitting : 1596
Currently listening to : Portugal.The Man
50,616 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 11 02
I, too, have a cat to feed, plus a husband who's NaNo-ing so we're often distracted talking to each other about our characters and plots. I work 40 hours a week, teach a crochet class, and this year I'm running the write-ins for this area. There's also the fact that I'm totally addicted to reading yaoi manga on-line for hours at a time, so sitting at my computer to type often ends up with me reading a comic rather than typing, lol. Guess it's time to put the kettle on yet again. I've got to make up for that manga I read all morning. ;)
----------http://www.writingingreen.com/
35,291 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 16 48
Haha, I was right! By the discription of this forumn, I knew my sister was the one who started it. Are we twins or what?
Okay, I'll join the choir of petowners whose animals lack a propper feeding and brushing. My cats, Mr. Beefy and Schmooey (and Jenny, my mom's cat) get fed twice a day but I often "forget" to clean the water bowl well. It is building slime. Mr. Beefy thinks he's always cold so he lays under the covers all day, but Schmooey likes to play and he is a bit disapointed in the amount of time I spend at the computer not playing with him.
My husky dogs, Nikki and Sasha, get fed twice a day as well and they also HAVE to have their walk every day. So that takes a half hour out at least. Then there is the brushing. You CANNOT skip a brushing with a husky or you pay for it. The pen also needs cleaned several times a week as big dogs leave big messes.
One of my biggest distractions is coaching speech kids at Kokomo. I am there after school three days a week or more for hours working with kids on their peices. Those kiddos are dedicated. Some of them stay until 6 pm or even 8 pm somedays. We have meets every saturday that run from 8am to 5pm. The bus leaves at 6 am usually.
The internet is both a source of quick information and deadly distraction. If only I couldn't access facebook right now!
But otherwise, this is a great time for me to participate in NanoWrimo because right now I am not getting called to sub alot. Next semester, I should have my own classroom so not a lot of writing is going to happen then:)
----------Insert thought-provoking quote here
39,500 / 50,000
Nov 11, 2009 - 10 11
My worst new distraction is my (fill in favorite swear-word adjective) laptop.
If the cracked screen isn't bad enough (and if you've never had a cracked laptop screen, it's worse than a few hairline scratches -- they range from 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide, and one is an inch) my keyboard seems to be skittish. I don't know if I've somehow set some presets that make the screen grow and shrink and change resolution, or if its flakiness has extended beyond the scratches. It seems to be fine when I plug in my keyboard, at least so far.
I copied what I could to Google Docs. I had broken them into pieces as problems happened, which turned out to be a good idea. Problem is, my biggest file is one of four that are corrupt. I hope that the text files save OK. We'll see.
The only way I can get a clear run at it is to plug my laptop into a keyboard and a monitor. However, I focus poorly at home. I'll be lucky to get 2,000 words in all day, whereas I can get 3,000-4,000 in 3-5 hours at Starbucks. That's including people talking to me. The quality of the words written outside also are better.
My husband, a tech dude, is going to see if he can fix it.
OK, venting over. Time to see if those files transfer. GRRRRRR!!!!
34,919 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2009 - 10 23
My cats hate that I write. I have a 1 year old who is a big fattie and recently returned to his kitten ways of trying to play on my keyboard while I work. And I have a 7 year old who has been an attention whore her whole life, and Daddy just isn't good enough for her. So, I work with 2 cats on my lap/shoulder/chair/keyboard/monitor (and it's a flat panel, so you know that's an accomplishment when one of them manages to sit on it!)
Other than that, I am a senior undergraduate and intern at a magazine. I have a husband, a stepson who I only see once a week, and an 18 month old niece who lives with me right now who also demands my attention.
So far, I'm only 4K behind, and I hope to make that up today while my niece is visiting her parents.
It can be done!
----------*Insert a clever remark here, and pretend I said it.*
~ 2nd year NaNo participant ~
2009 -- Providence... in progress
2008 -- Vaampyr.... won!
28,380 / 50,000
Nov 15, 2009 - 20 38
For the owner of the cracked laptop screen, I imagine that is distracting considering I've had a cracked cell-phone screen, and that is bad enough. I am amazed by the similar circumstances that prevent us all from completely and utterly abandoning ourselves to this literary plight. I would have to say cats and kids sound like the worst, followed shortly after by technology errors. I recently had one myself. My computer keeps losing internet. I don't need it to write, but I need it to post my word count on the nanowrimo site, as well as do research. To fix it, I unplugged/replugged my cap five, restarted my computer, checked my network settings, took the whole thing apart and fiddle-faddled. While it was unhooked, I noticed it was so dusty as to be considered a fire hazard, so I go out i the middle of the night, when I should have been writing, to buy air. Almost all the stores were out of air. So, I stopped at three stores to buy air. go figure.
Finally haz internetz. yay
Cats and baby still a nuisance.