Carrying on carrying on

My family have recently been ill with a bug. My youngest (a boy) tends to keep on going until he drops but from time to time bursts into tears for no apparent reason. My daughter, who is a couple of years older, takes up residence on the couch and hugs the remote control to her like a teddy bear. My husband just generally humphs around the house, sniffing and coughing, and occasionally disappearing to bed.

In the meantime, I carry on. I make their meals. I do my own share of household tasks plus my husband's. I enquire after their health - would they like a drink, are they warm enough? I do the shopping. I attempt to get on with my writing. I let them control the TV viewing. I fetch blankets, give cuddles and check their temperatures. I'm no martyr or saint. It's necessary for me to get on with things so they can get well and life can return to normal. Get through this day to get to the next. Keep on your feet and the distractions can't catch you.

It's the same with writing. We all know how easy it is to be distracted by the internet or TV or the thought that we haven't talked to that friend in ages and it would be remiss of us to leave it any longer. Distractions come in many shapes and guises but they only impede our writing progress as much as we will let them. The best way to write is to get on with it. Write, write some more, carry on through the distractions and before you know it, you've written a page, a chapter, a whole novel. Nobody is going to do your writing for you. You just have to put your head down and do it.