Yes...But Also No.

 Wanting to write but not being able to just...do it.

So many times I've had the overwhelming urge to write, and after racing to my laptop and powering up Scrivener to write, the blank white sheet in front of me, blinking cursor, and...I suddenly lost all sense of focus and can't even get myself to type a single word.

This seems to be a problem plaguing me left and right, recently.  No matter what I'm writing, be it fan fiction, a paper for one of my classes, a blog post--anything--I can't get myself to focus once I'm actually at the point of writing, no matter how much I wanted to do it previously.  When I was thirteen, I sat down and wrote a 358 page novel and edited it all by myself in less than a year.  Now, I struggle to write a goal of 2000 words in a chapter when I find the time and motivation to write.  It's not for a lack of vision, either--I know what I want to write, I know how I want events to unfold, it's simply the act of putting the words on the page I'm struggling with these days.

Shutting out distractions can be difficult, too, since when I can't focus, impulse takes over, and I will find any excuse to procrastinate.  I'll turn on the TV while I work and become so entrenched in the show, I'll be lucky to write one or two hundred words.  The Internet is a constant threat of distraction, be it on my phone or laptop.  As are games and social media, especially on my phone.  Another, much simply block that I struggle with is telling myself I don't have that much time, so what's the point in starting just to be interrupted a few sentences in, possibly just as I've found my rhythm?

Since I am fully aware of these mental obstacles that want to wrestle me away from my most beloved hobby, I do have some methods of getting around this focus issue:

1. If I have a case of not knowing how to start, where you simply stare at the blinking cursor with everything after the beginning playing in your head but no idea where specifically to start, then I simply type a word.  Sometimes it's the name of the character that the scene starts with and sometimes it's simply the word the.  Either way, once I get that first word down, I can usually hobble a sentence together, and after that the words come much easier.
2. If I just can't seem to get myself to focus on one thing, I'll open multiple writing projects, so that if I can't focus on one, I can just hop to another, and I simply switch projects until I finally find myself caught up in writing one of them.  This one is probably quite unique to me, as with how scattered my thinking process can be, sometimes I find it easier to focus when I'm looking at a couple things instead of one.  That way if my attention jumps away from one while it seeks out something to procrastinate with, I simply turn my attention towards something else productive in procrastination of the other thing.  That way, I'm still getting something done.
3. One of my favorite features about Scrivener is the fact that you can choose a background image that will take up your entire screen except for the document you're writing in.  You won't see the time, your start bar, a billion tabs--only your page, your words, your chosen image, and some basic tools you might need while you're writing (which are on a toolbar that is hidden unless you move the cursor to the bottom of the screen.  This is also where the escape button is, by the way).
4. There's always the classic, 'give yourself a scolding out loud and force yourself to go back to the document' method.  Try to give yourself a pep talk to focus on what you're trying to write.
5. If I can find someone that happens to be free, I may talk with them about what I'm writing until I get myself all riled up again.  This is also a good way for me to figure out plot points that are giving me problems.

My methods don't always work.  More often than I'd like to admit, I find myself losing time playing Dragon Age or binging some of my favorite shows instead of doing the writing I'd been so excited to do five minutes before sitting down.  Maybe it's just the mindset that I'm in during the school semesters--I've got so many readings and writing assignments to do for my classes that my brain just wants me to take a break every now and then.  Maybe technology is to blame for my suddenly short attention span, maybe it's some of the reading and writing mediums I've found myself in.  Perhaps I'm getting my mother's mind--she always talks about how she can rarely sit down and do something fun because her brain is always reminding her of a billion things she needs to get done.  Whatever it is, I'm not about to give up my favorite thing!

Have any ideas for what I can do to try and get around this horrid form of writer's block?  Leave a comment--I am open to ideas!  Maybe you'll provide me with the solution.