Social Media and Other Distractions by Bonnie Le Hamilton

Nano has started, and I’m not doing so hot. On days when I could have been writing for more extended periods, I didn’t because I was on my phone. I need to ignore my social media, at least for this month. It doesn’t help that I have several projects (knitting, crocheting, etc.) I am trying to finish before Christmas either.

Plus, I have this post to write and get up, cutting into my writing time.

I don’t know why I’m having so much more trouble concentrating on my story this time around. All I do know is I’m spending time doing other things instead of writing.

Yeah, I know I’m a turtle when it comes to writing, but I can usually keep up with the minimum words per day and write every day. Not this year. And I have no good excuse for it.

I have been doing National Novel Writer’s Month for a long time, and there really is no excuse for letting myself get distracted like this. This is becoming a huge problem for me.

Then there is my lack of participation in write-ins, which really isn’t my fault.

First, on Halloween night, I noticed my porch light wasn’t working. Getting my aide to change the bulb didn’t work so I had to call my landlord. Until then, I’m not leaving the house, if I’ll be coming back after dark, just not. It's way too hard to see the locks on the door without light. Let alone that it’s not safe.

Don’t worry it should be fixed today.

Of course, the Saturday write-ins are during the day at the library, but I missed that first one because of my car issues, which is ongoing because honestly, I don’t have the money to fix it. Which also means I don’t have the money to replace it either.

It does work. Sort of. The A/C/Heater/defroster doesn’t work, and my car overheats if I drive around too much. Which basically means short trips only and bundle up!

I’m still not sure how I can get all the work it needs done.

Worry isn’t helping my writing either.

And I’m supposed to avoid stress!

On a lighter note, some of my colleagues at work and I got into a discussion the other day about accents, which devolved into two of them talking about how many times they’ve had people ask them where they are from, then proceed to ask where Idaho is or mix Idaho up with several other states that begin with the letter I.

Of everyone there, there were only the three of us who are actually from Idaho, as in born and raised. We’ve all lived elsewhere, but I’ve never had that happen to me.

I did have an incident when I was living in Tacoma when a young man said he was from a small town in Idaho, that I would have never heard of.

Now the background for this is that I’d gone to a young adult dance with a friend of mine and we met a couple of young men who were in town for the summer, for their jobs. We’d all introduced ourselves, and my friend and I pointed out that we lived in the area. Not a lie, she was born and raised in the area, and, at that point, I’d lived in Tacoma for almost two and half years.

We then asked these two guys where they were from, and one said he was from LA while the other said he was from a small Idaho town that I would never have heard of.

My friend kind of smirked in my direction, knowing full well I grew up in Idaho. I folded my arms, looked straight at that guy, and said, “Try me.”

And he said, “A little place called Oakley, I told you, you’ve never heard of it.”

I thought that over a second or two and responded. “My uncle lives there.”

Now you could have scrapped this guy’s jaw off the payment!

He honestly thought neither of us would have ever heard of it, let alone I actually knew, was related to, people who lived there. But the funniest part was, I’d given him my first and last name, he knew it, and it never dawned on him that I might know his high school math teacher, even though we have the same last name. Or rather did, that was three years before I got married.

I still don’t know how he didn’t even consider I might be related to my uncle when our name is not anywhere as common as say, Smith or Jones.

And how are all of you doing on your writing? You can find me on the NaNo site listed as FaithfullSpirit2.

Happy writing everyone!