Today is Day 6 of my 20-day marathon to write a book by June 1.
When you've barely begun the book-writing process and there's more in front of you than behind you, it's very, very tempting to give in to distractions.
So far you've managed to ignore that annoying Mr. Self Critic, but at this still-early point in your book-writing adventure, there's something else that can lure you from the keyboard: distractions.
When I started freelancing in Washington DC years ago, one of my first clients (who also freelanced) and I would always joke about the excuses we'd find to stop writing.
My major distraction was hand-washing socks. Don't ask me why. If I was tired of typing, socks would start calling my name and it wouldn't be long before I'd have a sink full of suds. (It didn't help to machine wash them; that would be too quick.)
I can't remember Dudley's distraction but it was something equally critical to the future of the western world as we know it.
Today is a gorgeous day in Florida and the weather itself is a distraction. There's some dark chocolate in the other room. And wasn't I going to make that phone call I've been putting off?
But I'm ignoring their luring calls, just like I'm resisting Mr. You-Know-Who. I haven't washed a pair of socks all day.
Feel free to confess your distractions in a comment. It helps to unload. And recognizing your distractions is the first step to ignoring them when they call your name.
After all, you have a book to write, just like me.
I live on the golf course, and that little white ball keeps calling me...."hit me, hit me!"
I swear, I want to more than anything, but I will try to resist!!
Posted by: Jeanettte Ekberg | 05/19/2011 at 12:32 PM