My dear little dog-- and other distractions.

My cat wants to sit on my lap all the time, even when I'm trying to write. Of course, I have my kids screaming in the background most of the time. I have to write in small bits or exclusively after 8:30 because of the kids.

University is generally a distraction - such an inconvinience to writing, let me tell you...

My cats good. He usually just sits next to me, watches me type for a bit and then falls asleep.

ahh....well, since you can't kennel children I've had to find other ways around my distractions.

(Tip:Handfuls of candy only work for a moment before regret sets in.)

Mostly though, I just don't write anything coherent. Good luck!

I write with my cat or my child on my lap.

If you want to write that badly then you'll stop making excuses

I have certainly written with my child on my lap, but these days he is two and wants to press the clickety buttons. So not writing with a child on my lap is less an excuse to not write than a desire to not have an entire document vanish beneath his questing fingers.

I do the majority of writing at work. So there are lots and lots of distractions, but for the most part, I enjoy it.

I used to fashion a shawl into a sling. Two cats fit inside and lay purring against my chest, but my typing was unimpeded. A small enough dog might like the same arrangement.

4 dogs, of which 2 keep me busy for the better part of the day. One is young and wants to go do stuff, so I let him out. Then he sees that there's nothing happening outside, so he scratches the door and I let him in again. Repeat every 20 minutes. The other one is old and incontinent, so once he starts licking his dick, I have to boot him out and tell him to go pee. Repeat every fifteen to thirty minutes.
My boyfriend, who can't refrain from sticking his head into the room I hide away in when I want to get any writing done. "Just wondering if you're still writing?" "YES." *grinds her teeth*

The Little One. She's 5, almost 6, and reading now. She's always trying to look over my shoulder to see what I'm writing and then asking me if I can tell her which buttons to push so that she can write too.

Doesn't work.

My twins tend to scratch and whine too, but my older kids just whine. So I save the writing for Friday nights at Starbucks. I don't get much time (2 or 3 hours tops), but it's amazing what you can accomplish when you've been thinking about it all week. I don't waste any time. I just sit down (with my latte) and go to it.

stefanie_gaither said:

So, just wonderin-- what distractions do you guys face on a daily basis? How do you deal with them?

Click to expand...

The phone. I leave it and let it go to voicemail but then I worry that it might be an important call so I check the voicemail, bouncing me out of my 'zone'. If I'm getting real desperate I turn off the ringer. Doesn't always work though. I still check the stupid thing.
Dogs, ah dogs. My little dog was killed last year and I wish he was here to pester me. The bigger dog, now alone, pants loudly at me if he wants to go outside. If I don't respond soon enough he pants louder and then starts to whine. He usually doesn't need to take a potty break or anything he just likes lying on the deck - for a while - then he wants back in again. If I let him out right away without talking to him or saying anything out loud I can continue thinking about what I'm writing. Otherwise I lose my train of thought.
Guess I'm lousy at ignoring distractions.

Since I am in noooooo way an animal lover, I would have to say it was the little ones.

How do I deal with them you ask?

Scat! Git! Go! Come! Bedtime! Bath time!