NaNoWriMo Countdown: 8 Days.

Today I wanted to talk about distractions and writing, in preparation for the insanity inherent of NaNo.

The fine people over at the Office of Letters and Lights and the authors they find to produce their pep talks through the month of November all tell you at least once to find a way to remove yourself from all distractions so that you can focus on your writing. I want to tell you that it may actually not be so bad to surround yourself with one or two of your favorite distractions, be it TV or whatnot.

Why? Because if you fall into a block in your writing, perhaps a distraction is exactly what you need.



Now, I'm not saying that you should spend five hours staring blankly into your television or StumblingUpon the internet. No, what I'm saying is that if you're having an issue getting your creativity going, perhaps it's a good idea to find something you enjoy that kickstarts you into high gear. Take one or two minutes to watch a cooking show, read a few lines from your favorite story/author, go out and take a jog. Anything works, but moderation, as it is always, is key. As NaNo is about racing against your word count goals and getting your novel's first draft into a tangible form, it is imperative that you get back into the swing of things as quickly as possible so that you can meet and possibly excel your expectations for the day.

Another reason to keep some sort of distraction around is so that you don't drive yourself up the wall. Music is always a good background for writing that keeps you focused enough on the task at hand, and music that relates in some way to your plot is even better. I'd like to admit, however, that not all music is proper for a novel writing setting. Anything that you're liable to get up and dance to probably isn't in your best interests, for instance. Perhaps you're partial to a soothing TV show, like The Joy of Painting. You could perhaps play and listen to that in the background, so long as you don't turn around every few words to watch Bob Ross painting his happy little clouds.

There's also the matter of plot as well. There's a good chance you can find something you can use to bolster your plot while indulging yourself for those precious few moments. It's happened to me time and time again, and maybe it could work for you as well. For example: did you just read something interesting that you could finagle into your novel? Write it in and boost your word count! See a clever plot device that you liked and want to see if it could work for you? Write it in, and if it doesn't work out, edit it out in December! Did your imagination run wild while you ran/listened to your music? Use what you thought up, and write it in!

All of the above are some good reasons why you might not want to be so quick to remove all of these distractions from your writing space. Of course, this could just be me, as everyone's different.

As for my personal NaNo, I think I've found a second story to write once I'm done with the primary story I want to write. Though, I think the second novel would be a 'pantser' novel as there's not quite enough time for me to even think about plotting it up. Oh well.