Contest and Contemplation

Since it's listed first, I'll start with the contest. I learned about this fantastic contest from Lisa's blog. Thanks Lisa!

Artistq is having a contest to win a piece of her handmade jewelry.

I went to her store (www.silverfreckles.com) and couldn't resist purchasing this:

If you can't read it, it says Write.

When it arrives, I can wear it as a constant reminder to get off the Internet and get busy writing! Apparently I need this constant reminder. So, that's the contest! Go check it out.

And now the contemplation . . .

I have realized there is a reason for the naming of the Internet a.k.a. the World Wide Web.

First of all, you have to realize they've warned us by the very naming of the beast. InterNET. Yeah, nets catch things.

None of us would be crazy enough to walk into a net. I mean, you can see them pretty clearly. So they've added bait to draw us in. Facebook (one of the best baits for me), Twitter, email, online gaming, Myspace, Goodreads, Blogging (yeah, I'm wasting writing time right now to bring you this important message), and even Google (or other search engines). Yeah, there are way too many baits to list here, but you get the idea.

You could rationalize if you're using the search engine for research (or blogging/tweeting/facebooking for making connections), and I suppose you could even count it as time well spent if you're researching for your novel/article/story. But the truth is, you're not writing so it's sucking writing time.

This isn't to say we can't EVER stop writing. Of course we can. But taking a break for an hour or so turns in to three or for when I'm drawn in to the Net/Web. Maybe it's just me and the rest of you have learned to better resist the bait.

They tried to warn us further by calling it the Web, but did we listen? No!

What do webs do? They catch unsuspecting prey. That's us, my friends (if you're reading this, you've already been caught). The baited Net draws us in and holds us in the sticky web.

And just like a regular spider web, there's a spider waiting for you. In this case it doesn't suck your blood, but it most certainly sucks your time.

Oh, you can struggle and maybe you'll get free from the web, but not before the spider has fed on some of your time (even if it's just a few minutes).

I do manage to break free (we all do, I hope) now and then, but precious writing time has already been sucked away.

Anyway, now you know what I've been contemplating. Beware of the Net/Web, my friends. Don't let it trap you for hours and suck your time like it has mine.

Write on (really, stop reading this and go write . . . well, after you enter the contest)! =D