Thursday, April 10, 2014

I is for Irritation

I is for Irritation. I am sure when I say that distractions irritate us, I am talking on the behalf of all writers. The distractions could be in the form of a phone call, doorbell, pending chores or any other activity that takes us far away from our story, can irritate the hell out of me.

My sister and I had promised our aunt who was visiting Bangalore that we would spend the day with her. In the last week of February, we took her shopping and she treated us to a lovely lunch. I could see the happy expression on her face at spending so much quality time with us (we are her favourites). Though I enjoyed myself a lot, there was also this tiny prickly feeling of irritation that I would not be able to write for so many hours. Finally I manage to shrug off that feeling and gave in to the moment and enjoyed my outing with her.

Whenever I am away from my writing, I feel quite irritated if the activity I am engaged in is not a very useful one. I feel I owe it to my story and characters to spend some time with them rather than just do meaningless window shopping and waste hours of my time.

Do you all feel irritated if you are away from your writing? Do distractions irritate you?

Note: this is my post for the A to Z Challenge. My theme is Emotions and Feelings writers experience.




28 comments:

  1. Hi human, Rachna,

    I completely understand such irritation. In my world, my human has so much going on that it often prevents him from writing. This means, he uses those distractions as inspiration for when he has the quiet time to write. There can be irony in irritating distractions that can be utilised in your writing process.

    Pawsitive wishes,

    Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar!

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  2. Oh yeah, I become very irritable when I don't write.

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  3. I recognize this feeling, Rachna. When I can't write for whatever reason I become so frustrated, and it's all part of the irritation.
    Authors are extremely emotional people.

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  4. I have been struggling since I moved here with my time to write. Too many phone calls--and then I want to meet people but that takes away too! I think it is a hard balance.

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  5. I'm with you on that, and found it out in a kind of backwards way. My husband is the one who told me I'm not fun if I'm not having a good writing day! I too, don't like to "waste" writing time, but have found I need a balance of family/friend time along with the writing, especially with those who are older, as I want to really appreciate the time I have with them before they move on...Thanks for dropping by my blog and commenting!

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  6. I swing between embracing the moment (and hoping I can remember all the sensory details later to add to my writing), and feeling that kind of irritation too. It depends on the activity and how much time I've spend away from writing. If I can get in a few minutes of writing here or there, it helps. :)

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  7. Not restricted to writers. Any distraction from something you wanted or intended to achieve can be irritating. The secret is to do what you did, relax and enjoy the moment.

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  8. Spending the day with your aunt is something you will all remember because it was a moment shared.
    Not irritated, but the Challenge is currently eating all of my writing time.

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  9. YES! The weird thing is my family hasn't caught on to this yet. I love them dearly, but they bug me all day even though they are at school and work. I've actually had to turn my phone off because they text me so much!

    If I'm getting overly irritated for no reason, I often realize it's because a few days have gone by without good writing time.

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  10. I hadn't thought about it before, but I guess I do get irritated when what I want to do and what I need to do compete for my attention.
    Thanks for visiting me today!
    Wendy at Jollett Etc.

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  11. So easy to relate with this one Rachna! I try not to get irritated:)

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  12. I admit it - I get irritated when I'm working on something and someone interrupts me!

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  13. What a great idea for an A to Z theme. I do get irritated, mostly with myself, because I have a terrible habit of frittering away my precious writing time. I tend to get into the groove and then have to stop to take care of my children. I'm facing a twelve day hiatus because of sick child then long spring break. I don't know if I will make it through with my sanity intact. At least I will try to keep blogging.

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  14. Hi friends, I am thinking of setting aside some strict time for my writing. Even a few hours a day will make a lot of difference to my current WIP. Else, with all the distractions I will never complete this story.

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  15. I'm having a terrible time keeping up with the A-Z this year and am finding that irritating. It's so hard to find the time to do everything.

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  16. I do feel that irritation and remind myself to stop and enjoy the small moments in my day.

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  17. When we were first married, my husband used to encourage me to go sit with his friends' families at cafes and such. I had an awful time, having zero in common with Egyptian women who gab about dresses, cooking, and children. But I went because I was trying to be sociable - I thought it was "expected." Finally, I learned to put myself first and stopped wasting my time in activities I hate. Now I go out once a week with a very close friend and am much happier!

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  18. Yep, that's exactly how it feels for me too. My family is about to return me to the store as defective and get their money back. :P

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  19. Yes, Rachna! I do get irritated too. Great word and post!

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  20. On, Rachna--I'm right there with you on this one. If I feel like something I'm doing is getting me nowhere, I tend to get the itches and want to get back to my writing as soon as I can. Suppose we're slaves to the craft that way!

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  21. I admire your dedication. I tend to feel guilt rather than irritation when I don't write.

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  22. I definitely know that feeling. And it always feels like I get taken away from writing just as the words start to flow. However, nothing is gained from being irritated so it's best to let it go.

    mood

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  23. I guess I'm getting too old to bother with most feelings. Life is too short to spend time being irritated or feeling guilty. Be here now, now be here...

    New follower and AZtech minion.

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  24. Rachna, you picked a good word for I. My worst moments are when I'm trying to concentrate and get a series of interruptions (phone rings, neighbor teen plays drums in his garage, cat meows for attention).

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  25. Good question, Rachna. I've felt the same way, irritated and guilty at the same time. Wanting to participate in life and longing to be at my computer writing. Take it from someone who's old and spent many years writing. It got to a point where my friends stopped inviting to events because they knew I was busy writing. And then one day I looked around, feeling alone and just wanting some company. I had to start a weekly tea luncheon at my house just to reintroduce my friends to the fact I was back. Today, I work at writing like a 9-5 job. I know, that's not how a writer's mind works. But it can if you train it.

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  26. Yes! Especially because I always get very inspired exactly when I can't write...ugh!

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  27. Distractions used to rub me the wrong way. Now, I just adjust my writing times. It's either I write really early in the morning or I do it when everyone's asleep. :-)

    Thanks for the blog visit, by the way!

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  28. I feel irritated when visitors tend to overstay their welcome, especially when the conversation topics have all been exhausted. I DO feel guilty about it.

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