Interruption Insight

How well do you handle the constant starting and stopping process from interruptions? It’s different for each of us and I think it’s all a matter of what you grow accustomed to handling. As I think back to my chaotic days in the news room of a newspaper office, it’s a wonder that anything got written—but it did—every single day on deadline.  There were no quiet offices or even cubicles but simply a long room with desks and typewriters (pre-computer days). You could hear a reporter across the room handling an interview while you were writing your own story. It was a matter of crawling into your personal space and hitting the keys to complete your own story. I’ll admit it was a challenging environment but a great training ground to learn you can write almost any place and any time.

The April 3rd issue of Publisher’s Weekly included this little bit of interruption insight about best-selling novelist Steve Berry. It comes from the Paperback Bestseller page where Berry’s The Third Secret is number 9.  About his writing routine, he says, “I still practice law and I serve on our local Board of County Commissioners (Camden County, Ga.), so my days are full. But I write every week day between 7 and 9 in the morning. There’s a rule at the office that those two hours are mine, but that rule is broken every single day. I actually can’t write without interruptions. I’ve grown accustomed to constantly starting and stopping. I told Gale, one of my employees, that if I’m ever lucky enough to write full time I’m going to hire her to interrupt me every 10 minutes.”

The key is to continue—no matter what. Press ahead with your writing and keep making progress.