It’s not the
external but the internal noise that leads to distracted writing.
It’s not writer’s
block, because I’m still writing. The problem is that I’ve taken
on all these projects and I jump from one to the other. I’m having
trouble working on the new novel and instead work on the blogs and
social network posts and trivial real life things like looking for a
job.
It’s easy to
prioritize the small stuff because it’s doable. This blog post I’m
writing now will be done within the hour. The ability to finish
something is attractive. It satisfies my creative need and allows me
to move on.
The novel on the
other hand is not finishable. Yes someday it will be done, but that
someday is a long way away. Months of work are ahead of me. I’m not
complaining about the effort because I love getting lost in the
creation of a story and its world. The problem is how do I put aside
the little projects that satisfy my need for closure.
I come back again to
my Puritan work ethic. Writing is what I do for fun, so it’s seen
as something to do when work is done. In the back of my head work is
more important than play. I don’t seem to fully believe that just
because I enjoy something doesn’t mean it isn’t work.
I’ve started a
dialog with my inner critics on this subject, but haven’t found the
right one yet. It turns out that I have several inner critics, not
just one. Each one has a different set of roles and concerns. I used
to just try to ignore these critics but I’m learning to listen to
them and work out compromises that are mutually beneficial.
The problem is that
distracted writing is caused by several distinct critics. The
perfectionist, the guilt-tripper, the gratification-seeker, the
approval-seeker and other yet-defined voices are at play here.
Satisfying all of them may be difficult.
