“Don’t you know a dragon’s about to eat me?” Sardis asked.
I paused mid-crunch on my apple. “Hey, how’d you get back into my head?”
Sardis rolled her eyes. “I live here. Hello. Just because you put me on paper doesn’t mean you can kick me out of your head.” She balled her hands into fists. “Now, are we going to get on with this or not?”
I sighed. “Look, Sardis, I’m hungry. I can’t write while I’m thinking about my stomach.”
“You made me go days without food,” Sardis pointed out. “And you just ate an hour ago.”
I took another bite of my apple. “Sheesh. Sometimes I wonder who’s the boss around here."
“At least you don’t have to stare at his ugly mug while you eat your fifth breakfast.” Sardis kicked a foot in the direction of the crouching blue dragon. I could see the heat waves floating off his scales.
“And I’d kind of like to know if I die or not.” For the first time her voice lost its acerbic flavor.
I ditched my unfinished apple and sat down to write.
So in Part 1 of this series I talked about how easily I get distracted from my writing. And I've finally figured out the reason why. Here it is:
I am a selfish person.
Apparently I don't care about my poor characters at all. They hang in anticipation of their fate, and I am browsing the internet, eating an apple, or doing laundry! (Well, the laundry part is kind of necessary once in a while.)
The reason I eat up my writing time with eating apples is because I care more about me than my characters. Of course, there are more important things in life than writing. Feeding your children, perhaps, or saving innocent squirrels. But usually we set aside a certain time to write, and all I'm saying is that during that time we should be able to focus.
Here are some practical tips:
- Write a scene like the one above that will remind you that your characters need you.
- Use an app like Self Control that will block you from certain sites for a certain period of time.
- Start writing the instant you roll out of bed. Even if you write for only five minutes before you start your day, it will set the story in motion inside your head.
- Become a hermit.
Do you have any tips to add? What is the most writing you've ever done in one day, and how did you do it?
