Saturday 3 May 2014

The one thing above all that stops me writing

We writers face all sorts of obstacles.

I probably don't need to go into them in detail - but I will anyway because otherwise this is going to be a really short post.

There's the problems of finding the actual time to write. We're all faced with issues such as full time jobs, families, and other distractions tugging us away and severely limiting our writing time.

Then, when you actually get to sit at a computer, there are other problems. You're mind is constantly being pulled away by the delights of Facebook or Youtube or Twitter or the ridiculous variety of other social networky things. And even if we are gifted with iron will and concentration, and we manage to avoid the myriad of online temptations, we then have to battle sundry other writer's issues, such as writer's block and the general self-loathing feeling that what we are writing is just not up to scratch.

I regularly find myself face-to-face with all of these. But there's one other problem, one other issue beyond all others that has a massive impact on preventing me from getting my writing done.

I have trouble actually getting to my desk. 

Yes, it's true. On a basic physical level, it's almost impossible to get to my desk. You see, I write in my study, but it's not just my study. It also doubles as the place where everything in my house goes when it no longer has a place. Or it never had a place in the first place. Or it's in transition from one place to another. Or...I think you get the idea.

It's starting to look far more like a store room than a study. It's full of kids toys that are no longer played with, and various documents waiting to be filed away, and boxes of stuff that haven't even been opened since we first moved in. And right at the back, behind the piles of everything, is my desk and computer.

It makes writing a serious challenge. Sometimes, just getting through the mess takes all of my writing energy away. It's like going on some sort of military-style obstacle course. I feel like I should be putting on khakis, just to attempt it.

And that's a bit of a problem, isn't it. After all, with all the other distractions out there, I hardly need another factor getting in the way of my writing.

Oh well, I guess it's time to take a deep breath, put my best foot forward, and brave the hazards of my study once again. After all my future as a writer demands it.