Learning to Focus as a Writer
by William Womack, February 23rd, 2008I’ve been struggling with focus for a week. Maybe ten days. Okay, my whole life. While becoming a writer has been liberating in many ways, it has also highlighted how much trouble I have sticking to one task for any length of time. Each morning, I arise religiously at 5:30 and put on a pot of coffee. I stumble into my office, climb into my writing clothes, and try to blink myself awake enough to create fiction. The conversion from sleep-stupid to intelligent writer is never easy, but some mornings it’s downright daunting. Most days, it takes until 7 before I’m awake enough to put words together in a semi-coherent way. By 8, life begins to tug at the edges of my concentration. Email demands to be checked, dogs beg to be let out, CNN.com posts some tidbit about my candidate and I’m a goner. This is not the schedule of a professional writer.
Once again, I’m dedicating myself to a single, overarching goal: focus, eliminate distractions, and keep on-task with my writing for at least two consecutive hours each day. I just found a marvelous free eBook that might help me achieve that goal.
The Lonely Writer by Geoffrey Hineman outlines why some writers have so much trouble with focus, and how we might go about getting a little more of it. It’s most definitely worth any struggling writer’s attention. I’m also adding Geoffrey’s blog, Tapping Creativity, to my blogroll. Many thanks to Brian Clark of Copyblogger (another worthy read) for pointing out Geoffrey and his book.
Thanks so much, William. I’m glad you are finding it helpful. And thank you for spreading the word. You have a great blog.
I do a lot of technical writing for work, which is not interesting writing, but the words flow easily enough, so I thought I’d transition easily into writing a blog. Turns out that this type of writing is a lot like having a pet, which was a surprise to me, but helps me get my head around the notion of spending time with it daily and giving it the attention it needs, whether I get busy with other things or not. I’m checking out this book, good find.
Yep, the analogy of having a pet is apt. So far, it’s more like having a goldfish than a Schnauzer — I know how much care I put into it, but I’m not sure it notices. Thanks for the comment, it’s a warm fuzzy in a sometimes cold endeavor. I see you’re setting to your own blog with gusto. Keep it up! And more pics of cute dogs, please.
If my blog is a pet then lack of focus has made me starve it for two months. *hangs head* Thank you so much for pointing out this resource, William. And for letting me know that I’m not alone in the world. There are other writers that struggle to pull their thoughts together long enough to get the words on the page.
Of course, these ebooks and blog entries are a fantastic way to avoid writing and still seem like we’re working.
Ironically, my dogs get jealous if I spend too much time with my blog. They’ve developed a technique of sidling up next to me and wedging their snouts under my mousing arm, then tossing my hand in the air. Subtle.
Shhh, Rebecca. Don’t interrupt my fantasy that all this blogging and reading about writing is as useful as the writing itself. Otherwise, I have to start questioning my pile of books on the craft.