Monday, June 3, 2013

Focus?

How focused are you when you write? Do you need perfect quiet? Do you need a clear desktop? Can you close a door and shut out the rest of the world or even just your own household?

I grew up in a large family, four sisters and two brothers. The only desk in the house belonged to my dad and none of us were allowed to use it. I usually did my homework sitting on the floor or on the sofa. The TV would be on and my brothers and sisters would be around doing their own homework or arguing like siblings do. I learned early on how to tune out what was going on around me. It served me well through high school and college when I could read and study no matter what was going on around me.

As an adult with four children, I think I've grown in my talents of concentration. Entire conversations go on around me, sometimes directed  at me, and I might never hear them if I'm reading, writing, or working on this blog. And on the flip side of that, I actually work better when I have a little noise to ignore. I almost always have a movie, Netflix or a DVD, running in the background when I write. (Season 1 of Hell on Wheels right now) I concentrate better. My early training I suppose.  I do tend to pick a video that will fit the mood of what I'm writing. The Marine's Heiress is in a pretty dark, dangerous place right now.

Don't forget today is the official release day of James Garcia's Seeing Ghosts. Check out his facebook page. 

Today is also the last day I have to actually teach at school. The next four days are just babysitting and clean up. A few of my classes choked me up as we said our goodbyes last Friday, but I managed not to cry. Mostly I've been smiling a lot.

How are you at focusing while you write or read? Are you lucky enough to be able to lock a door and leave the world outside? Do you ever set the mood for what you're writing with music or a movie? Do your family or your friends ever get irritated with you because you tuned them out when you're reading or writing?

17 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish I could lock the world out. Since I can't I use rainymood.com and coffitivity.com to block out the noise around me. My dream would be to be on a cruise ship writing my masterpiece, but alas that is not to be... yet!

Heather Musk said...

I struggle sometimes to focus. We only have a small house and I don't have my own space to hide away in to write. I have to shut myself away in the bedroom, door closed, everything off.
I'm looking forward to moving, and hopefully I'll get my own little cubby hole, even if it's under the stairs!

Maria Zannini said...

I like my quiet. I think it's because I grew up in such a large family. Once I had a taste of silence and solitude, I didn't want to give it up.

Even my dogs know to bark only when necessary. LOL

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

I definitely need quiet to write and read. I can do both if there's some noise, but it's more difficult.

When I was a kid, my parents fixed up the front room for me, and I had a cute little roll top desk that I did my homework and wrote on. I kept that desk for many many years. :)

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your retirement! I know how you've been looking forward to it. I like to have perfect quiet when I write, but with three young children at home I rarely get it.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations on your last day of teaching - and last week of work!
I do better with noise. I'll have music playing and the television on. (Without sound of course - that would be overkill.)

Unknown said...

I'm a true introvert. I like complete quiet- no music or sounds. Just the simple nature noise of birds and the quiet hum of the house.

Enjoy your summer!

Arlee Bird said...

Your experience growing up sounds much like mine. I almost always did my homework sitting on the couch while watching TV. It didn't affect my grades either--had mostly all A's.

Now I'm home alone during the day most of the year when my wife is teaching. When she is here she mostly does her own things so she doesn't pull me away from things I'm doing much. I sometimes will have talk radio on, but I do get easily distracted and sidetracked by things. These days quiet is good for me to focus, but I can sometimes do well with distractions around me.

Lee
Wrote By Rote

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Congrats on your last week of teaching!

I can write with music playing, but not with people around. I think that comes from being an only child and enjoying my privacy.

The Happy Whisk said...

When I write I am super focused. I like to do it first thing in the morning, shut the world out and get it done. Same with couponing.

Jemi Fraser said...

I can totally ignore the chaos around me too! Must be a teacher thing! :)

Congrats on finishing your career - wow! What a complex amount of feelings you must be feeling. Enjoy! :)

Anonymous said...

I can only ignore noise to a certain point. When I write or edit, I like having the TV on for noise, but I have to be careful what I choose to watch. Some shows will suck me in with the stories and I end up watching TV instead of writing!

momto8 said...

when people call my house they ask, "oh my gosh! is everything ok? what is going on there?" haha..I don't even hear it...all that noise, fighting, piano, barking etc!!!

Unknown said...

It depends where I'm at. If the story is flowing for me, and I'm in the zone, I can tune most things out, and yep, people talk to me and I don't hear them!

If I'm struggling to keep concentrating, or I'm editing, then peace and quiet makes things SO much easier. Of course, that rarely happens around here! I need to get better at tuning things out I think.

Unknown said...

It depends where I'm at. If the story is flowing for me, and I'm in the zone, I can tune most things out, and yep, people talk to me and I don't hear them!

If I'm struggling to keep concentrating, or I'm editing, then peace and quiet makes things SO much easier. Of course, that rarely happens around here! I need to get better at tuning things out I think.

Ava Quinn said...

Happy retirement!! You made it!! :D

I usually need it almost silent for me to concentrate and write. I wish I could train myself to be less distractable, but how do you overcome you own wiring?

Tonja said...

Congratulations on your retirement. I bet you'll miss it.

I need to completely escape into my writing. I prefer absolute quiet, but I'm okay with working at the coffee shop or a restaurant as long as no one person is talking loud enough to bust through my trance.