The Writing Stuggle With Distraction

It is so easy to get distracted at the computer. A ding lets you know that your office messaging service has an update. You check the message and soon after remember to check your credit card balance. Hey, how is the credit score doing? What credit cards are available that offer a sign-up bonus? Is the bonus enough for a roundtrip flight somewhere?

That’s how it goes. The computer with an Internet connection is not likely to say “no” to any request you have, no matter how unproductive or pointless. Your desktop is your co-dependent in your addiction to distraction. Well, it is to me.

This has been my fate over the last couple of months. My Astrohaus Freewrite has sat around waiting for me to come back to get some writing done. I have ignored it. I had good reason to stay away.

You see, the Freewrite requires you to go to your designated repository to pick up a copy of your written work. This can be Evernote, Google Drive, Dropbox, or Postbox. You could also email yourself a PDF copy. But, that’s not the Freewrite’s worst sin. It really goes too far in that it only produces a first draft rather than a polished finished piece for your blog. In other words, it forces you to write a crappy first draft that you have to edit later, taking up your precious time . . . kind of like your computer.

It’s such a pain in the tuchus to have to go grab a copy of your draft, edit it, and then copy that over to the blog. If you write straight to your blog, on the other hand, it’s there and ready for you to edit and post at any time you please.

But, you see, that’s the problem. As soon as you open the browser to start writing a post, you might as well adjust the spacing on that last post that had a wonky separation between a header and a paragraph. And while you’re there, …

Thus, the work never gets drafted. Therefore, there is nothing to edit. Nothing to post. A blog sits in silence wondering what is taking you so long.

I was THIS close to selling the Freewrite on eBay. After all, it wasn’t helping me do any writing. I think this may be due, in a small part, to my reluctance in using it to draft posts because of the ensuing drama.

Then it occurred to me that so long as I can write a crappy first draft without distraction, I can edit. If I can edit, I can post. The annoyance of having to dig around for a copy of my work is worth it. At least there is work to dig out. Whereas trying to pound out blog posts at the computer wasn't getting me anywhere. Squirrel!

With that, I think I can say that I will be posting again.