Such a busy month is this!
Between working, health, and shed building (see tomorrow's post in @diyhub) my energies have been demanded elsewhere.
But today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, despite working, I have time to write.
The way it's working is I'm doing a driving contract which takes me down to St Austell. It's about an hours drive from there home. Instead of driving for an hour home, having a few hours at home, then driving back down, I'm staying down in St Austell and using the time to write.
This morning I did my drop off, found a local coffee shop (a UK chain who I have a loyalty card for - for 3 days I'll use that and not seek out a local place) and wrote two thousand words, about a thousand each on two different projects. Then I took a walk to find the library (passing the railway station, where the picture above was taken), and am currently ensconced there.
I've done a post for tomorrow, and this one for just now. After this I may do another post, or I may get started on a new From This Side of the Pond essay. I have several subjects to choos from if I do that, though one about Las Vegas is gnawing away at the edges of my subconscious and may very well be given some attention.
What has any of this to do with the title of the post?
Well, the writing I've done this morning has missed out on distractions from social media, or television, or family members wandering round asking me to do things, or even the cats being cute.
Writing really is something that is easier when you strip out the distractions (and the excuses they provide).
By the time I finish today I should be through the thick end of four thousand words, and back on track for my monthly target, despite having 12 days of non-writing so far this month.
That doesn't mean today is some kind of nose-the-grindstone slog. I can do about a thousand words an hour quite comfortably, and four thousand words in the six hours available to me allows for time to wander, eat, daydream, and even research.
But, writing really is a lonely pursuit and making time to put words on paper (well, screen) demands making time alone.
Let's see how productive I can be these next few days.
text and picture by stuartcturnbull