Begone Ye Foul Distraction-Beast!

Of bad writing habits, I have my share. And it is my own fault.

I keep my phone too damn handy. It's circuits have a hyperactivity syndrome. It flickers because I got an email or a text or a FB message or someone liked something I posted or the battery is fully charged or some random app updated and it thinks I need to know RIGHT NOW.

Sure these are controllable sounds and flashes. I can adjust the settings anytime I want. But subconsciously I want to know, to feel connected and needed and to respond...

Worse, if I get stuck on a scene, I'll check my phone. I play Spider Solitaire. I think, it's a quick break and I'll come back with a fresh thought.

Right?

Wrong.

I'm training myself in bad habits, and reinforcing that training, with rewards that work to shorten my already hobbled attention-span.

Therefore, to reduce these bad habits, it is my resolution this year is to:

Cut the umbilical to my metallic symbiont. 

No, I'm not ditching the phone. I'm removing it from the desk to a place of restful silence while I work. This has proven to be a chore, breaking that addiction to the digital 'connection.'

Also, I'm forcing myself to rely much less on my Spotify playlists while I write because that free bitch is always burping out a commercial right in the midst of my story groove. I own a hundred+ cds of movie scores. All of them are loaded on my desktop and I can work there instead of my laptop and go interruption free.