{"id":25174,"date":"2022-05-06T03:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T10:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=25174"},"modified":"2022-05-03T07:19:29","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T14:19:29","slug":"i-cant-finish-my-book-coping-with-distractions-by-catharine-bramkamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2022\/05\/06\/i-cant-finish-my-book-coping-with-distractions-by-catharine-bramkamp\/","title":{"rendered":"I Can\u2019t Finish My Book: Coping with Distractions by Catharine Bramkamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"I<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist Catharine Bramkamp<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cI Can\u2019t Finish My Book: Coping with Distractions.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

I routinely ignore click bait.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I honestly thought everyone did until I witnessed a kitchen full of writing partners click on a <\/span>\u201cThe Universe is Expanding\u201d<\/span><\/i> article.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And panic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Universe is expanding and there is nothing I can do about it!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh no, the universe is out of control!\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drawn in by Distraction<\/span><\/h2>\n

We are angry and frightened. Too upset to wash the breakfast pans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before we write anything<\/strong>, we must log into Facebook and post about the universe. Oh, and here are other posts to like.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

See?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Many sensitive people are as upset as we are! Who is responsible for the universe anyway? We must organize over the expanding universe, stop the move!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Look Up!\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

We are worried<\/strong>, look at these beautiful photos of the universe last year, and now it\u2019s changed, see how terrible this is?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What can we do?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I have a petition to keep the universe stable, like it was in 1960 when life was good.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Expanding universes are clearly one of the causes of economic collapse and war.<\/strong> They should be doing something about this universal problem. They should work harder to keep the universe stable so we can all be happy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I will write a letter to NASA.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I vow to post photos of the universe on an hourly basis. Perhaps there is an app that will post for me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I will research for an app, it will save me time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did the Hubble cause the expansion?<\/strong>\u00a0 We shouldn\u2019t interfere with God\u2019s universe. Is he punishing us for thinking about the universe?<\/span><\/p>\n

The universe consumed the morning and early afternoon like a black hole.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Spoiler alert: we can\u2019t do much about black holes either.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s breakfast pans are still unwashed in the sink Sunday morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three out of the four writers went to bed early<\/strong>, exhausted by their efforts to save the universe.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Problem with Distraction\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

We <\/span>should <\/span><\/i>have big existential thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We <\/span>should <\/span><\/i>be interested in an expanding universe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, like the expanding universe<\/strong>, our free floating anxiety about things we can\u2019t control easily grows into Godzilla proportions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unstoppable – a black hole of attention and emotions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What does this level of free floating anxiety mean for a writer?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The click bait is working, but you aren\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I propose that emotional responses like the above are not only exhausting<\/strong>, but a complete waste of your creative energy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All that emotion spent on someone else\u2019s click bait leaves little time for your own creative work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Social media and, increasingly<\/strong>, \u201ctrusted\u201d media is like a child perched on the diving board.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Look at me, look at me, are you looking at me?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And no matter how often the parent raises their eyes and waves, once in the water, the child just climbs back up onto the diving board to do it again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Look at me.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Learning How to Focus\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

How do you cope with all these tantalizing and immediate distractions and problems? As artists, we can either react to a strong headline, or deconstruct the headline and apply what we learn to our own writing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n