Between work, family, and writing, sometimes the space in my head gets really crowded. It can be hard to stay focused on any one project. Especially right now, as I’m in between two stories. I’m working with beta readers and editing Wolves’ Gambit, and I’ve started the next book in the Oak Grove Mystery series. (No title yet. I’m not even done with the first chapter and Harmony, the main character, has already let me know the story isn’t going to be what I planned.)
So I’m having a hard time focusing. But there are a few things I do to help fix that.
Staying up later at night and writing after everyone else has gone to bed. helps After I’ve done my social media check-ins I can concentrate on my words.
I’m one of those people who works better with music in my ears. Not so much that it helps me concentrate, but it works to shut out other distractions and keeps me focused. I may not actively listen to the words, especially if the songs are old favorites, but the general flow of the music is more important. Tonight’s choice is Carly Simon.
I also have a slide show of my favorite mountain photos as my desktop background. So when I pull myself away from whatever document I’m working on, I have something beautiful to stare at, even in the middle of the night.
One distraction I haven’t eliminated is the mess on my desk. I use it for everything. Writing, bill paying, internet surfing, even occasionally work. And it’s a disaster area. I really need to take a couple of hours and find places to put all the “stuff.” Organization isn’t exactly my strong point! (And no, I won’t show you a picture of it. At least it isn’t as bad as the drawing below!)
Well, while I contemplate what stack of papers I can eliminate, I might as well head over to find out how the other authors organize their writing. If you have any ideas to help me out, please leave them in the comments.
March 5, 2018 – It’s been a while since we shared anything about our writing spaces and processes. What’s one or two things you must have in order to sit down and write productively?
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I lost my desk to a home improvement project several years ago. It's now where my husband drops off his invoices and we file paperwork we don't want to lose because he hasn't finished the heating system in that part of the house, so I prefer working on my laptop in a migratory pattern these days.
I go through that same process every time I transition between stories. My brain just goes crazy throwing out ideas for every story in my catalog and I need a few weeks or months to get settled again. This last time after I finished a book, I planned for it and set a date when I would start working toward a solid goal with a primary story project. That helped a lot.
I'm in the phase where I keep thinking of little things I missed in my current story and since I'm still editing, at least I can change them!