Tuning Out to Tune In

I love blogging, Twitter and social media in general. I love connecting with people online and this past year of being introduced to a wonderful world of other writers--and actually being considered one of their own--has been filled with wonder and delight.

At the same time, my real writing (the one where I'm trying to tell cohesive long-form stories, not write silly tweets about 90s pop songs that are inexplicably stuck in my head) sometimes needs that encouragement and energy of all these wonderful other writers. And, sometimes, needs to unplug, needs outer silence so that I can tune into what the story alone is telling me.

It's a conundrum I've been struggling with lately. I'm currently revising a new story that I feel very passionate about. But I also know it's not there yet; it's not great...but it could be. And for that to happen, it needs all my focus.

Unplugging is very difficult. There isn't a day that goes by where I'm not online; there hasn't been in over a decade now. Lately, there isn't a day where I'm not on Facebook or Twitter or thinking about blog posts. I want to be involved in this community. I want to hear other people's amazing news and read their stories.

But I think, at least for the next few weeks, I'm going to have to limit my social media usage. I need to cut out some of the noise so that, hopefully, I can hear the (right now too quiet) strains of what this story needs from me and where it wants to go. I sincerely hope I can do it justice. And I sincerely hope I can momentarily disconnect without feeling disconnected.