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Curious writers are generally creative and productive, and able to achieve their writing goals\u2014all while having fun. This is no surprise to you\u2014I say it every week! Curiosity can fuel our writing projects and our writing lives so we can create our best possible work.\n\nBut curiosity can also send us off willy-nilly with no plan or accountability, distracting us from deadlines and keeping us from wrapping up projects. In fact, every once in awhile, curiosity ruins my writing. And if you\u2019re not careful, it can ruin yours, too.\n\nHere are five ways curiosity can ruin our writing.\n1. Too Curious about our Environment\nInterruptions and distractions can throw us off, but outside distractions alone aren\u2019t always to blame. Sometimes what threatens my productivity or the depth of my ideas isn\u2019t the distraction so much as my curiosity about the distraction.\n\nLet\u2019s say the phone rings. Someone else answers the phone, so I don\u2019t have to lift a finger from the keyboard. And yet, a minute later, curiosity kicks in and I\u2019m distracted from my work:\n\n"Wait, who called? Is it a reminder call from the doctor? Will I have to make an appointment somewhere?\u201d\n\nOr we\u2019re listening to music in the cafe or the coworking space or we have our own headphones on and start to think, "I wonder who wrote that song? What\u2019s that line?"\n\nThe notification dings on the phone. Curiosity is behind that knee-jerk response: \u201cShould I check who sent that, or can it wait?\u201d Or, \u201cIsn\u2019t that my Words with Friends notification?\u201d\n\nSo it\u2019s not only the distractions that distract\u2014it\u2019s our curiosity about the distractions that can disrupt a writing session.\nSolution:\nTry asking a question out loud about the writing project to distract from the distraction and bring yourself back to the work. It reminds the brain where to direct its attention, like: \u201cWhat would make this section stronger?\u201d or \u201cWhat am I trying to say here about the topic?\u201d Redirect your curiosity about the environment over to re-engage with the work.\n2. Too Curious about the Next New Program or System\nHave you found yourself curious about systems? This is like Shiny Object Syndrome.\n\nIt\u2019s when you\u2019re curious to try a new organizational tool, word processing program, or productivity app, and you spend a few hours researching it, downloading it, messing around to understand how it works. Then you spend another hour moving all your information over.\n\nYou're kind of slow using it at first because you\u2019re still adapting, and just when you gain some momentum, you hear about another system and find yourself drawn to give it a try. And you go through the process all over again.\n\nAll the while, you could have been writing.\nSolution:\nProductivity experts will tell you this about those alluring systems: The best system is the one you already use. Pick one. Commit. And resist anything that\u2019s interrupting your writing.\n\nDon\u2019t worry if Trello\u2019s color scheme isn\u2019t your favorite or Evernote\u2019s tagging system feels a bit cumbersome or Scrivener looks a lot cooler than Google Drive. If Google Drive is working well, stick with that. Curb your curiosity next time someone entices you to try something else.\n3. Too Curious During the Research Stage\nCuriosity is a friend to the research process\u2026to a point.\n\nDriven by insatiable curiosity, we research and research and research for a short story, novel, article, or essay, and we follow interesting tidbits that branch out to more and more interesting tidbits. In reality, if we stepped back and took a look at our notes, we might see we already have what we need to get busy writing the story to meet the deadline.\n\nOur curiosity about the subject matter can drive us deep into rabbit holes, digging up interesting but unnecessary information instead of using what we have to get going on the project.\n\nSometimes we\u2019re overwhelmed by the project\u2014maybe a little afraid to get started writing it\u2014and we let research serve as a crutch and an excuse not to do the wor...