Goodreads Facebook Twitter RSS Feed

Avoid Distractions: Stay Online!

Monday, 3 October 2011

The internet is supposed to be a terrible distraction isn't it? You see the advice all the time on writery blogs : unplug yourself from email and Twitter and all the rest of it and you'll be able to get on with your writing free from interruption ...

I beg to differ. My broadband is broken just now - again - and I'm only able to use the internet at the sort of speeds we thought were good in the early 1990s. And then only if the wind is in the right direction. And you know what? It's really distracting. I'm sitting here writing and worrying about who is emailing me, what's going on on Twitter, what blogs I'm not keeping up on, what new markets I don't know about. The world is moving on and I don't know about it ...

Disconnect from the internet? No thank you very much.

Right, now to see if I can publish this post. I think the wind is in the right direction ...

Posted by Simon Kewin at 22:16

15 comments:

  1. Miranda Hardy3 October 2011 at 22:33

    I agree. I'd much rather have the internet available and up when I'm writing. I also use it if I need to research something.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karen Jones Gowen3 October 2011 at 22:49

    The key is to keep one foot in the internet the other one in your creative writing endeavors and both hands on the keyboard.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Golden Eagle3 October 2011 at 22:53

    Hope your broadband is up and running again soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Old Kitty3 October 2011 at 23:37

    I kind of miss those days when I'd hog the phoneline to use the internet trying to ignore my mum shouting at me to get off the line cos she wants to ring someone! LOL!!!

    Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  5. mshatch4 October 2011 at 00:53

    oh, too funny, and I can so relate. Being without my computer, being unconnected, is hellish.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Simon Kewin4 October 2011 at 08:53

    Miranda : absolutely, always useful for quickly checking a word or some fact.

    KarenG : Sounds very acrobatic! I do agree.

    Golden Eagle : Oh, me too!

    Old Kitty : Ah yes, happy days!

    mshatch : Hellish indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Deborah Walker4 October 2011 at 12:17

    I've kinda worked up a strange way of writing and dipping into the interenet for ten minute intervals. If the internet goes down I'm at a loss. And the research! Gosh. How did spec writers ever write without Wikipedia. Books or something?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Simon Kewin4 October 2011 at 12:44

    Deborah,

    Sounds very much like me. And, yeah, books I suppose. Lots of books.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cate Gardner4 October 2011 at 13:41

    For me, Freedom is my friend (if I'm strong enough to switch it on). As long as I set it to block the internet for no more than two hours I can cope, otherwise it's fret, fret, fret. Without it, I get too distracted by Twitter.

    Awww, good old dial-up internet of the 1990s when it took a week to turn a page.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Unknown4 October 2011 at 14:09

    Simon, I believe there is a twelve step programme for people who have it as bad as you. ;)

    Hope you and your internet connection are back working at full speed soon :D

    ReplyDelete
  11. Simon Kewin4 October 2011 at 14:14

    Cate - Freedom is some sort of temporary internet blocking thing? I must check that out.

    Elaine - A 12 step programme? Sounds cool; I'll go and Google for it right away ...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Joe Romel5 October 2011 at 00:55

    I completely agree, Simon. Advising someone to unplug themselves from the internet today is no different than advising someone twenty years ago to take their phone off the hook. It's not practical.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Simon Kewin5 October 2011 at 07:47

    Agreed, Joe!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Deborah Walker6 October 2011 at 18:30

    I've just switched to the Chrome browser, Simon. I was a bit resentful at first as I felt forced into it. But, boy, it's speeded me up.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Simon Kewin6 October 2011 at 20:36

    Deborah : I really must try it. People keep telling me to!

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to know what you think.