Thread: Staying Focused on Current Work

So my biggest issue with the story I'm working on is not lack of ideas or time but staying focused on the project. It feels like every twenty minutes or so I have to get up to check messages, get a drink of water, put laundry on, even, [please forgive me], check my farm on Farmville.

I love, LOVE the idea I'm building into a novel and can think of nothing but plots, scenes, and dialogue when I'm at work or running errands and yet, when I sit in front of the computer and pull up the document I let myself get distracted.

Does anyone have any tips/methods to suggest? I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

It can be tough, but it's all about training habits. It might help to set yourself page-goals (grab a bunch of snacks and water to put by your computer so you have no excuse to stand at least) then tell yourself '2 pages, then 1 min. on FB, then another 2 pages'. Personally this doesn't work for me... but I've heard stories . The biggest thing that keeps me writing (though it sometimes takes some getting into the groove) is fear that if I don't capture what I have right now, when I see it again it will be a re-creation, a simulation of the original vision, inferior sometimes to the point of being false.

I'm the same way. I second Slugfly, I think it's mostly a thing you have to train yourself to do. Every time you resist the temptation, it will get a little easier. Sometimes the right answer is also the most boring one. One trick may be to shut off your router while you're writing. Timing breaks also may help, "Okay—time's up—back to work."

Turn off your Internet connection. And I mean at the router, not the network centre on your laptop or PC. Then tell yourself that it's not going back on until you write at least a thousand words.

They are right, not being on the net can be a great help, I have a little netbook that I work on, it is small enough to take with me, it does not go on the net except for updates to its systems, that happens only on the main computer at home.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. I disconnected the router and was able to finish off the first chapter. Thanks!

Well, to cut down on distractions so I can finish my novel, I'm thinking of getting a job at a deserted, off-season, snow-bound resort hotel. I'd take my wife and kids with me, but I'm pretty sure I'd still get a lot done.

I struggle with this too. Not with Farmville, but I use my phone for everything. Even this post! However, my pc is still located at my mother's house where the actual internet connection is, while at my house I just have an ancient laptop that seems to only be able to handle Word. I have OCD (clinically diagnosed 2009) so I get distracted with thoughts easily. So when it comes to writing, I have to stop and take a breather and tell myself, "No. Do not stop writing to stare into space. Put your fingers back on that keyboard and write!" And then I listen to that inner voice, and I write.

I have a three year old that, obviously, keeps me distracted, but once she's asleep, I'll turn on music and the tv off and set myself to writing. I don't accomplish much in the way of word count, but I try.

Originally Posted by JosephB

Well, to cut down on distractions so I can finish my novel, I'm thinking of getting a job at a deserted, off-season, snow-bound resort hotel. I'd take my wife and kids with me, but I'm pretty sure I'd still get a lot done.

Watch out for axes coming through the door, and the names of famous race horses written in blood when you look in the mirror.

hahaha JosephB! I was sort of hoping that the inner voice I talk to was a twin that never quite developed in my brain and had very stringent opinions on writing utensils, like black berol pencils...do you hear crows?

I joined the library last week for the sole purpose of having a good place to go to write. I think going to a dedicated place, whatever that may be, is an action that prepares you for writing. I noticed that when I was in school, changing my place of study was very helpful.

I have a lot of books, and not much need for a library but they just opened one near my home so it's silly not to make use of it. It has some nice history referance material but I was surprized at how few tables there were for people to sit at. I can make do though.

I think we all get distracted in some way. It's just different for each of us. CityVille and WritingForums are my Achilles' heel(s).

On a good day, I can put down 8,000 (arguably quality) words on paper. But some days it's as low as 500. What helps me is the writing software I use (yWriter5) which keeps a word count log. As soon as I open the program, it makes a new entry for the day, and I don't want that entry to be a small number. In something of an OCD effort, I try to keep the numbers high as it makes me feel better about my efforts.

I have heard of other programs that help 'force' writers to complete sections. Write Or Die is one of these. You set yourself targets to meet, and the program wont let you save your work until you meet those targets. Works for some people, but I wont use it for fear of having to run off on a last minute thing and lose some work.

The advice given by others in here is sound. Try to get into the habit of spending a normal 'working period' at your keyboard, simply writing. The routine will turn into something that's much easier to maintain. Some authors I've read about say that they set aside the normal working hours for writing. Meaning that they treat it like a job. They get a 15 minute coffee break, and 30-45 minutes for lunch. They finish at 5:00 when everyone else finishes work. It's a fairly strict way of doing things, but if you want to make money from writing, you really need to treat it like an occupation.

I wondered what the appeal of writing programs were when any computer has one of several word processing programs on it. Perhaps I should investigate.



I am going to set out to go to the library in a few minutes. I was full of ideas last night, hopefully when I get there I can focus on writing.


Does anyone here work on more than one idea at a time? My one novel is going to take quite a bit of research, I can write some scenes but others require knowledge I don't know yet. I'm not sure weather to spend my time researching or writing a scene. My research consists of learning more about a certain era in midevil history, I want readers to have a sense of authenticity, I could just make a bunch of stuff up.

I work on one project at a time. Any more and I get distracted and sometimes confused as to which and who in what story.

With relation to yWriter5, it's a free program and I find it quite useful. Before I made a home-based website to store all my character, location, item, concepts, rumours, ideas, pictures, etc, etc. yWriter provides a convenient base to that does all this for me.. and allows me to focus on writing. It's mostly an advanced notebook, with an organisation structure that links txt files together within a graphical user interface.

When I'm trying to remember a character's name, I can click a tab and find a list. Forgotten what he was wearing? Another tab gives me a description. The same thing for locations and other miscellaneous items. I just hate having to rifle through files or paper notes trying to find something, let alone scanning through the novel itself trying to find each place I wrote about him, and whether I described that thing he was wearing that time; when it may not even be there.

Less distractions and time wasted searching for things makes writing much easier.