How To Waste Time Productively Part 1

Want some advice you don't need? Don't have internet access while writing - you're sure to get sucked down a Pop Sugar Wormhole, blinking in surprise when your writing time has dwindled to zero before your eyes - and all you have to show for it is knowledge of red carpet fashions.

Grab on to your garters, though, because my writing THRIVES on time wasting. In fact, when I get stuck while writing, I often turn to the interwebs for a shift in gear. I grant you, my mind is weird. I do best in a high stimuli environment. Writing in a cafe, listening to music, taking breaks to play Candy Crush - it all adds to the impetus. I'm not a monastic writer. 

But even I have my standards (though, since I already name checked Pop Sugar and Candy Crush, you probably have your doubts.) For the next couple of posts I'm going to share with you the BEST sites to cruise through when you're taking a break from your writing. Guys, I am opening up my SECRET stash of awesome sites. I almost don't want to do it.

Particularly with this site. SCOUTING NY.

Every time I visit SCOUTING NY, I feel like I'm opening a present.

I spend A LOT of time on this site, run by Nick Carr, a film scout with a bone deep love of New York and all its quirks. He finds the most amazing gems. A haunted house in the Bronx. The last decorative remains of an art deco pool from a long-defunct hotel. Ghost train lines in Van Cortland Park. SCOUTING NY does more than peak interest, it actually feeds my writing mind. I read a lot of Nick's posts on the Bronx while writing my last book and it just added to my existing memories and images. 

I warn you, visiting SCOUTING NY will suck up your time - but it will also spark ideas and get your writing juices flowing.