I’ve been stuck on a piece of Dodi Li for the past couple of days, a spot that leads into the climax and ultimately resolves the conflict of the story. Earlier I flashed on a scene from a show I’d been watching, where a captain in a police precinct had a talk show on his TV because it made great background noise to help him with his work. I thought, “The debate is on tonight. Why not hear the candidates’ positions on foreign policy while seeing if I can get a few hundred words into a short story?”
Well, I set up shop in the TV lounge of my dorm about twenty minutes before the debates, I turned on the TV to MSNBC, and you know what? I’m learning a lot about the candidates and their beliefs, and I’ve gotten at least 500 words written down on Dodi Li. Talk about effective!
It’s great when you realize a distraction can help you get the results you want for your work, like that one segment from The Big Bang Theory (still can’t embed it, so I’ll leave the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1WpE5ntqbQ). Plenty of people feel that distractions detract from your work, but in actuality, they can really help.
Now if you don’t mind, I have to see if I can wrap up Dodi Li while hearing President Obama’s policy on China. Have a good night.
Oh, and before I forget, I changed the doctor and the detective from Dodi Li into male characters. I think that works better: the two adult males, supposedly smarter and more rational, end up getting shown up by a child and a succubus, aka a spiritual, feeling woman. I think it sends a better message than two or three women in leadership positions getting shown up by a demoness, right?
Rami Ungar The Writer 
Me too. It’s surprisingly more common that one might think. I think there was even something about this in Amusing Ourselves to Death.
the book by neil postman? i didn’t know that.