A Week of Interruptions

The week of writing has turned into a week of interruptions.

It's interesting how our life is dominated by 'interruption technologies.' Social media, communication and Internet devices all seem to vie for our attention and it makes it really hard to write. What started off as a fairly successful few days of writing turned into a battle between the pen, the Internet and life itself.

The Pen
As I said, this started well. Despite my wife being away from home and being alone with my 8 year old, I managed to get a good start on Saturday. My son is quite capable of keeping himself entertained and so over the course of the following two days I was able to edit two chapters a day. Sure I got up at six and went to bed at midnight, but I was on a roll. So I did what every good writer does which is feed, entertain and parent the kid, but make clear that 'writing time' is 'me time' and unless he want his Lego donated to charity he better leave papa be.

The Internet
I can be focused when I really want to be. Sure it's fun to allow the Internet to distract us with social updates, messages and video clips, and yes I do believe the writer of 'The Shallows' who claims our brains are being rewired to process evermore fractured moments of interruptions, vying for our attention 24/7. So I did what every disciplined writer does and turned off my phone, turned off all my notifications, refused to read e-mail and text messages or pick up the phone. I grew a beard and ate Ramen noodles three times a day until I realized mice had moved into my unused shower.

Life
So, yeah. That happened. I guess you know where this is going. Let's face it, when you're juggling a consultancy job, future work offers, a wife overseas in need of technical support, an old body protesting it's not moving for hours at end and a hotter than hell work room in the attic, something has to give. And so I gave. And I gave. And then I gave some more. Oh, yeah and the X-Men movie happened as well. The point being? Writing a first time novel means not giving up your day job, but finding the cracks in between your schedule in which you can write. If you're passionate you'll stick with it and if you're any good you'll stop tinkering with it and publish the damn thing.

If you then still want to be an author who can ship his/her work, you need to get a shack in Nova Scotia overlooking nothing but ocean, with no phone coverage or Internet connection.

And that's exactly the first thing I'll do if this book of mine becomes a bestseller.