Love it. I use a cheap one-off-purchasable but highly effective program called 'Cold Turkey' which can block web pages or even the entire internet / web browsers--which is how I use it. Writing time = Cold Turkey on for a 'timed block' = all internet off. I also have a dumbphone rather than a smartphone. I actually hate the internet. Although it's quite good on occasion for reading stuff like this post... 1500 words...awesome... Is that in conjunction with working f/t? Stephen King says to do 2,000 a day but writing is his f/t job and with schoolteaching and small children 2,000 is rare for me. I aim for 500 and so often hit 1000.
Thanks, Faenon. Cold Turkey sounds like a good system - anything's better than gritting your teeth and relying on willpower not to browse! I try not to be too dogmatic about the word count, but 1500 words seems to be about my limit before the quality starts to drop. And the time that takes usually fits in with my other work/family commitments etc. Murukami talks about a steady pace being the most important thing (in writing as in marathon running) and I tend to agree!
I used to have a second hand tiny computer, half the size of a normal laptop, and I never set it up to access the internet. All I did on it was write. I did enjoy the lack of distraction but these days I use networked backups so it wouldn’t work for me now. The days when I sit down to write and get distracted, I know there’s really something about the writing I’m avoiding so if I wasn’t looking up ‘useful’ details or browsing Substack I’d just be off doing important pencil sharpening or whatever instead.
Ha, yes, it's important to get to know our procrastination patterns! I can spiral into Wikipedia for hours. I think a lot of us have a love/hate relationship with all this tech. The research for my latest book wouldn't have been half as rich without all the podcasts now available, but at the same time it can be hard to know when to stop!
I totally love the idea of this and do like to do it sometimes! I especially love it for big brainstorming sessions where I can scribble haphazardly through the pages of a notebook. But oftentimes my writing has to happen in bed holding a child who doesn't like to nap alone haha. In which case using Notion (which I can access on my phone and on any computer) is the best set up for me. I dream of the days where consistent, quiet, tech-free spaces for writing are possible, but for now, being flexible and ready to go in marginal moments is key! With the added help of blockers for the rest of the Internet/apps that I don't have the password for of course. Those still are essential. So the sentiment is the same!
I agree, the sentiment is exactly the same - different tactics for finding that undistracted mind-space. I realise I'm very fortunate to have my current setup and try not to take it for granted. Your efforts sound heroic and I wish you the very best of luck!
I don't have a special room, more a special time - I get up early before anyone wakes up, and then I have an hour or so to myself to write. But other moments are stolen throughout the day.
I write on a laptop, which hasn't so far stifled my creative output - in fact, although I see the potential benefit to the creative process, I've struggled with handwriting since school, and the best investment of time I ever made was to do a touch-typing course.
Regarding distractions, I work on an old laptop that doesn't have email or social media. It does have internet (which is good for looking stuff up, and allows backups), but I've made the hard decision to cut myself off from social media in general (messrs Zuckerberg and Musk have made that decision easier!), and I've felt healthier for it - just the odd foray onto Bluesky. I don't see Substack as a distraction, but rather a source of long-form reading and a stimulus for thinking.
All makes sense, Gareth. I know how lucky I am to have a dedicated space and not everyone can have that. But perhaps the important thing is being intentional with our habits and system - as with your early morning routine. Creative work is hard and it's easy for it to get pushed aside unless we protect it with a robust process. What that process looks like will be individual to each of us. Personally, I need minimal distraction, but others prefer a bit of background noise. And I couldn't agree more about touch-typing: it doesn't only make tying faster, but helps free up the creative brain because you don't have to think about what your fingers are doing! When I worked as a journalist I was amazed at how many reporters couldn't touch-type. It's one of the first things any writer should learn!
I think it was Truman Capote who said (of the Beats): "That's not writing, that's typing". I think he definitely underestimated the role of the latter! ;)
Love it. I use a cheap one-off-purchasable but highly effective program called 'Cold Turkey' which can block web pages or even the entire internet / web browsers--which is how I use it. Writing time = Cold Turkey on for a 'timed block' = all internet off. I also have a dumbphone rather than a smartphone. I actually hate the internet. Although it's quite good on occasion for reading stuff like this post... 1500 words...awesome... Is that in conjunction with working f/t? Stephen King says to do 2,000 a day but writing is his f/t job and with schoolteaching and small children 2,000 is rare for me. I aim for 500 and so often hit 1000.
Thanks, Faenon. Cold Turkey sounds like a good system - anything's better than gritting your teeth and relying on willpower not to browse! I try not to be too dogmatic about the word count, but 1500 words seems to be about my limit before the quality starts to drop. And the time that takes usually fits in with my other work/family commitments etc. Murukami talks about a steady pace being the most important thing (in writing as in marathon running) and I tend to agree!
I used to have a second hand tiny computer, half the size of a normal laptop, and I never set it up to access the internet. All I did on it was write. I did enjoy the lack of distraction but these days I use networked backups so it wouldn’t work for me now. The days when I sit down to write and get distracted, I know there’s really something about the writing I’m avoiding so if I wasn’t looking up ‘useful’ details or browsing Substack I’d just be off doing important pencil sharpening or whatever instead.
Ha, yes, it's important to get to know our procrastination patterns! I can spiral into Wikipedia for hours. I think a lot of us have a love/hate relationship with all this tech. The research for my latest book wouldn't have been half as rich without all the podcasts now available, but at the same time it can be hard to know when to stop!
I totally love the idea of this and do like to do it sometimes! I especially love it for big brainstorming sessions where I can scribble haphazardly through the pages of a notebook. But oftentimes my writing has to happen in bed holding a child who doesn't like to nap alone haha. In which case using Notion (which I can access on my phone and on any computer) is the best set up for me. I dream of the days where consistent, quiet, tech-free spaces for writing are possible, but for now, being flexible and ready to go in marginal moments is key! With the added help of blockers for the rest of the Internet/apps that I don't have the password for of course. Those still are essential. So the sentiment is the same!
I agree, the sentiment is exactly the same - different tactics for finding that undistracted mind-space. I realise I'm very fortunate to have my current setup and try not to take it for granted. Your efforts sound heroic and I wish you the very best of luck!
Likewise!
I don't have a special room, more a special time - I get up early before anyone wakes up, and then I have an hour or so to myself to write. But other moments are stolen throughout the day.
I write on a laptop, which hasn't so far stifled my creative output - in fact, although I see the potential benefit to the creative process, I've struggled with handwriting since school, and the best investment of time I ever made was to do a touch-typing course.
Regarding distractions, I work on an old laptop that doesn't have email or social media. It does have internet (which is good for looking stuff up, and allows backups), but I've made the hard decision to cut myself off from social media in general (messrs Zuckerberg and Musk have made that decision easier!), and I've felt healthier for it - just the odd foray onto Bluesky. I don't see Substack as a distraction, but rather a source of long-form reading and a stimulus for thinking.
All makes sense, Gareth. I know how lucky I am to have a dedicated space and not everyone can have that. But perhaps the important thing is being intentional with our habits and system - as with your early morning routine. Creative work is hard and it's easy for it to get pushed aside unless we protect it with a robust process. What that process looks like will be individual to each of us. Personally, I need minimal distraction, but others prefer a bit of background noise. And I couldn't agree more about touch-typing: it doesn't only make tying faster, but helps free up the creative brain because you don't have to think about what your fingers are doing! When I worked as a journalist I was amazed at how many reporters couldn't touch-type. It's one of the first things any writer should learn!
I think it was Truman Capote who said (of the Beats): "That's not writing, that's typing". I think he definitely underestimated the role of the latter! ;)