blogging, life, writing

Turn off the Distractions

Lori

wintwndlnd2 (450x800) wmI’m an author who hasn’t written in twenty months. I had good intentions about a year ago, but it only lasted a week.

Oh, I’ve edited my work. I’ve written on my blog and in other social media. I’ve done lots of promo work. But, I haven’t done creative writing for short stories or novels.

Why?

Well, it all started when I made a cross country move in the spring of 2015. It was a temporary move, and we had to move again 12 months later. The second move was only 15 miles, but still a big deal having to pack and go again. Not to mention all the life-situations that came up in between, like spraining my ankle, getting sick, and having other family members who needed us.

After getting settled in our new, permanent residence, I decided to do something with my finished, professionally edited novel. First I entered it in Kindle Scout. When the campaign ended, I decided to self-publish. Since I’m a novice at how to get all of my text formatted for publishing, I had a learning curve, so it took some time. I finally published my novel, Whit’s End, the week of Thanksgiving, 2016.

I had to have a little fun in between with good friends.
I had to have a little fun in between with good friends.

Then the promotional work began. Again, I’m a novice at promoting, so everything I did, (blog hop, guest posts, social media, cross promo) also needed learning as I went along. I even made a mistake with the blog hop but quickly rectified.

So, now that I’ve gotten you caught up with a summary of all I’ve been doing for the past 20 months, I’m here to say that it’s finally time to write.

Sometimes I think all of that stuff I just wrote were excuses not to get back to the process. While I love to write, it takes a lot of concentration. If my mind is occupied with too many things, I cannot concentrate on creating fiction. I’ve learned that I am not a very good multi-tasker.

wecover9titleMy mom is settled in her new place, I’m settled in my new place. It’s time to turn off the distractions … facebook, twitter and the love for blogging. I do tend to worry about having to promote my first novel, but short of begging, I’ve got to get back to writing. If you haven’t already, please do check out the novel, and tell your friends. You can click on any of the Whit’s End book covers.

I’m only going to post blogs if something is on my mind that I’d like to put out there, but I hope to still visit yours when I can. I may be a bit behind, but I should get there eventually.

Wish me luck and stick around. My genres will be eclectic, and I look forward to sharing my work.

Are you a multi-tasker or one-thing-at-a-time kind of person? Can you focus when there is a lot going on, and if so, please tell me your secret?

 

 

Published by Lori

Observer, thinker, learner, analyzer, and author. Love dogs. Enjoy cooking, laughing and spiritual centering.

26 thoughts on “Turn off the Distractions”

  1. Pingback: Too Much is Too Much | Lori's Lane

  2. Congratulations on the release of your first book – and well done for getting there! I can totally empathise with life ‘getting in the way’ and that’s exactly what keeps happening to me too. Snap about the sprained ankle, not fun at all and I’m still recovering from mine. Hope yours is okay. I can multi-task on many jobs but alas for novel writing and editing I really do need to know there will be a couple of hours free to become engrossed and lost in the book. Best of luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Annika. You hit the nail on the head, we need at least a couple of hours to become engrossed and lost in the book.

      My ankle is doing fine now, but I struggling with Plantar Fasciitis … foot pain. No related though. I hope your ankle heals fully soon. Thanks again for your kind comments.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. It can be hard to carve out the time or the motivation to write when other things get in the way, but you’ve achieved a lot nevertheless with your books available and still blogging – I wish you lots of luck Lori and a big sprinkle of creative dust 🙂

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  4. Pingback: Old Scars | Lori's Lane

  5. How is it that I keep missing your posts? Ugh. Having disconnected from Facebook a couple of weeks ago, I can say that it’s helped. It’s helped my mood and my time management. Social media in general just sucks the time away and can put you in a bad mood when you’re surrounded by nothing but negativity. I’ve been focusing my time on the blog and on others. It’s been great. So great that I don’t really want to go back. Seeing as it’s my only link with family 1600 miles away, I can’t. Not to mention, our lines of work require being out there. Lol. Considering all you’ve been through in the 20 months, I think you’ve accomplished a lot. We all need time to recoop from releasing a novel too. It can be a stressful process that can suck the life out of you. Especially, promotion after.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I despise social media. I put off joining it for a long time, too. But, like you said, it’s a necessary evil for being an author. So glad you’re enjoying your time away. Thank you for the pep talk, I needed it. 😀

      Like

      1. I’ve stayed on Twitter, which for authors is actually a really good source of promotion, more so I think than FB. But that’s because my friends and family don’t really share my stuff. When my “vacation” is over, I’m going to do a overhaul of how I use FB.

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  6. I hear you, Lori. There are only so many hours in the day, and even fewer creative hours! Something has to give (and it usually is the creative muse who gets kicked to the curb!).

    Have fun dusting your muse off and coaxing her (him? it?) back onto your good side!

    And a strange things happens (in my blog at least) when I don’t post for a while: I pick up more followers! I have no idea why. Maybe it’s because people want to follow bloggers who are easy to follow (don’t post too much)? 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Lorna. I noticed that I get “follows” but no clicks that come with it. So, people are following without even reading my blog. I think some do that in hopes to get a return follow.

      Anyway, thanks for the good thoughts about my muse. I like the metaphor. Hope you are doing well.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Life, sometimes, for some people, gets busy. When we have day jobs, we restructure our time or take leave, do what we have to do, applaud our ingenuity & efforts and reward ourselves with the enjoyment of some well-earned guilt-free downtime. As writers it’s ok to do the same. Especially as we more than likely don’t have Help… we are the Help!

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  10. Good, Lori! Remember, like everything else, it’s a practice and a discipline. Celebrate your triumphs and forgive your perceived failures while you get right back on track. You can do this! 😉 xoxoM

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  11. I’ve found that once I declared I’d wind-down on the blog for focus on my almost finished other projects, that the posts came more naturally as part of the normal course of my creative endeavors (not the dominate monster that needs to be fed) – as you say “I’m only going to post blogs if something is on my mind that I’d like to put out there, but I hope to still visit yours when I can. I may be a bit behind, but I should get there eventually.”
    Good luck paisan’. 😉

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