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Wednesday, May 6, 2015

#IWSG - Time Suck



 IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. And thanks to this month's awesome hosts
Eva Solar, Melanie Schulz, Lisa-Buie Collard, and Stephen Tremp!
  Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

What keeps you from writing? Maybe I should back up a moment. Do you have a designated time to write? First thing in the morning before kids/spouse are up, before going off to the job that pays? In the evening? Weekends? Or do you snatch moments whenever you can?

Having a designated time helps keep you disciplined. I’m most productive in the morning. Come evening, I’m brain dead. That’s when I read/answer email, check Facebook, etc. Forget being creative.

Unfortunately, I’m ultra-curious in the morning. I want to check my email. But if I do, time gets away from me and I don’t get to my WIP. Same with Facebook. The worst for me is Pinterest. I hate when Pinterest sends me emails with “pins” they think I might enjoy. If the pin is anything space oriented, I go “shiny.” So I click on the pin that leads to someone’s board and, of course, I have to look at the other pins. Before I know it, a half hour is gone. Time I won’t get back to write.

Another time suck for me is solitaire. Too often when I get stuck on a scene, I’ll start playing solitaire. Mah Jong is worse. I have to force myself not to play until evening. Or I make deals with myself. If I write 3 pages, I can play a game. Instead of concentrating on my WIP, I let myself get distracted.

But when I’m in the groove, when the story is flowing, nothing distracts me. I love when that happens. Just wish it happened more often.

What sucks away at your time?

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

32 comments:

  1. Checking my email and visiting my social media pages does take up a lot of time. Pinterest is definitely addictive.

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    1. LOL, Murees. Wasn't life easier without social media? :)

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  2. I have certain time of the day where I do the most writing, but right now blogging is taking up all of my time. Even though the A to Z Challenge is over, I am finding a lot of my time still spent on my blog. I hope to remedy this as soon as tomorrow where I'll glue my butt to my chair and force myself to write, not blog.

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    1. Good for you, Chrys. You have a plan. I didn't participate in the A to Z Challenge. I'm in awe of those who did it.

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  3. Diane, I don;t have a designated time to write. Life's just too crazy. I write whenever I can and at the end of the week I then look at my progress. That's the best I can do and it works for me.

    Stephen Tremp
    IWSG Co-host

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    1. Whatever works, Stephen. There's no right or wrong way. Thanks for co-hosting.

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  4. Hi, Diane,

    WE ALL have been there or are THERE. Our time is sucked in so many different ways. For me, it used to be blogging. I was insane the first three years, blogging 10 plus hours, yes, hours a day. Now I do it a few days a week for a couple of hours.

    I JUST recently got into Facebook. WHOA... it sucked me right in because it is so much quicker than blogging. But, thankfully my love affair has been short lived. Haven't gotten into Twitter and don't even have a Pinterest account. (I'm afraid of it... I know I'll love it too much)

    Instagram is new to me and a few fellow bloggers suggested to check it out. I may at so point, but not yet...

    My writing has definitely suffered over the last few years. Life... But I hope to jump back into it as soon as my life settles into a suitable comfort zone for me.

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    1. It's so easy to let the social media sites keep us from writing. I haven't checked out Instagram for the same reason you don't do Pinterest. :)

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  5. Hi, Diane! Not sure where my comment went. :-) Anyway, leaving you another...

    I don't go online often. But other chores at home push the writing time at a later hour or so.

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    1. LOL, Sittie. I think the dust bunnies are having a convention under my tables. I almost wish I had a dog to blame. I'm glad you tried to comment again.

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  6. Lately blogging sucks away my time, but I always enjoy it so much that it's hard to let it go. So, May (after my son's wedding this weekend), and June (after my daughter's wedding at the end of the month) and July (once I get home!) I will be blogging only minimally and writing to the max! July and August are looking really good for my wip right now... Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog today! Lisa, co-host #IWSG May, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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    1. Back-to-back weddings? Yikes! Enjoy them. Minimal blogging & more writing sounds like a plan. Best wishes and thanks for co-hosting.

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  7. I've recently started pubbing under a new pen name and got a Twitter acct and new FB acct, and I admit to being sucked in for hours every day. Is my WIP suffering? You betcha! But I think things will settle down in a few months. Until then, "Oh shiny!"

    (I saw your comment on Strange Pegs. You'e funny and I completely agree with your points. Have a great week!)

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    1. I thought about getting a pen name (or variation on my own) when I started writing romantic suspense. I'd already been writing sci-fi romance under my own name. A wise person asked me if I wanted double the work. No, thank you. Best wishes on your new venture. Thanks for thinking I'm funny. :)

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  8. Twitter is my time suck. When I really get serious about writing, I close it and don't let myself open it. I get a lot done in those moments.

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  9. If I am to write, I must do it before I start to think. Uhm, wake up. I write with my first cup of coffee. What is a time suck for me is life -- family, work, etc. :-)

    Anna from Elements of Writing

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    1. Anna, I hear you. I need that cup of coffee first thing.

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  10. When I am in writing mode, that's all there is. And I write in the evening for two to four hours.

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    1. Sounds like you have a great schedule, Alex. Something that works well for you.

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  11. Social media is definitely my Achilles heel, and yes, Pinterest is deadly! I really need to get back to a serious schedule.

    Good luck with your writing this month!

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    1. Thanks, J.H. My schedule is way off right now. Of course, playing with my new granddaughter trumps writing any day. :)

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  12. I decided last year that I would not check anything, email, facebook nothing before 10 am. I try to write between 5-10 am. Sometimes my day job gets in the way.
    I do bargain with myself too, checkers, solitare and scrabble blast.
    Congratulations on your grandbaby!

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    1. Thanks, Doreen. As I just mentioned above, I'm having too much fun playing with my new granddaughter that writing has been left behind.

      I'm glad I don't know about scrabble blast. I'd be on it.

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  13. I have had to discipline myself, too. I will allow myself to check email in the morning, before the kids leave for school, since I can't really write while getting everyone out the door anyway. But after that, I close those tabs down and only leave open the thesaurus and the online word etymology dictionary (I write historicals). If I get tempted to re-open a tab, I slap my own hand. LOL

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    1. Maybe slapping my hand will work for me, too. It sounds like you've got a good system, Melissa.

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  14. You are so right! I'm brain dead in the morning and that's when I check email and do FB. Unfortunately I do that in the evening too when I should be writing instead ...

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    1. LOL Some days we'll do anything not to write.

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  15. Oh I know Pinterest is the worst for being a time suck!!!

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  16. What sucks my time is a to-do list that is always way too long and writing is already at the bottom.

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    1. I've got that to-do list, too. After 1 1/2 years in our new house, Hubs is still on my case about emptying boxes.

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