One thing I haven't really gotten the hang of yet is forcing myself to write.
Just sitting myself down at the keyboard and pretending someone is holding a gun to my head. And writing.
I can procrastinate 'til the cows come home, so this is a skill I'm going to have to teach myself at some point or another. But with the interwebs so readily available, how can I ever even start?
The internet is such a huge time suck, it almost seems like I'm going to have to go someplace with my laptop and no network card. Some sort of parallel universe where the tubes have become clogged with porn, and the internet is not even an option.
I can't tell you how many hours a day I lose into the black holes of Wikipedia and YouTube. Or the various podcasts, blogs, and message boards. The internet is one giant time suck - and its evil purpose is to stop me from writing.
Is disconnecting myself the answer? I sure as fuck don't have the willpower to not click just one more link.
All I know is I need a system free of distractions where I can just force myself to write.
Any suggestions?
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Personally, I have to either go somewhere with no wifi signal or just disable it on my laptop altogether. I'm with you in your frustration, brother. There are times when I jump out of my chair and say, "Okay. This is enough! Nothing's getting done here. I'm not touching the fucking keyboard again until I unplug a cable or a card or change a damn setting."
I get all my surfing out of the way first thing as I load up on caffiene and towel myself dry, then just leave one browser open to thesaurus.com and that is it (next time I allow myself to surf is whilst eating lunch)
A legal pad and a pencil?
I'll volunteer to be the person holding the gun. ;)
I intentionally don't have a wifi card in my laptop. When I write, I'm writing, and that's it. When I wanna go online, I hit the other computer, which is hooked up DSL, and I surf away.
But it's funny how many times I'll be somewhere with the laptop and total strangers will come up to me saying, "Wow, are you getting a signal here? I didn't know this [fill in the blank] was wired!"
When I tell them I don't know, I'm not online, they sort of go off in a huff. (Did you know you could work on a laptop without it being hooked to the World Wide Timesuck?) :)
I wonder if they were going to ask me if they could borrow my laptop to check their email next...
I click through my links one by one - and ONLY screenwriting links. They usually generate ideas. When an idea comes to me I start working on my script and before I know it, I'm no longer interested in what's online.
Except for checking email, I make myself write at least one page before I begin procrastinating.
If I really need to crank out the pages, I give myself 15 minutes of internet for every 45 minutes I face the page.
At some point you have to decide -- being up to date on the ramblings of Jon Raymond or doing everything in your power to be a screenwriter.
Tough choice. I know.
Don't be kid yourself. You can't output, output, output with no input.
You need to be stimulated. And let's face it, we ALL know this is something of a hobby of yours. But I'm not talking about THAT.
My advice? Get off your computer for a couple of days. Make it a point NOT to write for a couple of days. And go out an volunteer somewhere sketchy for those few days in a row. A soup kitchen. A literacy center. Go paint some projects. Haul your duff over to a non-profit somewhere and stuff a direct mail piece for them.
Do something that makes you either ridiculously uncomfortable or entirely bored out of your mind.
I'll bet you'll get your mojo back.
Works for me.
i use routine. similiar to the process of falling asleep, i do specific actions prior to writing, so when i sit down i really do write. they include (in this order):
washing the breakfast dishes
putting my clothes in the washing machine
making a coffee
sit down and begin!
that takes about 10 minutes.
it's pretty simple, fairly mundane, but it works. i can have all manner of chat programs, browsers open and still write. i don't need to be disconnected.
what that household routine does for my writing routine is prepare my brain for writing as i'm doing those chores. during washing dishes or clothes, i'm already thinking about what part of the story i want to develop or concentrate on.
all of this combined with a good coffee (stimulant) really helped me get over the procrastination block.
even if you dont write during the day, create some other mundane routine you can follow at night/early hours of the morning.
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