A is for Amish

Greetings to those of you who have arrived via the Blogging from A-Z Challenge. I am a writer, so I talk a lot about writing, and about reading, and about the publishing industry, and about cats and dogs and gardening in Texas because those things take up a lot of my time.

Oh, also TV.

I am a big fan of GOOD TV, shows with plot twists and character arcs and emotional resonance. You know. That thing called STORY.

I've been offline (sorta) for two months as I finished a book due today. Meaning, while you're reading this, I'm reading that so I can email it to my editor before 11:59 p.m.

It is, btw, my FORTY-SIXTH published work.

About being Amish. This is how a friend of mine and I refer to the internet hiatuses we take to keep our minds clear of what's out THERE so we can give proper due to what's in HERE, our heads, our hearts. That place where story seeds take root and grow.

Writers work in imaginary places, relying on thoughts and thin air to create worlds where our story people are as real to us as if they lived in the house next door. And when we let in the barrage of social media clutter, not to mention the barrage of media crap, there's less room for the thoughts we rely on to keep our stories on track.

If we – or if *I* – spend too much energy on taking in what the media deems we must know (which we usually don't need to), we're left distracted, our focus torn, with less energy to spend on crafting stories free of cliche, written with evocative language. We have to work harder at keeping our characters true to life, true to themselves, giving them believable motivations for their every decision and corresponding action than we would if we were completely engaged, immersed in their, to us, very real lives.

At least that's how it works for me. And I'm not the only one.

But we're also social animals, and we want to keep up with our friends, stay on top of our industry. The first keeps us sane. The second makes good business sense. It's when being social begins to get in the way of creating that we need to evaluate if we're doing a disservice to our work by being OUT THERE instead of in here.

So what did I do in preparation to go Amish, you ask?

1) I used Freedom to disconnect my work computer from the Internet. Yes, a simple reboot is all that's required to reconnect, but any time I was tempted, I stopped. A mental game? Maybe, but it kept me in the scene, the place most deserving my time.

2) I took my email off my phone and iPod. Email is a HUGE distraction for me. I did set up a forwarder for my editor and agent and my closest friends. If they emailed, I'd get the note, could quickly read it, then respond next time I was online. And if something was urgent, I could get to it then. No one would be waiting a day for a response.

3) I took my Twitter app off my phone, my iPod, and my Kindle Fire. I love Twitter. Love it more than Facebook. Almost as much as email. Twitter IS my water cooler. I tweeted in the mornings, read a bit in my stream, but that was it. Gone until tomorrow.

4) I put my blog on hiatus.

Now, I did not go completely Amish. A month into my experiment, I was checking Twitter, Facebook, and email several times a day. It's hard working in a bubble, no lunch breaks spent with co-workers, talking about family and books read and movies seen. But it's even harder to get BACK into a scene after popping onto Twitter to see what I might be missing because I love having my nose in everyone's biz. ;)

Did going Amish work?

In a word, yes. And going completely off the grid would no doubt result in an even more complete involvement. I stayed in my story world. I did not get sucked into online skirmishes or any other goings-on. And even knowing things were happening, I didn't feel that I was missing out on anything, except more time spent talking to friends!

Will I do it again?

Absolutely. I plan to schedule my days around my writing, fitting in time online only when the words are done. Limiting my social media activity has allowed me to be more present in MY world. It's kept me on task, which has reduced my stress, which has freed the flow of words. I don't stop and think, "I should post that to Facebook or Twitter." Instead I think, "Which park should I take the dogs to today?" Or, "Do I have all the ingredients for the cooking effort that is Cook's Illustrated's Chicken Pot Pie?"

Do I enjoy talking to readers?

Of course I do, but I'm pretty sure readers would rather read the books I've written than tweets or Facebook updates or blog posts about my three rescue dogs and the feral cat colony we have somehow found ourselves taking on! And it's not like I'll never do any of that. I will because it's who I am. But if you are a regular follower and you realize I've been silent, keep this post in mind because THIS is why.

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