Reading About Writing VS Writing

I have (too) many hobbies, one of which is knitting. Sometimes, when I really am too busy to spend a lot of time knitting, I find myself in a yarn store, buying yarn. In my mind, buying yarn is somehow productive and contributes to my knitting goals. However, all it really does is clutter up my storage space and make me more frustrated because the knitting isn't being done, but the yarn is accumulating.

I think sometimes as writers we do a lot of research about writing. We browse the internet, learning about others' successes in writing, learning new techniques, and "networking." This all feels quite productive and makes us feel like we're doing something about our writing projects. What we really should be doing, though, is actually writing. I'm as guilty as the next person in this. I spend much more time than I ought to on the internet rather than the word processor.

So, here's this week's challenge for you and for me: 1. set a time limit for how long you will spend on the internet. You can set an alarm on your cell phone or set a timer to help with this. 2. Allow a chunk of time for writing each day and stick to it. 3. Don't allow yourself to become distracted with networking while you are in your writing time.

Okay, ready...set..write!