The Easily Distracted Writer. That’s me! When I’m involved in a writing project, I spend a good 10-12 hours a day at the computer. But wait. Am I honestly totally focused on my writing/editing every minute of those 12 hours? No. Not really. (Case in point, revisions due on Friday, and here I sit updating my blog!)

My day starts off with:

A check of my personal and professional e-mail accounts where I weed through dozens of  e-mails and respond where necessary.

A Twitter check. 106 followers.  A tweet scan and mention/messages check. I make a mental note to think up engaging tweets to get people interested enough to follow me and visit my blog/Facebook page.

A Facebook check. 67 followers. Still pathetic. No comments. I make a mental note to find a way to be more entertaining.

A visit to Amazon UK to check on my cover, you know, to make sure no one removed it overnight. And a check of my (and Janice Lynn’s) sales ranking. 970,485 on the top sellers list. Terrible. But the book hasn’t technically been released yet. And the fact that we even have a sales ranking means someone has pre-ordered a book. How exciting/scary is that?

Then I visit my blog and the 4badmommies blog to see if anyone commented overnight. And by the way, Regina Richards, a fabulously entertaining writer has a post up on teen dating. You do not want to miss it. http://www.4badmommies.com.  

For a while I visited the Mills and Boon and eharlequin Author pages and blog lists to check on the status of my info. being uploaded. To date my bio is on eharlequin and my eharlequin blog is listed. Still waiting to be officially recognized on the Mills and Boon site.

Throughout my writing day, when I’m stumped or reach the end of a scene, I continue with checks to my e-mails, you know, in case there’s a time sensitive, important e-mail pertaining to a million dollar deal or world peace.  

Sometimes, when I’m really looking for a distraction, I hop onto Amazon France and Amazon Germany where I found my book listed. (Because I am a total obsessive NUT and went looking one day.) No sales.

When I’m writing, my visits to Dictionary.com by far exceed my visits anyplace else.  And, since I’m already on the Internet, may as well check my e-mail.

Heaven forbid I’m a guest blogger somewhere or blogging at the medical romance authors loop. It’s hard to get anything done those days.  

Would I recommend my routine to others? Absolutely not. I have accepted that I am an easily distracted writer and have adjusted my schedule accordingly. How you may ask? I set myself a goal for each day. A certain number of new words. A certain number of pages edited, blogs visited, tasks completed. And I make myself work until I have met that goal. If I have a particularly distracted day, I could be at the computer until 1 a.m.

I’m happy to report that when I am deep into writing/editing my story, I am totally focused and can work for several uninterrupted hours straight. Once I get started, which I need to do now. 

So what about you? Are you an easily distracted writer? What are your major distractions?