I’ve heard a lot of writers talk about how they can enter into a writing cave one day and seven days later emerge with a completed rough draft.  Although I have done this in a pinch, and quite successfully I might add, this is not realistic for most writers.  Let me share with you some of the distractions that we authors experience.

• Facebook is the twilight zone of time wasting.  And even if we are marketing, chatting with fans or gaining likes on our author pages, Facebook is our worst enemy.
• Tweeting is the second enemy.  You know it is so don’t even try to deny it!
• Grocery shopping because you are out of milk
• Marketing on other social sites.  It takes time folks!
• Review sites…yes, most of us spend way too much time patting ourselves on the back for the 5-star ratings and then sulking in the corner over the 2 and 1 stars.
• That lake looks too darn wonderful to resist any longer
• Sales reports and Amazon ranking- thankfully this isn’t one that I get caught up in but I know a ton of people who obsess over this
• Emailing bloggers- yep, this is a biggie
• Giveaways
• For some stranger reason your family wants to eat.  What’s up with that?
• Chatting with other authors about completely useless stuff because it’s fun
• Release parties
• Random google searches
• Planning out book releases
• Is that a rerun of Game of Thrones?  I must watch it!
• Cover design
• Editing obsessively
• Writing more than one book at a time and your characters are battling with each other for your attention.  That usually ends in bloodshed that you have to clean up later.
• Designing swag
• Angry Birds or the minion game that keeps calling your name
• Laundry
• Children sword fighting in the background (this is usually my son and hubby using lightsabers!)
• Phone calls
• A butterfly that floats past the window that grabs your attention
• Invites and upkeep involved in attending book signings/conventions

The list is endless.  Today my distraction is a whining dog that I’m about ready to buy a muzzle for and my adorable son’s lemonade stand.  I’ve been enlisted to bake brownies and make homemade caramel corn for him to sell.  How can you say no to that?

So I am exiting my writing cave after only an hour to make my son smile.

I see a late writing night in my future but it’s totally worth it!