CONSOLE BATTERY LOW” flashes on the left hand side of the screen, reminding her to put her console away and charge. 

She unlocks her phone, and presses ‘play’ on her playlist. A stream of notes from Beethoven and Mozart flows through her ears, and proceeds to light up her mind with more and more ideas. The piece she’s been working on for her Creative Writing course: writing a small story, seemed to be an easy task at first. But now, it was more daunting than climbing Mount Everest.

The writing is ignored as she picks up her phone again, headed to Twitter to numb her senses. Notifications and hours pass by. “Back to work,” she mumbles to herself. A soft voice, hardly slipping through.

She flips through her sticker books, looking to decorate her laptop sleeve and her Hydro Flask bottle. A rare, yet tiny, burst of energy. Her eyes light up at the sight of the novelty stickers; childish yet perfect for the occasion. She resumes her work, after spending minutes mentally anguishing over the placement of her stickers. Up goes the brightness on her screen, and up goes the volume of the screams from her phone.

Daydreams invade her brain, as she thinks of love and the unattainable concept of being loved by someone else. Sleep begs to bed her, a yearning lover fighting for her attention over the laptop screen. She continues to stay awake, despite the flirtatious efforts of Hypno, god of sleep. Her phone goes off again, and her attention is stolen yet again.

Why is it so hard to write? She thinks to herself.

 A grunt, and a strangled yelp, erupt from her vocal chords as she bangs her head on her desk. She turns her phone on, raising the volume on her playlist and returning to work at once. Beethoven’s Third Symphony begins to blast, every note stringing her brain in new directions as she types away on her laptop. Hypno was nothing more than a passing thought as the day turned to night, and night turned to day again.

Finally finished.

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    Susan Dawson
    Susan Dawson(@susan-dawson)
    2 years ago

    So easy to be distracted. I think I just got distracted into reading another story on here. Still, they are always edifying. I should go and get inspired by some Beethoven.

    Genya Johnson
    Genya Johnson(@genya-johnson)
    2 years ago

    Music is powerful and perfect for inspiration. I love classical music, especially when I’m travelling long distances in the car. Oh the struggles of writing and the things we allow to get in the way. I could relate to this. Well done.

    Marianna Pieterse
    Marianna Pieterse(@marianna-pieterse)
    2 years ago

    I can definitely relate to this. Not so much to listening to Beethoven – but I might give it a try, but to being distracted easily. I enjoyed reading this.

    Eric Radcliffe
    Eric Radcliffe(@eric-radcliffe)
    2 years ago

    Hello Amaya, yes how difficult it is at times to concentrate, more so when there is a time limit. To switch off through music can often be the way forward. I enjoyed the way you put this over.

    Carrie OLeary
    Carrie OLeary(@carrie-oleary)
    2 years ago

    Procrastination at its worst. We’ve probably all been there at sometime or other. Nicely done.

    Sandra James
    Sandra James(@sandra-james)
    2 years ago

    This sounds very much like me and I suspect many writers, Amaya! When we have other things to do we wish we had more time to write but all too often when we do find the time we procrastinate 🙂 You’ve described it very well!

    Christer Norrlof
    Christer Norrlof(@christer-norrlof)
    2 years ago

    It’s funny how everybody recognizes themselves in the situation you describe, Amaya. Although we love to write and want to write, we keep procrastinating the process and find other things to focus on. Even established writers do it! Why is that resistance so strong when it is what we really want to do?

    Dipayan Chakrabarti
    Dipayan Chakrabarti(@dipayan-chakrabarti)
    2 years ago

    The full spectrum and flow of the protagonist’s mind are nicely captured.

    Katerina Bizirtsaki
    Katerina Bizirtsaki(@katerina-bizirtsaki)
    2 years ago

    I’m sure a lot of writers, myself included, can relate easily with the protagonist. Very nicely done, Amaya!

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