Over the last year, a consistent theme has emerged in my discussions with writers around the country: They feel distracted. While that distraction is often connected to social media, it’s just as much about current events that we observe through social media. There’s a never-ending and chaotic feed of news that crowds out those things that remain (or at least once felt) important to us.
What is to be done?
I admire and recommend Lee Conell’s way of dealing with distraction in this month’s Glimmer Train bulletin:
I decided that distraction did not have to be something to beat myself up over. It could be an asset. It could even be a kind of craft tool. After all, the more I let my mind wanderings play out, the more I noticed that most of my thoughts also had to do with narrative: A plot twist in the news. … If I gave it time, all of my distractions funneled themselves into something like fiction.
Keep reading The Art of Distraction.
Also in this month’s Glimmer Train bulletin:
- On Spaceships by Arianna Reiche
- Constraint as a Method of Surprise by Chase Burke
Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.