Name the 5 biggest writing distractions in your life right now and talk about ways to deal with them.
Right now there are a number of distractions in my life, including family, a club I belong to, as well as other environmental factors.
- Family pressures
- Family Pressures – Yeah it deserves to be mentioned twice
- Garden Club project
- Yard cleanup
- The television
There are always distractions at any one time and some of them are harder to deal with than others. I think the biggest thing I do to manage the distractions in my life is to try to make a plan to deal with them. The easy things I try to get out of the way. The other things such as family issues are sometimes things I can’t control or even have any effect on. Those are the hardest things to deal with because they can whirl in my head for the longest time.
But sometimes, just getting into the writing and the story will make the other distractions and pressures fade to the background. Mostly when it comes to distractions, I do my best to minimize them and try to work through them, knowing that they can be temporary.
Oh – and as for the television and that great series I’m binge watching, well… I try to use that as a reward for reaching my writing goals. It usually works pretty well.
Casey didn’t make any move to go inside. “When did you see your mama last?” The boy shrugged. “Was it today?” Casey half whispered in an effort to be gentle. The boy shook his head. “Yesterday?” Another head shake. “It’s okay. I’m going to help you, I promise.”
Fuck, he had seen a hell of a lot of shit that people did to one another. A killing that gave him nightmares for weeks, men hitting their wives and girlfriends. Those calls got to him every time. He’d seen the worst kind of hurt, but these three kids—and he hoped there weren’t more—touched his heart. After six years on the job, Casey had come to wonder if that was even possible any longer. It was easier to wall it off than to let it get battered day in and day out.
“What’s your name?” Casey asked, deciding to take things really slow. “I’m Trooper Casey.”
“Phillip,” the boy answered softly.
Casey leaned a little closer. “And what’s your name?” he asked the little girl.
“That’s Jolie,” Phillip answered as Jolie slunk behind him.
He wasn’t going to push inside. “Have you had enough to eat?”
“I’m hungry,” Jolie whispered and started crying again.
“It’s okay. Do you want my help to get something to eat?” Casey asked. He held out his hand. Phillip stared at it and then took it.
Relief washed over Casey as he slowly got up and followed Phillip into the house. It was pretty clean. The house seemed to have been vacuumed and dusted recently. He did a quick sweep of the house, including checking the upstairs, before returning.
“What have you been eating?” Casey went through the living and dining areas to the kitchen. A pile of dishes—mostly plates and cups—sat in the sink.
“Peanut butter and jelly,” Jolie answered as Casey opened the refrigerator. It held very little. Some condiments, a nearly empty jar of jam, a quarter of a jar of peanut butter, some pickles, and a mostly empty jug of milk. The cupboards didn’t have much more, with a few boxes of macaroni and cheese and some spices. He didn’t see any bread or even crackers. God, these kids were down to the very end of their food.
“Where’s Beau?” Casey asked Phillip.
“Hiding,” Phillip answered.
“Why don’t you both go find him, and I’ll make you some macaroni and cheese. Okay?” There were so many things running through his head, but he didn’t want to panic the kids. They were already under enough stress. Once they hurried away, he called in and requested Wyatt’s backup, got some water on the stove to get the kids fed, and then made a call to Child Services.
The kids returned with their brother in tow. Little Beau was adorable, with a head of unruly brown hair, huge brown eyes, and his thumb stuck firmly in his mouth. “Are you Beau?” Casey asked gently, and Beau nodded, leaving his thumb firmly in place. “Do you like macaroni and cheese?” He nodded again, holding Phillip’s hand. “Good. Jolie said she was hungry, so I wanted to make you something to eat.”
“No peanut butter?” Jolie asked, and when Casey shook his head, she grinned. “Good.”
Once he got the boxed mac and cheese finished, Phillip got out what seemed to be the last of the clean dishes in the cupboard and the last clean silverware in the drawer. Once again Casey wondered how long these poor children had been in the house alone. After he got the food dished up and Phillip divided the last of the milk between them, Casey stepped out of the room to call the sergeant.
Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.
Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
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I love Fire and Water.
Thanks for the excerpt. This one, like the others, sounds great.
Fire and Water is one of my favorites of yours but there are a few more that make the list.
There are a lot of things in my life that I can’t control, so I can relate.
i like fire and ice
My favorite…so far…’Fire and Water.’
Thanks for the great post. I love the Carlisle Cops series.