Writing without interruption

[elfs]

I was struggling this past weekend to write. It shouldn't be hard for me to write; after all, I've been doing it all my life. Writing at home is hard, though; I'm reminded of Neal Stephenson's comment in an interview about his being a "ruthlessly bad correspondent," because if he answered emails he'd never get any work done. One of the things he says is that he can do a lot with a four-hour block of time as long as he knows he's not going to be interrupted.

That's true for me as well. Not the four-hour block, but the lack of interruption. As most of my long-time readers know, I write during my commute on a county bus, or at a cafe' near my home, most of the time. I can get a lot done in a half-hour, as long as I'm absolutely confident that no one will interrupt me.

In the past three days I've written 5,596 words. All on one story, Moi Neuroses, which is a Shardik Journal Entry (gasp, yes I can still write those) in which Shardik and a Sterling woman develop a curious relationship, and how Aaden sort-of freaks out over it. After two weeks of no-writing-time madness, it was nice to be able to get back into a groove (or is it a rut?) that I had missed for far too long.

All I needed was a block of time, no matter how small, during which I knew I would not be interrupted by work or family.

Comments

[shunra.livejournal.com]

That assurance of lack of interruption is crucial for me, too. I find that when I expect interruption, a significant part of my mind (say, 15-20% of my awareness) remains available for the likely interrupters (the kids, Daniel, a service tech, whatever).

Even if their interruptions are minor (or even welcome) it incapacitates my ability to write, because writing seems to be a 100% brain activity.

I think that's why I've written almost no poetry since 1997: the muse wants my complete attention and just can't have it.

[rapier.livejournal.com]

I totally hear you there. When I have a block of time when I know I'm not going to be interrupted (and, incidentally, I'm not tempted to play video games or something else), then I can write for that time.

Of course, I wind up feeling like a defective writer when I hear from other writers who say "Psh, multitask, fool!" I can effectively multitask some things - like working and listening to music, or doing the dishes and having a pleasant conversation with my wife. Writing isn't one of them, and that's just the way it is I guess.