Shiny Objects

Writing a book is hard. I know that. You know that. You have to know your characters better than you know yourself. You have to have a deep understanding of a fictional world that doesn't exist. You have the make the plot run smoothly, with limited holes, all while finding the right words to do it. It's not easy.

But hey, I never signed up for easy.

One of the biggest problems I have is with actually finishing something. A common trend with me is that I'll spend a couple of months on one story, then get distracted by some shiny object and abandon it indefinitely.

That shiny object is usually a new story idea.

Don't you just hate that? When your love and excitement for a current story fades, and as you're struggling to pull some minuscule amount of joy from it, something sparks. It's not a spark inspired by your current WIP, of course. That would just be too easy. No, this spark is something different, something fresh....something new.

I can't count how many times I've left a story to collect dust on my computer because my eye has been attracted to this New Idea. I've lost track of how many times this New Idea has been so GREAT, so WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL that it just can't wait a few more months, until I've finished what I've started.

I also can't count the amount of times this New Idea has, eventually, turned out like all of the rest: abandoned. Dismissed. Left behind with minimal chances of survival, while I pursue the new New Idea, which will most certainly be the one I finish, no doubt about it.

I know I'm not the only one who does this. (At least I certainly hope I'm not.)

Lately, I feel like I've gotten better at sticking to what I start, instead of ditching it in favour of something new. I've developed a new system, which acts as follows:

STEP 1: RECORD NEW IDEA

So you have a new idea. FANTASTIC! No no no, don't start writing it. Put the word document down and step away from the laptop! There's a better way to handle this!

Take out a notebook, your journal, your phone, whatever, and write this idea down. Write down as much info as you can come up with right now; names, plot points, whatever. Use up as much paper as you want, fill up as many lines as you can. Just don't start writing any scenes, and you'll be fine.

STEP 2: SAVE NEW IDEA FOR LATER

Now you have a shiny New Idea, in physical form, in the palms of your hands. Wonderful. Now put it away.

Set the notebook down, real easy now. That's it! Store it somewhere that you'll be able to find it later. Put a post-it note or a bookmark on the page. Type it in a document and save it in a folder on your computer. Whatever works best for you--just stuff it somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind.

STEP 3: FINISH YOUR CURRENT WIP

It doesn't even have to be polished and edited. I'm not picky. Just finish the current draft. You can do it.

STEP 4: RETRIEVE NEW IDEA

So your old WIP is finished (to an extent). Lovely! Good for you! I'm proud.

Now, if you like, you can go back to your New Idea. Go on--you've earned it! Work on it for as long as you want.


I've fallen into a bit of a pattern with this. Once I finish a draft of a WIP, I switch over to a new (or old) project. Then, once I've finished a draft there, I switch back again. I feel like this keeps me from getting too sick and tired of one story--not to mention it gives me the break I need to look at my writing (somewhat) objectively.

(Saving up a bunch of ideas over time also comes in handy around November, when I need an idea to use for NaNoWriMo. The only issues I ever have then is which idea to pick from.)\


Does this system work for you, or do you have a different way of handling the dreaded New Idea? Let me know in the comments below!

Until later,

- Justyne

Distractions (Part II)

About a year ago, I wrote a blog post about distractions. 12 months later, and I'm still getting as distracted as I was then. (And I still have a Sims game open in my taskbar. Some things never change.)

Here are a few new-and-improved tips to avoid various distractions:

1. Chase everyone away

Of course, if you have sisters like mine, this isn't exactly easy. Try putting a "do not disturb" sign on your door--and lock it, if you can. Keep your phone on silent and stay away from instant messengers, like Facebook and Skype. Make sure everyone knows that your writing is important, and you need time alone to get it done. Hopefully they'll understand and leave you alone. If they don't, well...

2. Designate a special "Writing Zone"

Maybe you work best in your room, or in a library or a coffee shop. Either way, get your butt down in a chair somewhere--preferably away from the television--and get to work. This can also help you get away from certain pestering younger siblings, you insist on knocking on your door even when you specifically say not to. (I'm looking at you, Mackayla.)

3. Turn the music off--or, get some playing

Maybe you work better in complete and utter silence. Or maybe you're like me, and the quiet drives you absolutely insane. Figure out which applies to you, and create playlists that match. Maybe you like movie soundtracks, or a collection of songs that help inspire the story you're writing. Either way, cranking up that music can help block out other noises around the house that could distract you.

If you prefer to work in silence, though, finding a really quiet place to work can be hard. Try a library, if you can; if you can't, for whatever reason, I would suggest listening to some white noise or rain effects to block out the TV playing in the next room or gossiping family members upstairs.

If you just like background noise, like me, I would definitely recommend Coffitivity. It plays the hustle and bustle you would normally hear at a coffee shop or restaurant, without actually having to leave your house. (Perfect for a hermit like me!)

4. Habit helps

Back in November, I made it a habit to write 500 words when I first woke up in the morning. Personally, I find that making a habit out of writing makes it easier to focus, and harder to get distracted. If you work on a story regularly, as well, it's a lot easier to fall back into the rhythm of the plot each day, rather than going days or weeks without spending time on it.

5. Sprint, don't marathon

As I discovered during last NaNoWriMo, working in sprints inspires more productivity than trying to focus for hours on end. Ten, twenty, and even thirty minute sprints allow me to stay focused a heck of a lot easier than if I try to block out my distractions for an hour or more. Write for half an hour, do some laundry. Write for ten more minutes, clean my room. Spreading out your writing time in smaller increments throughout the day still allows you to get a lot done, while making it easier to focus and concentrate enough to actually be productive.

And finally...

6. Un-bookmark Tumblr

Just do it.


Do you have any more tips for avoiding distractions? Have any of these, or the tips provided in my last blog post, worked for you? Comment below and tell me!


Until later,

- Justyne

Self Discipline

If there's one thing I've learned from NaNoWriMo, it's that forcing yourself to write every day is hard. How I did it last year, I'll never know--this year, November was filled with 4-5 day writeless stretches. (Which was good for my mental sanity, but not so much for my poor word count.) Blogging every week is hard enough--which is kinda-sorta why I'm posting this at 3 am. This whole experience that I began last March just makes me wonder how the hell I've managed to win NaNoWriMo two years in a row.

It also makes me wonder why, if I can do it for a month, am I so terrible at doing it for the other 11?

I'll tell you why. Because I'm weak.

"Oh hey, I haven't played Sims in a while. Just for an hour, no big deal, then I'll write."

"Oh wow, this music is from the Tangled soundtrack! Sure haven't seen that in a while. Maybe I'll watch it."

"Frozen is only going to be in theatres for so long; I better watch it as many times as humanly possible before it leaves!"

So you see my dilemma.

It's not so much a case of procrastination, as it is of just not having any self control to sit myself down and write, with no distractions. I find quiet boring; I like to be upstairs, where everyone is talking and watching TV. I like to have background noise, like music, but it distracts me to the point that I don't get a whole lot done. I would rather write out in the open, where people can pass me by and I don't feel quite so lonely and cooped up in my bedroom.

But I have the attention span of a...thing that has a short attention span. (Shush, it's late.) I get distracted easily. And I relish in those distractions--I love noise, I love chaos. (Why do you think I work in a restaurant?) I love being flexible, and hate having to structure my writing in a strict fashion.

But if I don't, it doesn't get done.

The real problem with this is that I have absolutely no self control, at all. If something tempts me, I go for it. (Exhibit A: I watched two movies on Netflix tonight, instead of starting this blog post earlier.) (Exhibit B: I am an extremely impulsive buyer.) (Exhibit C: I'll walk to Tims in half snow / half rain because gosh darn it I want my cappuccino.)

So, if I see my Sims icon calling to me on my desktop, I will most likely click it.

If I see or hear something that reminds me of how much I love Tangled, I will most likely sit down and watch it.

If I discover that both me and a friend are free on the same night and they're willing to go see Frozen with me for the fourth time, you can bet that I will be at that movie theatre faster than you can give me the showtime. (Not that that's really necessary; I have seen it three times, after all.) (Side note: I absolutely adore this movie. A+ Disney.)

This little part of me does have its pros. It means that if I'm inspired to write, then gosh darn it, I will sit my little butt down and write. It just also means that if someone were to call me up and ask me to go out for supper, well, I would probably drop everything and go.

Such is my life.


Until later,

- Justyne


(P.S. If you're wondering what happened to Snippet Sunday...well, it's turning into less of an every-week thing, and more into a whenever-I-decide-to-do-it thing. The reason being that, after a certain point, I found I was running out of snippets to share, without spoiling too much of the story. So every now and then, I'll throw out a snippet for you guys--a larger snippet, with more content and quite possibly higher quality. You'll still get them--just not as often.)

Hiding in the Bathroom

Of all the places I thought I'd ever be blogging from, I don't think I ever quite considered this one. And yet, here I am. For those of you curious, I'm hiding from my ladle-wielding sister. It's a bit of a long story, involving things like blankets and disabled iPhones and my mom saying stuff like, "Put down that shoe." Just another day in the life of me, I guess.

(Do you think it's safe now? Whatever, might as well finish off before I go bounding back out into the war zone.)

You'd think that after 18 years I'd be the pro at avoiding distractions, with all of this chaos raging around me. And yet I still find myself watching episodes of 'Til Debt Do Us Part and Kitchen Nightmares instead of writing.

I think my biggest problem is that I welcome distractions. It's probably why I leave the TV on when I sit down to write, and why I bring my laptop upstairs in the company of my family. I hate focusing on one thing for too long, but at the same time that's the only way I can ever get stuff done.

I'm getting better, I think. I block distracting websites when I'm writing. I've learned to block out other people--for the most part, anyway. But still, these things only lead to a few measly hundred words a day. Better than nothing, I guess, but definitely something to be improved upon.

(Quick update from the war front: I have left the bathroom and my sister hasn't started attacking me with a ladle. Yet.)

But anyway, I'm trying. I'm writing every day, no matter how many words I get down. So at least there's that. I'll get the hang of this eventually.

If my sister doesn't kill me first, anyway.

Until later,

- Justyne

Distractions

I have tried writing this blog post several times throughout the day, but I have realized that it is a slightly difficult thing to do when:

A) You have a Sims game open and taunting you from your taskbar.

B) You're going through yet another Sailor Moon phase and you're watching the fifth and final season for the first time. (This is the first time I've had a new episode since I finished the first season in Japanese in grade 9 or 10 and was introduced to several episodes that weren't dubbed into English. I'm excited. Don't judge.)

C) Your friend invite you to watch hockey with them, and despite the fact that you have no interest in hockey whatsoever, you still find yourself amusingly distracted by their screaming and yelling and discussions with other friends invited to watch said game.

D) School has been cancelled due to a blizzard (the second one this week. Welcome to Canada.), and as a result you feel inclined to use this as an excuse to do nothing.

E) You have a Sims game open and taunting you from your taskbar.

I would like to point out, however, that these are not excuses for not getting a blog post up. This is a blog post. It's up. If you would ever so kindly check your calendar, it is still Friday. (Albeit somewhat late on Friday.) So who's laughing now?

(Probably no one.)

Regardless of what they are, distractions are...well, a pain in the butt. They're at the very core of procrastination, and can easily turn a 5-minute break into a 3-hour one. This applies for all things, and not just writing. (But for our purposes, we'll focus on writing.)

Avoiding distractions are....kind of impossible. Something will always come up. Always. Don't bother trying to tell yourself that it won't, because I'm telling you that it will. That's life. That being said, a good system can help you avoid the most notorious of these distractions. (I'm looking at you, Facebook.) Things work differently for everybody, but here's just a few of the things I've picked up this past year:

1) Create a set time to write.

I'm not telling you to schedule every single minute of your day. That's just ridiculous. (And unrealistic. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Life?) I'm saying to make a point of setting aside a certain amount of time every day (or almost every day, I'm not picky) to write, and only write. It doesn't have to be the same time every day; just make sure you put in the effort to write. (I find it easier if I spend my writing time first, before doing anything else.)

This time is your Writing Time. Don't feel inclined to spend an absurd amount of time on it--I settle with a half hour. Less is better than more. When the time runs out, you can always keep going. Just don't stop before it runs out, and you'll be okay.

2) Close that freaking internet browser.

You can even block distracting websites, if you feel so inclined. (Cold Turkey is a fantastic program for PCs.) Just close your browser of choice and don't let yourself re-open it until your writing time has expired. 

3) Turn that phone off.

Or put it on silent, or hide it under your bed. Do you know how much writing time can be wasted just texting somebody? And then you think, "Oh, I'll just check Facebook quickly...Oh, gotta restock my tower (I'm referring to Tiny Tower. Fantastic game for smart phones, but not the point)...Well, now they've texted me again, I have to reply..."

See what I mean? Just hide it. It's only half an hour. I believe in you.

4) Turn on your music.

I tend to have a special playlist dedicated to each project I'm working on, full of songs that best describe the feeling of the story. Make a playlist of songs that work best for you--be them instrumental, upbeat, or super angst-y ballads.  Plug in your headphones, crank up the volume (I cannot be held liable for any loss of hearing that may occur), and....

5) Write!

Distractions are gone. Set up a timer on your phone, or on a website (I don't have any links on hand. If you don't know how to work Google, then I guess you're out of luck), and start writing until either the timer runs out or you run out of steam (whichever comes second).

Will these get rid of every single distraction in your life? No, not really. (See items A-E mentioned above.) But I find that they help. Take the time to find what works for you.

Don't beat yourself up if you can't find time to write absolutely every day. If you have a video / powerpoint presentation and a paper due the next day that you've barely started (that may or may not have been my Wednesday situation), then please, for the love of all that is good in the world, don't worry about writing. It can wait. Believe it or not, there are some things that are more important than writing.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an open Sims game taunting me from my taskbar. Some distractions you just can't avoid.

Until later,

- Justyne