If I don’t remain focused on my task, I get distracted, and Twitter is now the most common culprit.

After twenty years of virtually no writing, I sat down one day, put my fingers to the keyboard, and just started typing.

Two months, a neglected house, and very few restful nights later, I had a 120k-word novel. When I write, I do nothing but write. Writing literally consumes me morning, noon, and night. I don't want to eat or sleep.

You thought I was going to say "or drink", didn't you?

If you are a writer, you know that is the one thing writers do not give up—drinking. And for me, it's not alcohol, it's a steaming-hot latte in the morning, an iced latte in the afternoon, and then only because I have to feed the machine, I may throw in a protein smoothie of some variety in the evening if I don’t have time to eat.

If it's not prepackaged and easy to prepare, I'm not interested. Only the writing matters.

But there is one thing that sidetracks me—Twitter. I've taken advice and shut down my Internet Explorer, turned off notifications on the iPhone and iPad, and still, it pulls me in like a tractor beam. I simply have to check in to see what everyone else is doing. Then, I see a blog that pertains to whatever issue I'm facing—like Twitter distractions—and I've lost my train of thought. Yeah, I usually learn something on my bunny trails, but I often wonder how many more books I could write if I didn't allow myself the distraction.

Of course, then, where would I sell those extra books? Face it, Twitter is a necessary evil, a social networking masterpiece, a marketer's dream. I have a backlog of books I've read excerpts and downloaded from #SampleSunday, and other great networking avenues I've found through the magic of Twitter, and still, I find myself looking for more. So, keep them coming, authors, it works! Twitter is definitely worth the distraction.

Oh, and somehow, I did manage to write ten novels and three short stories. You can read about them below.

Happy twittering and reading, friends.

Carmen

Thank you for stopping by my place and reading my musings. Remember, these are just my opinions and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section, and I promise you I will answer. If you’re curious about what I write, please visit one of my author pages, where you can read all about my novels and short stories. And hey, I’ll even give you a free book just for stopping by.

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M.J. KaneWednesday, April 23, 2014
And yes, if it wasn't for those blasted Twitter distractions, we would have never met. And lol, it was because I tweeted about drinking coffee! It was definitely worth the distraction that day! Keep up the great work and continuing telling those wonderful tales! <3
Marie GilbertThursday, April 24, 2014
Twitter is my hook too, and like you've stated a necessary evil, but you meet so many nice people on twitter:)
UnknownWednesday, April 30, 2014
Six weeks ago I started what I kept calling a "Tweeter" account. I didn't know how to "twit". I kept at it and before long learned the proper way to tweet on twitter. I have found it to be a wealth of information and a great place to connect with people like you who are traveling the path ahead of me, leaving road markers along the way. Thanks for the encouragement.

Carmen DeSousa

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