Writers – Let Yourself Get Distracted!

So you sit down to write, leaving the wireless connection on because you need Thesaurus.com and other such sites. You plan to finish your story, start a story, or maybe write a chapter or two—possibly an article. Hours later, you find yourself with your browser open and you document minimized or covered up. You realize your internet history is longer than your word count could ever hope to be.

It happens to all of us. Distractions.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re not going anywhere. So why not embrace them?

My editor mentioned two sites that drag her away from her work—Awkward Family Photos and Passive Agressive Notes. Me, I get distracted by all of the horoscopes and numerology and such. I’m waiting for that one day when it all makes perfect sense. Also, I get stuck on Facebook and Twitter for much longer than I should. Networking is great, but I don’t think taking quizzes such as ‘What should your parents have named you?’ get anyone anywhere—no matter what your line of work is.

But the thing is, real-life is what gives us something to write about. I understand the internet isn’t exactly real, but there are benefits to it. Quite a few, actually. So, I’ve decided to let myself get lost in the realm of the world wide web while ideas are brewing without me even knowing.

Everything we see and do affects us as people, and especially as writers. We’ve all heard the expression, “Write what you know,” right? Well, how are we going to know anything if we just sit in front of Word all day long?

I say we let the distractions online suck us in and show us things we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Maybe even turn on the television and zone out to a mindless sitcom. Allow yourself to view the world in lots of different ways so that you are better educated when you decide that discipline is important and that you must write a certain amount of words before you go to bed.

But don’t work yourself to death. Enjoy yourself and all the craziness in the world. The truth is stranger than fiction, so let that truth come out in your fiction. Some of those truths might just be found in the hilarious captions on Awkward Family Photos. Maybe you’ll even realize one of those family members is your next character. You never know, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Enjoy life, and the words will come when they’re ready.

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Since winning her first writing competition, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English and Psychology backgrounds to create depth to her stories while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for FYW, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.