I am. I suffer from a form of divergence which causes me to be easily frustrated. Yesterday was a lesson in “deal with it.”
When I am Trying to write and distractions and interruptions overwhelm me, I tend to get angry, frustrated and want to throw down my pen screaming “never mind! I give up.” Defeated.
Interruptions break the spontaneity, the flow and the emotion. I have too many times given up and walked away thinking that it just wasn’t mean to be today.
However, there are interruptions every day. It’s called “life”. Kid’s, partners, jobs, and even the needs of furry friends – not to mention texts, cells, emails, notifications – all pose the threat of potential interruption.
What I have learned to do instead of quitting and walking away, is to put my pencil down or push back from the keyboard and come back after addressing the interruption. No need to let my frustration push me away from my creativity. I realize that if I cannot pick up the mood or the energy again, it wasn’t important. If I wrote something that lacks flow and focus due to the interruptions, well, that’s why they invented erasers and delete buttons. It’s okay if the energy fades. Write! Do the work. Fix it later or throw it away. But don’t let the frustration drive you away from the effort.
Though yesterday offered frustrations galore, I managed two paragraphs of progress. Two paragraphs of five I wrote – three were erased because they were just forced and lacked the energy I wanted. If I had walked away, I would have had nothing.
Writing is work! Do the work. If you need someone to reflect with, feel free to email Pops.
Mike "Pops" Klumpp 
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