How NOT to write a book (Part 2)

I am a house-spouse. With this role naturally comes the greatest enemy of a writer. Interruptions. Seriously... I'll be interrupted several times before finishing this blog. Why? Because I have an eight-year-old. How someone with multiple children manages to publish books is beyond me... I'm gonna assume witchcraft is involved. I digress...

Immersion. Diving deep into a scene. The ability to submerge oneself into the mind, situation, emotion, and world of a character... the ability to do so is a necessity. It's the only way to get realistic reactions and make sure the voice of the characters are each unique. It's also pretty hard to instantly do. Usually, I have to read the prior scenes to get myself back into the mode. Sometimes the background music or silence is needed. Either way, once one is in the zone, it is imperative that one stays in the zone for as long as possible. You know... as in without stopping to tell a kid a thing you already told a kid three times.

If you're going to write, I suggest you treat it like "a real job" ... you know... because it is. Set aside hours of uninterrupted time. Have a bit of a 'ritual' where you get things done and set up your area so that once you set down, you have your favorite beverage and water within reach, and get nice and cozy with no reason to get up for a while. Schedule it. Set it up. Make it happen. Then once you're cozy, do your best to cut out social media and focus for solid uninterrupted work.

As a house spouse... I relish those moments. The ability to come to a stop and say "I wrote a whole chapter today!" or "I finally finished that scene!" There's nothing like going from trying to get in the mind of a character in a dramatic scene... then having to stop to kiss a boo boo. Trying to get back into the mood for writing a naughty scene or brutal fight after changing a diaper... I'll just say that I sympathize with any writer with little kids.

... and five. Five times. That's how many times I was interrupted... Five...