Dec
The Zone!!
Have you ever sat down to write and the worst thing bug you until you give up?
For a lot of us this is intrusion is called real life. But how to we get into the zone where real life is not allowed to bug us.
I know its not realistic to not allow any of life in while we write. I mean who is going to get your 4 y/o their kool-aid??
My point is if we are sitting there looking at a blank screen we are most likely going to allow any kind of real life step in and take over. This is unacceptable!! For the most part we need to phase out the real world and enter the Zone to get some major writing done. How else are we to finish our books??
If you find yourself dealing with every little issue that comes along in real life then you book is most likely never going to get finished. Truly do the walls need repainted right now?? Of course not. That’s just our little mind finding things to distract us.
So what can you do to make sure life isn’t going to bug you everytime you sit down to write?
A few helpful steps:
1. Make sure your family is going to be away for awhile (kids at school, hubby at work)
2. Do those annoying dishes before you decide to write…that way they wont be on your mind the entire time.
3. If you cant commit to a long period of time to write give yourself 20-30 minutes, make good uses of that egg timer.
4. Put on some relaxing music (not the kind that will put ou to sleep though).
5. Shut yourself into a small *office* type area. Yes this means if needed move your desktop or laptop to a more private area.
If none of the above work, you might try writing later at night. Say…ohhh…after everyone goes to bed.
Fact is you’ve made a personal commitment to a book and there is no need to ignore it. If you do then you are ignoring something you’ve set yourself out to do..btw that is a bad thing.
So, what do you do to get into “the zone”??
Pretty much what you said, though I can get some work done with hubby watching TV, boys playing etc, but for the most part I tend to do my writing when I have 1 1/2 hours free time after I get home from work, with no interuptions, or like you said, when everyone else is asleep. lol.
I HAVE to listen to music, something in the background besides my flying fingers on the keyboard. It can be any kind of music really, but tends to go to Celtic, to Enya, to Evanescence, to Charlotte Church, to Broadway Musicals!!! Music helps fuel my imagination and commitment to the story. It often times helps me create “the mood” which is part of being in “the zone!”
And yay for me, since I am a member of the blog, I’ll gush over me for a heartbeat and tell everyone I finished my love scene today, my FIRST EVER love scene! Woo-Hoo!!!
December 21st, 2005 at 6:26 pmCongrats!! This is actually a huge deal. Why?? Because you never can be sure you have the right stuff to do it. Once its finished you can sit back and do the happy dance (refer to kitties prancing hehe).
Something I’ve noticed about my spicy scenes..if its really good I either want to attack the hubby or I blush…I’m thinking this might be a good thing.
p.s. the hubby likes those spicy scenes hehe.
December 21st, 2005 at 6:53 pmGood blog Haven. To get in “the zone” I’m writing daily goals otherwise other things get in the way. My first job (you know, the one that pays those pesky bills and puts food on our table) takes a huge chunk of my time. Don’t get me wrong I’m pretty happy with my job and everyone there. But I’m gone nine to ten hours a day (including commute)I leave early in the morning and return in the evening. By the time I get home I have chores to do (although the DH can be an angel sometimes and help me out), errands to run, oh and don’t let me forget the “girls”. My pet companions want part of “the zone” too I suppose. I must admit that because of the holidays I haven’t devoted that much time to writing but typically I try to plan my day so I can write. I moved up writing to be one of my top priorities of the day. When I find myself in “the zone” I don’t necessarily write, but sometimes I do a little research, read books on writing, listen to music that might inspire me.
Michelle ~ Congratulations my friend!
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:21 pm