Battling Writer's Block

For any writer out there who chooses the computer as their means to let the muses flow through them; you may know my pain. It is a problem and it's getting worse. The Internet is causing me the worst case of writer's block I've had in a long time. No matter what I do, I just can't seem to stop getting distracted from the lure of the Internet when I sit down to write.

The main issue is that it's just so darn easy to double click that little Internet Explorer symbol and surf the web. See! My writing is becoming so strained I even used the term "surf the web"!

I may sit down with an inspired idea or the spark of a story just resting at the edge of my imagination. I open up a Word document and I write down a paragraph or two. I read over what I've written and feel pretty good about it, possibly smiling to myself. And that's when it hits. The sudden urge to check my email. So I sign into my account and read whatever emails are there for me. Inevitably I end up responding to a friend or family member, or a piece of junk mail reminds me of a product I wanted to research or buy.

Before I know it, a half an hour has passed and no story or article has been written. Sure, I've checked my bank account balance (and cried a few tears at the lack of funds), sent emails to my old college friends, and watched a few make-up tutorials on youtube.com. But no writing has been done!

I have tried everything I can think of. Unscrewing the cable from the modem is silly and just annoys you later on when you have to actually use the Internet for something. While writing with pen and paper used to be my favorite method, it takes much longer and I can't seem to get my thoughts out fast enough onto the page. I have an old typewriter, but it's loud and heavy and I'm pretty sure it's possessed.

Leaving the web-page up while I attempt to write and trying to ignore it doesn't work either, as I can see the bar at the bottom of my screen and I give in to the temptation nearly every time. Even as I write this, I have Internet pages opened where I am researching the best televisions to buy and checking the latest baseball statistics and news.

I'm beginning to think there is no beating this curse of Internet induced writer's block. With so much information and opportunity at the click of the mouse, how will I ever defeat the temptation? I guess the only thing left to do, is save my pennies for a laptop computer with no Internet service. In the meantime, I will keep battling the temptation of checking my emails and looking up old friends, only hoping that I can be cured.