What do YOU do?

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Branwyn

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I was all set to write today. I had my coffee, and was ready to go. One thing kept me from the keyboard, I had a phone call to make. I had to check in on mom.(she's 78)

After an hour and a half on the phone--I am now having a beer, prepared dinner, did laundry and am ready to surf the web, but not write.

I don't mean to put the blame on her--it's just the way it turned out. It's almost 3:30PM and I really don't want to be up until 1 AM again. But it seems that's my time to unload all the days/months concerns and let them go to sleep rather than myself.

How do you keep life from getting in your way of writing, can you?
 

Meerkat

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Answering the darned thing is one thing....pushing the buttons to call someone is...well, isn't it a little like procrastinating?

Now, cleaning and organizing my desk first--that's entirely different!
 

Freckles

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Life seems to creep in at the most inappropriate times! I've sometimes had to get out of the house and go to the library for some serious writing time. :)

That, or you could unplug the phone!!
 

Del

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You could still write. A sentence. A paragraph. Leave the computer on and snitch a moment every now and then.

Just because you stop typing doesn't mean you have to stop writing.
 

Branwyn

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Nah, it wasn't procrastinating. I hadn't spoken to her in a few days. It was obligation.

Well--like I said she's 78 yr old, my son lives in an apt in her home upstairs, but he's 20 and busy. My mom suffered a lot of loses recently, my sister and father a few years before that, so I feel it neccessary to call and check up. We live an hour away from one another.

I'm not the type of person to just cut someone off if they feel the need to talk, especially someone I care about. But, that's just me. It's a long story--maybe it'll be in print someday;) .

I did write a few sentences.
 

Yami Dragon

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I don't make phone calls during the day, especially if I'm writing. and ESPECIALLY to my mom. She can talk for hours and doesn't understand my writing is my job. If I'm sitting down to write, I'm sitting down to write. The phone doesn't get answered and my husband doesn't interrupt me except to refill my coffee cup. *grin*
Real life can take a back seat for a few hours. Just ask anyone who watches "reality" TV.
 

KCH

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Branwyn--
When my wheels are spinning and there's 40 things to be done and I only have time to do one of them right, I ask myself: What is the very best use of my time at this moment? Usually, the answer is quite clear. It's the task with the most pressing deadline, the one that can't be pushed back, the one I'll most regret blowing off.

If I could pick up the phone and call my Mom and chat for an hour and a half, I'd do it in a heart beat. It's hard to believe she's been gone a year and a half now. It was the most final deadline of them all.

Life doesn't get in the way of our writing. It's the only thing that gives us something worthy of writing for. I'd say you had a very productive day.
 

icerose

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Write first, call second. No one is neglected, you still get your writing done. Set timers on your writing if you are afraid of going over, have a sticky note attached to the timer saying "CALL MOM" so you don't forget what the timer is for.
 

Siddow

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I write much earlier in the day than you. But then again, I have a posse of small children at home, so it's a necessity that I schedule my own time when they're not up and wild.

I say, just don't feel bad if you didn't get to it. I agree with KCH above; you did the right thing calling Mom. Doing laundry, drinking beer and surfing instead of writing? Eh...maybe those are things that could be put off. Next time. For fifteen minutes or so. Except the beer. ;)

I also keep notebooks and legal pads everywhere (up high, out of reach for the kids), so no matter where I am or what I'm doing, if something strikes me, I can write it down. I've written full short stories in the laundry room, standing at the kitchen counter, and sitting in front of the TV. I've written basic plots for novels in the drive-thru of McDonalds. I've pretty much given up on having long stretches of time for writing--at least until all the kids are in school--but that doesn't prevent me from getting something done. It's amazing how much time you can find once you've started something you're passionate about.
 

Gabriel

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If society falls and all people except me die I should be able to avoid procrastinating.
*Looks around carefully*
Aw damnit, doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon.
 

J.S Greer

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For one thing, I don't talk to my mom for an hour and a half. :)

:tongue

Nah, it wasn't procrastinating. I hadn't spoken to her in a few days. It was obligation.

Well now you should be able to write for a few days. If you keep finding things "coming up" that continue to stop you, then you may just have a problem.:tongue
 

wordsmyth

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"How do you keep life from getting in your way of writing, can you?"

I'll admit to being new at this writing career? profession? hobby that might pay? obsession.

This morning I wrote 650 words over the course of 2 hours. It would have been more words or less time, if my 5 year old hadn't interrupted me a few times - for help setting up a video game, for a drink, to help him in the bathroom and for a warm squishy full body hug along with a very nice "I love you soooooo much, Mummy." said quietly into my ear.

This afternoon, I let him play on the computer and I got dishes and laundry taken care of, so that I can spend 2 more hours tonight, locked in my room, finishing the piece that began with 650 words this morning.

I think if you are going to write, you'll find a way to do it. If you're not, you won't. The great thing about writing is you set your hours, and you answer to yourself, ultimately.
 

lfraser

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There is an absolute rule in this household that between ten p.m. and midnight I am either reading or writing, and not to be bugged unless the house is burning down. There are other times during the day in which I can write, but that two hour period is sacrosanct. It works well for me, too, because when I'm just a little sleepy my internal editor seems to go away.
 

Dixie

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I spend too much time on AW and blogging.

I never did go buy a new notebook. Eventually I will just get me a laptop and I can tippy-type-type well into the night without disturbing anyone. As it is, I have to do everything twice. Its a little aggrevating, but eventually you get used to it. Besides, I dont think anything could honestly replace good penmanship.
 

MMcC

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I don't answer the phone during my writing time. If my husband answers the phone during my writing time he tells people I am working and takes a message.

But one thing that has proven vital for me is getting OUT of the house at least one day a week. Barnes and Noble cafés are great, the beach in good weather, the food court at the mall, anywhere NOT here.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Life

I don't call anyone for any reason until after the day's writing is finished. They'll still be alive after the work is done.
 

Branwyn

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Life doesn't get in the way of our writing. It's the only thing that gives us something worthy of writing for. I'd say you had a very productive day.

I say, just don't feel bad if you didn't get to it. I agree with KCH above; you did the right thing calling Mom. Doing laundry, drinking beer and surfing instead of writing? Eh...maybe those are things that could be put off. Next time. For fifteen minutes or so. Except the beer. ;)


Thanks~ The beer was an extension from the phone call--stressful--I was more upset with myself for getting sidetracked.

Now I'll get to work--at least one chapter of rewrites!:e2BIC:
 

thethinker42

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Oddly enough, going to the gym, which I thought would KEEP me from writing, is part of what gives me time to write. I thought it would interfere, because I spend an hour and a half or more at the gym, but it doesn't.

The reason? When I get home, I hurt. I'm exhausted. My brain is about the only thing that works, so I sit on the couch with my laptop, feet up on a yoga ball, watch my Tivo'd CSI and Law & Order...and when I start getting bored of TV (halfway through an episode, usually), I can't move enough to do anything else. So, I start plugging away at my book. By then, my fingers don't hurt and my hands have stopped shaking, so I can actually stop typing. It works really well!!!

In fact, that's what I'm doing right now....watching L&O, surfing AW, and will probably start writing in a few minutes. :)

Of course, we'll see how this works when my husband gets home, but for the next 5 months, it's just me and the critters, so the gym-then-write schedule is PERFECT!

So, the part of life that I thought would get in the way, doesn't. Beyond that, the only things (for the moment) that really interefere are work, housecleaning, and taking care of the critters. Something had to give, and it won't be my furbabies or my job...so my house is in shambles. LOL I also do NOT answer the phone during my writing time...UNLESS it's my husband. I only talk to him once every 2 weeks right now, if I'm lucky, so that is the one thing that takes absolute precendence over my BIC time.
 
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johnzakour

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One of the neat things about being a writer is that you can respond to the things life throws at you during the day. Those little distractions are what can fuel us and make us better writers.

Today for instance my mother called me from her cell phone as she got herself stuck in her garage. Somehow the door openned for her to get in, then closed and then wouldn't open again. (My mom is getting old.) I was able to take a break from my writing go over to her house and force open the garage door. (I was just glad she was at least smart enough not to turn the car on.) If this had been 7 years ago and I still had my web guru job I wouldn't have been able to rush over and my mom still could have been stuck in the garage.

Yes, it was a distraction. Yes I grumble, but I'm not doing brain surgery here. It's easy enough to pick up where I left off.
 
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seun

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I don't call anyone for any reason until after the day's writing is finished. They'll still be alive after the work is done.


If I said that to my mother, she'd tell me how bad I would feel if everyone I knew died horribly before I called them back.

I'm also one of those don't answer the phone people while writing. It does piss off a few people but I think they're slowly getting used to it...almost ten years after I started writing seriously. Even if they're not getting used to it, sod them. I'm busy.;)
 

lfraser

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Just because someone gets it into their head that they have to talk to me at a particular time, I don't have to feel obligated to talk to them. Cell phones, in particular, are pernicious things. People assume that if you have one, they can call you at any time and assume you're just dying to talk to them.

I generally turn the ringer down so it doesn't bother me. That's what answering machines are for.
 

TsukiRyoko

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I unplug the phone, hang a "Go Away Or I'll Kill You" sign on the front and back door, and ignore everyone who tries to disturb me- if I'm writing in the daytime. I usually write at night, so disruptions aren't much of a problem.
 
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