The Productive Writer–When Life Gets in the Way

The Distraction of the Every Day

It took me twenty years to write my first book, primarily because life got in the way. At one time I was a single mother with two boys, and working three jobs. I eventually got remarried, had another child, went to nursing school, and went into nursing. It wasn’t until I failed at nursing that I knew that what I really wanted to spend my time writing. I went to therapy, started journaling and finished writing When God Turned his head. That launch occurred on August 28, 2010.

The Distraction of Major Events

There are days when you will get out of your writing routine. There are days when we are too sick to spend time at the computer. Major events like family graduations, weddings, and births may also remove us from our desks. Doctor’s appointments, auto repair appointments, dentist appointments, major housing projects, daily activities and all kinds of interruptions can keep us from our writing task. All of us have them so it makes no sense to feel guilty when we miss a day or two of writing. The goal, however, is to not allow that day to turn into weeks, months, or even years. If you want to write a book, you must make writing a priority.

When I finally committed to writing on a regular basis, no matter what else I was doing, I made serious progress. After I wrote When God Turned His Head, I started college full time and lived on student loans so that I could devote my time writing and attending college. While in college I published Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues and Simply Vegetable Gardening. I graduated in July 2014 magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts. In 2015 I wrote three books. Book III of the Locket Saga, A Coward’s Solace and two nonfiction books—Using Diatomaceous Earth around the House and Yard and Help from Kelp. In addition, I have written countless online articles in numerous places as well as consistently writing posts for this blog.

The Distraction of Writing Related Activities

Now that I have several books under my belt, I could easily be distracted from writing by using activities related to writing as an excuse for not writing. One of my goals is to develop a publishing company with other writers. I have been learning the process of publishing through trial and error with my own books and am almost at the point where I can start presenting this idea to others. However, I don’t want a publishing business or marketing my books to get in the way of actually doing the writing.

Tactics to Keeping on Track

Planning productive writing into every day is extremely important. Even if I only write for fifteen minutes every day, I know that I am at least maintaining a writing routine.

This week I am on a working vacation. I am going home to Corry Pennsylvania where I will be attending several events. One is a library book signing tomorrow, the second is addressing a writer’s club (also at the library) on Thursday, and the last is an in the park event where I will meet a lot of people coming through town for the alumni weekend. My own class reunion won’t be held until next year, so I won’t be distracted by those activities.  In addition, I am going to be having coffee with a number of local individuals to reconnect on a deeper level. Though I doubt I will get a lot of writing done, I am going to attempt to write at least something every day. One thing that I have discovered is that when I have a change of scenery like this, my creativity goes through the roof. I know that by the end of these next two weeks in Pennsylvania, I should have done some major recharging of my creativity batteries. This will be especially true since I am also researching for a couple of my upcoming books which will be based in this part of Pennsylvania.

Another tactic I use to prevent writing related distractions from getting in the way of writing copy is that I have deadlines for my numerous projects. This blog has built in deadlines because I have four blog posts that I need to have written every week. The two writing blogs I write every week will eventually become the fodder for two writing books, one on marketing and one on how to reach your book writing goals.

Yet another tactic is that I dedicate NaNoWriMo to writing the first draft of one of my upcoming novels in the Locket Saga. The fact that I have several first draft manuscripts waiting for attention on my computer is definitely a motivational tool to continue working on them. They are there. They need to be finished. I need to take the time to finish them.

Donna Brown is pastor at Faith in God Church  1 1/2 miles south of Brandsville, Missouri on Hwy 63. Sunday services are at 10 am and Wednesday night Bible Study at 6:30 pm.   As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has  published a nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga. The next book Book IV of the Locket Saga: Sailing Under the Black Flag will be out in the near future.

Her most recent publication were two booklets Help From Kelp and Using Diatomaceous Earth Around the House and Yard. Available in paperback

.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her books, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .