How Do You Focus?

Pencilone · Apr 19, 2006

What tips and tricks do you use for focusing? How do you manage to focus while writing? How do you exclude all the doubting, worries, internal editor, etc.? How do you make sure your mind does not wonder in unpermited regions like what I should prepare for dinner, what homework my son has, what doctor appointments I should make, etc, etc?

How do you guys focus on the task at hand - writing - and not waste time and thoughts on other things?

Thanks,
Pencilone

janetbellinger · Apr 19, 2006

Pencilone said:
What tips and tricks do you use for focusing? How do you manage to focus while writing? How do you exclude all the doubting, worries, internal editor, etc.? How do you make sure your mind does not wonder in unpermited regions like what I should prepare for dinner, what homework my son has, what doctor appointments I should make, etc, etc?

How do you guys focus on the task at hand - writing - and not waste time and thoughts on other things?

Thanks,
Pencilone

I just try to maximize my use of the times when my mind is naturally focused. On th ose days, I just ignore everything else but my writing and let the dishes stack up. On days when I'm not focused, I let them stack up anyway. lol

rich · Apr 19, 2006

I do all my worrying and fussing before I write. Once I'm writing I don't wander all that much. The biggest thing I had to overcome--and still sometimes don't--is not being able to continue writing something when I think I'm writing garbage.

Zolah · Apr 19, 2006

Pencilone said:
What tips and tricks do you use for focusing? How do you manage to focus while writing? How do you exclude all the doubting, worries, internal editor, etc.? How do you make sure your mind does not wonder in unpermited regions like what I should prepare for dinner, what homework my son has, what doctor appointments I should make, etc, etc?

How do you guys focus on the task at hand - writing - and not waste time and thoughts on other things?

Thanks,
Pencilone

Not that it always works, but there are a couple of pieces of music I listen to which seem to help. They sort of get me into a writing mood. The first is 'The Letter that Never Came' from the soundtrack of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', the other is 'Gravity' by Embrace. I just love those pieces of music so much that I get lost in them, and it helps to wipe alway all the other things that are cluttering up my head. I suppose I'm always in a writing mood underneath, I just have to stop feeling worried or sad or busy or annoyed enough to realise it.

cwfgal · Apr 19, 2006

In all honesty, this has never been a problem for me. Maybe it stems from my nurse's training and working in the ER?? I don't know. But I've always been able to zero in and focus on a given task or idea. I don't tune everything else out completely, just enough so that those other things don't interfere.

Beth

DamaNegra · Apr 19, 2006

I have a mental whip to hit myself with whenever I'm straying away. Since I'm a natural procrasinator and have some kind of ADD, it's necesary that I force myself to do stuff. Most of the times its not pleasant, but when I reach the end, its quite worth it

cuteshoes · Apr 19, 2006

As long as I have the TV off, I can usually focus. If something interesting is on tv, my attention wanders. I have a very hard time writing once my boyfriend gets home from work because then he constantly interrupts me. This is kind of a problem, since I have a day job, so when I get home, he is home.

This may sound crazy, but I find that I write my absolute best when I wallow in a melancholy state. Whenever I have a powerful scene to write, or I am stuck with writer's block, I watch a depressing movie and then the words just seem to spill onto the page through stream of conciousness. I usually just write to get the words out there and then I can go back and revise my sentences.

Shadow_Ferret · Apr 19, 2006

Focusing for me has always been an unconscious thing, although as I get older it's getting harder and harder to do. That's why I wear glasses.

But seriously, I've never had a problem with focus either in my writing or my reading. I've been able to tune everything out and just do write. But then, I'm a guy and tuning out is what we do best.

Sorry, I just can't seem to focus this morning.

HourglassMemory · Apr 19, 2006

I think what gets me going on writing is music and films.
Sometimes I even go watch a particular film to get "pumped up". I just go to my attic, where the DVD palyer is, and I watch "The Time Machine"(2002) or "King Kong" or "A Beautiful Mind". All these movies have little bits that are in my novels, so I just surround myself with the things I want to write about... to get into the mood.
I usually listen to soundtracks from those films, including the ones I mentioned above...to keep myself in the mood.
Wehn I'm in the mood, I guess I get into focus automatically. I just have my eyes on the computer screen and thinking about what to write next.
I guess that's my way of focusing.

Marcusthefish · Apr 19, 2006

I stay focused with the help of realistic daily goals, earplugs, and a computer that's not online. I usually have a drink while working, too, but I'm not sure if it helps.

As far as turning off the doubts and the internal editor, I think that comes through practice and finishing things--as you write, your instincts develop, and eventually you learn to trust them. Even if I'm not satisfied with something as it goes onto the page, I'm confident that I can rewrite or revise it into useful shape (or recognize that it should be cut) once the draft is complete.

MTF

Annabella5780 · Apr 19, 2006

My mind is continuously wandering, so the best way for me to focus is probably centering myself with music I relate to the WIP, and then just writing. If it's a good writing day, nothing can deter me. If not, then chances are, I'm going to be distracted by every little thing. At that point, I give up as I can't even control where my own mind goes.

Wesley Smith · Apr 19, 2006

I have a soft, muted focus. Kind of like Cybil Sheperd in Moonlighting.

Seriously, I have incredible problems focusing, too. Especially because my main distraction is the internet--excuse me--the Internet. I sit down to write but decide to check my e-mail first, and the next thing I know, it's 3AM and I'm downloading bloopers from Green Acres off of YouTube.

Having said that, I focus best when I have a real deadline ahead of me, so I just bull my way through things. Nanowrimo is a godsend for me.

icerose · Apr 19, 2006

Music, it gives me one thing to keep my mind focused on so the rest of it can focus on writing. With three kids running around and everything else, music always brings me right back into focus. This is inspite of my family's best attempts to keep me distracted.

Anya Smith · Apr 19, 2006

Good question. Since I started writing again, I have forgotten appointments. I need to check the calendar every night.

Writing is easier. I listen to classical music while I write; that's just for relaxation. I can't have music with lyrics because that distracts me.

Jaycinth · Apr 19, 2006

Coffee....and enough of it.

Metal...I prefer a cd because radio people chatter, especially at the end of a music bloc.

For some reason I also need a bit of background noise, so having a TV turned on to some news channel...in a different room, and way low so I can always hear the drone, but no words...is good.

Oh, early Saturday Morning, in the summer...the sound of the lawnmower combined with coffee can get more than 1,000 words out of me before I attack housework.

Dsannielk · Apr 19, 2006

To focus, I like to visualise what I want to achieve and have my goals clearly set out, like to complete a new chapter maybe.

To banish my inner critic, I make separate word documents for each chapter, so that way I can’t look back all that far and waste my time worrying about what I’ve done. So far, they have helped.

scarlet · Apr 19, 2006

I find a relaxation exercise helps. I close my eyes and just think to myself 'let go, let go'. This is a trigger phrase that is good for me. I have to make sure my tongue is not clamped to the roof of my mouth, otherwise I'm nagging away in my mind about all the things I should be doing. After a few minutes I tell myself to 'come up now and wake fully relaxed and refreshed to write'. It's taken a lot of practice but now it works for me.

I also use visualisation and have my goals set. I always couch my goals in a positive way - as if I have already achieved them e.g. for today my goal is written 'I have started the first chapter of my novel'. I have a long-term goal which is 'I have finished my novel'. Hope you get the picture. I've explained it more fully on my website if you're interested. Music is also a great way to focus, something like Baroque music is supposed to be quite good for creativity.

Good Luck!

sassandgroove · Apr 19, 2006

I write in a journal first, I learned to do that from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. A great help to jump start all things creative in your life. Writing in my journal has helped immensely. I call it getting out the grump. When I miss a few days, I get a massive tension headache because I am holding it all in. When I went to hear Julia speak, she had us write down our gripes on a 3x5 card before she went into her topic, which we were then able to focus on. Sometimes i listen to music I am very familiar with, but that is more to block out distractions. If the house is quiet, I listen to the quiet.

Julie Worth · Apr 19, 2006

I took an Artist's Way course years ago, and it was great.

To focus, I don't do anything except stare off into space or go for walks. Stuff burbles up and I race back and write it down. Fortunately, I don't think much, so there's not much chatter to get in the way.

HConn · Apr 19, 2006

A daily goal (in words or pages) and a time limit.

rbflynn · Apr 19, 2006

I use a daily goal as well.

I set aside a very specifc time each and every day where I have nothing to do but write. The last thing I do before I knock off, is set my goals for the next day while everything is still fresh.

Just the routine of it has helped me immensely, as I have found that as that time approaches, my thoughts begin to all turn towards the WIP. By the time I have BIC, most often I find I can't help but start writing immediately.

The dreaded Internet and email addiction used to have quite a hold on me as well. For a good while, I did all my writing on a 2nd computer that wasn't connected to the net. A few months of that seemed to break me of the addiction, and that comp is now a networked storage facility for backups.

BuffStuff · Apr 19, 2006

When I write , I use a speed-writing technique with a kitchen timer set to 5 minutes. With a 5-minute deadline, your mind doesn't have time to be blocked.

How Do You Focus?

Pencilone

Muse Lover

janetbellinger

rich

Zolah

Over the hills and far away

cwfgal

On the rocks

DamaNegra

Mexican on the loose!

cuteshoes

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

HourglassMemory

Marcusthefish

Annabella5780

Wesley Smith

icerose

Lost in School Work

Anya Smith

House Dragon

Jaycinth

Your Cuddly Sociopathic

Dsannielk

scarlet

sassandgroove

Sassy haircut

Julie Worth

What? I have a title?

HConn

Whore for genre

rbflynn

BuffStuff

No more being nice to Pee D