I am not your sit-in-a-cafe-and-write type of person. If I do, I start eavesdropping on conversations, or watch kids wrap their parents around their desires, or figure out why this one lady is sitting all alone at a table with a drink and a laptop but not even looking at her screen. However, I know for some writers, the more noise and people, the better for writing. Not me. I crave quiet.

But besides being distracted in public, what about those distractions at home? Take my on-line critique group… One has five children and spent a month visiting relatives on the way to their new home several states away. One practically runs her boys’ Cub Scout Troop, and is active in school events — even all summer long. One owns her own very active (pun?) drama school — need I say more? One has a daughter who just left for boot camp and a son who is an autistic adult. One has four children she homeschools and a whole bunch of farm animals. My husband works out of our house, on the computer, for half of his work time.

When just six of us writers start listing the distractions caused by home and work life, the pile of excuses start adding up. Okay. Let’s just admit it… every writer has excuses. That’s the problem.

Next post: what are some solutions?