Distractions

We all know (because I said it yesterday) that everybody has goals. And the largest obstacle to overcome in achieving those goals is distractions. Distractions are, basically, anything that prevents people from pursing their goals.

Distractions usually give short-term or immediate gratification, which makes them more desirable than the original goal. Somebody may want to become a world-class musician, but if this person spends all day playing video games instead of practicing music, that goal will never be realized. Video games are more fun, though. They're bright and flashy and make you feel good. You start a video game being a hero and become an even stronger hero as you progress. When you practice music, you realize that it's hard and takes a lot more than 12 hours to become the master of the universe.

Characters are still people, so they're also susceptible to distractions. As an author, if you see distractions that could potentially derail your story, you need to find a way to get rid of them. The simple way is to literally get rid of them. If the main character plays video games all day, make their TV blow out so they can't play anything. If Luke Skywalker doesn't want to leave his aunt and uncle to become a Jedi, then have people kill them off and burn their house down.

There are other ways to get rid of distractions. Remember that we choose them over our main goal because they are more attractive. If you make the main goal more attractive, then the distractions hold no power. If the main character beats a video game and feels hollow, the realization could come that seeking a victory in the real world would be more satisfying.

Sometimes, distractions simply make us lose sight of our goals. If you go on the computer just to check your email, it is very easy to check everything else and get wrapped up in an article or a mindless game. When somebody else enters the room and tells you that you shouldn't be wasting your time, it snaps you back to reality and reminds you that you have more important things to do.

There are a number of ways to avoid or weaken distractions and they're all good. Just make sure they're natural. It is very rare that a person gets completely engulfed in an activity and then just decides to stop and do something else. Something needs to happen to start the derailment.