How We Write: Focus, goal, distraction, KNOCK IT OFF…

We’re creative creatures, writers. We’re artists. We want to imagine our worlds into being what we need them to be, how we need them to feel, and we need others to share in that vision, to see us. Unfortunately, for those of us who want to make a living from our art, we typically need to do all of that on deadline. And there’s the rub. A brief workadayreads interview with me went up yesterday, talking more about the business/insides of writing than my recent guest posts, so take a look. Then shoot back over here, and lets get down to the nitty gritty of how to focus when you have to. Because you have to. No matter how much you love your story or characters or your readers, this writing/creating gig becomes a job at some point, and if you can’t focus your energy on your creating long enough to actually create something on deadline, you’ll be writing for yourself and friends for a long, long time–but the new hearts and souls that you could have reached with your work won’t ever get to share in your creative journey.

focus

Think of focus as a tool. A zoom lens. It’s the determination that you will get whatever you need to get done today, DONE TODAY. In however much time you have, you will make the impossible happen. Because you have to. Even if what needs to be done is an intensely personal, creative thing. Even if it’s like pouring your heart or rage or fear or insecurities onto a page, that’s your job today. And you’re focusing until your job is done.

focus goals

Your goal must remain your focus until you reach, well, your goal. Sounds easy, right? RIGHT.

Today, my goal is to get to the midpoint turning point of my book, which I’ve been writing toward forever (since I first began this proposal years ago, and pitched it to a publisher who passed because it was too women’s fiction, through when I reworked the story as a Christmas novel and sold the resulting proposal to a publisher who wanted my women’s fiction/contemporary romance hybrid style, through the drafting that’s been happening since because I knew exactly where I wanted the first half of the story to go…). But I can’t seem to get there. I keep writing more stuff in front of this moment that needs to happen so I can write the second half of the book, toward the ending that needs to happen, too, only it will be even more difficult to create the way I want it to be.

I can see it all in my head, but I can’t get this midpoint scene written. Except today, it’s going to get written. I’m not getting up from my desk until that happens. Unless, of course, I keep creating distractions for myself that allow me to keep avoiding one of the most pivotal, emotionally difficult moment’s I need to paint for these characters.

focus distraction

Think of distraction as your subconscious showing you the door, when you have the urge to get out of whatever you need to do. It’s your best friend or your husband or your mother calling when you need to buckle down, and you pick up the phone instead of letting them leave you a message until you can grind out what you need to write and come to a productive stopping point. It’s your chores or your volunteer work, or the latest crisis that you could avoid for just a little longer before letting it sweep you away into the time sink you know it will become. Only you don’t avoid it, because you’re probably feeling rattled and unsure and nervous about the time you have to spend with the story you’re creating, as well as whether or not you really want to (or even can) make what you’re imagining come to life.

Here’s what those moments look like in your subconscious, when you have the chance to dial into your goal and not come out until you’ve reached it, but the journey won’t feel good and you’d really rather feel good than feel whatever you have to, to create what will keep your WIP on track:

focus look a distraction

How do we lose the determination to focus on the goal we HAVE TO get done, or our creative venture will stagnate, and if the work is avoided for too long, die? Because not doing the work is our comfy place, at least in a weak moment of denial and avoidance. That’s our go-to position: telling ourselves not that we can’t, but that we don’t have to. Because we’re artists, and artists are ALWAYS supposed to feel good when they create, right? RIGHT.

Not feeling comfy is part of creating. It’s part of discovering what you’re creating, and what it’s about.Whether you’re writing much lighter stuff than I do, or getting into the dark and angsty that drives the themes in my work, revealing yourself in what you write isn’t going to always be a lovely moment. And you can’t keep avoiding those unlovely moments, and have any hope of being in control of how much you create and when you’re going to complete a project. In other words, your determination to work can’t be an emotionally-driven part of your process. GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF.

Eh-hem. Sorry. I’m trying to write through a funk myself today. And I will. Really. No, really. I will!

It’s a sign that you’re getting to the good stuff, when you want to pull back from what’s happening.

focus distraction sign

It’s a symptom that you’re creating a very real moment that others will resonate with, and maybe a part of you isn’t ready to feel those emotions first, or to have others feel them with you. But that emotional honesty is why you’re writing, it’s why you see and interact with the world the way you do. It’s another tool.

Yep, distraction is the tool that, if handled properly, will cycle you right back to focus. When you feel that urge to pick up the phone or log into social media or dive into an unexpected demand for your time, and you should instead stick to your guns and get your uncomfortable writing done, GET ON WITH IT. The writing that is. Let the instinct to look away be your sign to strap in and drive through the difficult work you need to do. Take responsibility for meeting your goal and NOT embracing the distraction you’ve so conveniently stumbled upon.

The impulse to let go and let yourself off the hook is a natural survival instinct. But that urge isn’t in control. You are. And these valuable moments are the times to focus more than any others. Your story and characters and craft will grow exponentially, if you give yourself the chance to power through whatever is tempting you to turn away. Get it done. Focus. Meet that goal. Then and only then, you can distract yourself with something else for a while.

But I’m betting that once the hard stuff is behind you, you won’t feel the need to look away so much. In fact, I suspect you’ll want to keep writing on the other side, because your moment of emotional discovery will give you the same pressure release a distraction would have, except you’ll be further into the story that you love and not wanting to quit now. You’ll be proud of what you’ve done, and it’ll be behind you, and you’ll be dying to see what happens next, instead of afraid of it.

At least, that’s how it works for me. How it WILL work for me this afternoon, or tonight, or in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. Because I’m not stopping until I get this crucial, emotional, difficult scene written…

What’s your got-to distraction when you should be working?

Mine (don’t know if you’ve picked up on this yet): writing motivational blog posts dealing with what challenges my own process the most ;o)

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4 Responses to “How We Write: Focus, goal, distraction, KNOCK IT OFF…”

  1. robena grant says:

    I’m with you on this, Anna. If I want to write, need to write, and don’t seem to be able to write, I’ll end up writing a blog post. Ha ha. I’d never thought of it as denial or shirking my real duty. But it is. Okay, so tonight I push through this scene that is bugging the heck out of me. Thanks.

    • I met my goal yesterday, Robena! Did you???

      Report back. I’ll cheer you on ;o)

      And, yes, I blogged again this morning. And now I’m writing again–at least as soon as I stop responding to blog post comments… So there!

      ;o)

  2. Okay, Anna, now you’ve got me distracted AND dizzy, lol. And I was looking to take off with hubby for the day, dang it! My go-to disraction: cleaning. I can control that outcome, you know? Problem with that: by the time I’ve established the visual peace I say I need to write, I’m often too tired to do so. Oops! One more: reading blogs that are geared to improving my focus ;)

    Great post, btw. Enjoy your day!

  3. Joanna, I’m there. And sometimes it seems as if I write better when I’m exhausted. Which is the state I find myself in after a long day of writing… Circular? Perhaps. But when I’m pushing a draft out like I am today, and I’ve had a particularly productive stretch, some of the best, most relaxed writing I do is what comes to me later in the evening, when there’s no pressure because so many new pages are behind me, and I’m to tired to do anything but let the story flow out of me…

    Those are the best nights!

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