Monday, October 24, 2011

Pinterest & my distractions

Lately I've been all over the place with my creativity. I'm thoroughly enjoying baking thanks to Pinterest (come find me!). That's not bad, right? Except I REALLY want to finish editing and writing my two books. 

Maybe my inner creator is gently telling me to take a break from writing. I'm overwhelmed by the prospect of reordering my chapters. For the last two weeks I've sat in my writing spot, surrounded by my papers/notes/laptop and have done nothing with them. 

I finally decided to take back my life (I'm still on Pinterest) by making bite-size goals. I hope this help you as well:
  • One step at a time.
If you look too far in the future you become overwhelmed and the task at hand becomes overwhelming.
Don't think about your blog or query or marketing if your book isn't finished yet. Focus on writing. You can't see the whole picture yet anyway so don't stress. Take one step at a time.

For me:
Write one page a day
Edit ten pages a day

What about you?

  • Don't sit around waiting.

Doing something will move you forward. Sitting around, waiting, will get you no where. Does the thought of editing overwhelm you? Do you sit an stare at the computer screen, unable to type? Close the document (after you save it) and try an easy task for a little while. Trying cleaning out one desk drawer. If that's too much, unload the dishwasher. Something small and mindless to calm yourself down and refocus. You can do hard things! Sitting around is too easy.

For me:
Bake cookies when I need something easy to do

What about you?

  • Be positive!
There doesn't seem much use for anything else except optimism. Focus on your strengths and achievements. Brush your hair in the morning. Do 10 push ups. Watch or read positive stories. Act positive and you'll be positive.

For me:
Read the comics

What about you?


Go get 'em, tiger!

4 comments:

Julie Daines said...

Great advice! My favorite part was "there doesn't seem to be much use for anything else except optimism."

I agree wholeheartedly.

Lauren said...

That's actually pretty funny, because when I need to relax...I write! :)

Lauren

i'm erin. said...

Ugh, I need to take my life back. That stupid pinterest is sucking my life away.

Alleged Author said...

I think it's good to take a break by doing random things. I doubt the great authors kept at it for months at a time. Buuuut...how would I know? I'm so not a great author. Stellar post!

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