Day 12 of NaNoWriMo has come and gone. During the work week I have 2 times of the day to write, in the early morning and at night before bed. I first have to block this time out for writing and then I have to be ready to write when I do sit down in front of the keyboard and screen. Thankfully, for this story, It doesn’t take me long to get started once I sit down since I have a ton of material already on paper. That doesn’t mean I don’t hit road blocks.

These roadblocks are not always story related, sometimes they are distractions that pull my mind away. Usually when I get distracted that means I wasn’t fully locked in to the writing session yet. I try not to let that happen but it does. Sometimes I can fight the pull of the distraction but sometimes I use this mood shift to my advantage.

I try to have a handful of reference or inspiration materials I can go to that help re-fuel me and give me a push. When I get distracted I try to focus that distraction on these materials instead of the endless social media scroll. Sometimes I turn to a playlist of ambient music or film scores that have a similar vibe to what I am creating. Other times I review some film scenes that have some relation to the kind of story I am writing. Other times I reference movies, music or art that has nothing to do with what I am creating. Just indulging in some awesome piece of work by another artist reminds me of my end goal and helps me keep going.

I try to collect as many tactics as I can to help my self stay on track. Do you battle this when you write? If so, how do you tackle these distractions that you face? Tell me in the comments or just leave a comment to say HI!

Thanks for reading!

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