How’s your writing gone lately, Squiders? Got lots done?
Well, I’m here to derail that. Bwha.
Hey, if I can’t focus, why should you?
If you need a break, why not try one of these time wasters?
1. Social Media
We’ve all heard it – we’ve got to build our author platforms, right? Goodreads, facebook pages, Twitter, blogs. This is sort of productive procrastination. At least you’re accomplishing something. Unless you’re playing games on facebook and doing the never-ending trivia quiz on Goodreads.
2. Internet Memes
What is a meme? A meme is any number of things, usually repeated over and over throughout the internet, spread through social media and excellently addictive sites such as I Can Has Cheezburger. They can be macros, videos, polls, surveys – and all can eat your time forever. If you’re confused about any, Know Your Meme is the place to go.
3. Flash Games
There’s a multitude of websites related to flash games – shockwave.com, candystand.com, addictinggames.com, pogo.com, kongregate.com, to name a few. These websites host a collection of games, from card games and jigsaw puzzles, to puzzle games, side-scrollers, shooters, and – my favorite – time management games, all conveniently available to play on your web browser. To sweeten the deal, you can set up accounts on many of these websites, collecting points and trophies as you go.
4. TVTropes
I’m sure you already are familiar with TVTropes. This website is a collection of every plot device trope used ever, and you can use quite a lot of time reading through the tropes, either looking to find something you can use for something specific or just because you’ve been sucked in forever. Additionally, each trope has examples of how’s it been used in various forms of media. Hours can be lost here, even with the best intentions. (Wikipedia also sometimes works this way.)
5. Writing Forums
Counter-intuitive, right? But nothing distracts from writing better than talking about writing. You can compare notes on editing, writing, character development, self-pubbing, submitting. You can share horror stories, participate in round robins, and tell everyone about your brilliant world-building. Or, you know, you don’t actually have to talk about writing at all, but merely bask in the glory of your fellow writers.
What are your favorite (worst?) distractions?
