Write more, email less

I’m going into hiding. The answering machine will be taking all my calls. I’m pulling the plug on my Internet modem. If anyone knocks at my door, no one will respond.

Drastic? Maybe, but I suspect this is what it takes to get any writing done.

I love Pennwriters and I enthusiastically do all I can to support them, but lately the discussion online has gotten overwhelming. Big changes and growth are on the horizon. Plus, I’m in the middle of researching speakers for next year’s conference. All well and good. But I’m breaking my own rule about getting some writing done BEFORE getting wrapped up in all that stuff.

Tsk tsk.

When my little Yahoo messenger guy announces a new email has arrived, I can’t resist dropping everything to check it out.

Note to self: STOP IT.

In all honesty, while I haven’t added to my word count at all this week, I have been working on the book. Behind the scenes stuff. I’ve been outlining the plot and doing bios on my bad guys. I HAD bios on the two main characters, but not the bad guys (yes, there are more than one). Then the other night, I picked up James N. Frey’s How to Write a Damn Good Mystery and started thumbing through it. I got intrigued by his chapter on Creating a Murderer and realized that one of the things my own story was lacking was a clear sense of motivation where the bad guys were concerned.

So I started working on extensive bios for them. Interesting, the things you learn when you step into the mindset of a killer.

Yesterday, I worked on research. It’s nice having a cousin who’s computer savvy when I have a subplot dealing with a teenage kid and a computer. Thanks, Sean.

Now, I’m ready to get back to adding pages to the manuscript. Except that I had Pennwriters emails to read and a Pennwriters lunch to attend and now I have yoga classes to teach. Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment and errands to run.

Sigh.

Okay, next week I will write. I will not check my email. I will not talk on the phone. I will not…

Oh, who am I kidding? I just have to enforce my “writing first, all other stuff second” rule a little more stringently. That’s all.

By the way…the replacement laser jet printer arrived yesterday and so far, so good.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Good luck getting back into it, Annette. I'm sure all your recent experiences will fuel your momentum. Have a great weekend!
5/30/08, 10:41 AM
Anonymous said…
"I will not check my email. I will not talk on the phone. I will not…"

. . . check the comments on my blog? (grin)

I enjoyed your post, Annette. So true.
6/1/08, 6:23 PM
Annette said…
...or respond to comments on my blog... Oops.
6/1/08, 7:43 PM
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