“Curiosity can ruin my writing? What? I thought Ann Kroeker lauded curiosity as a key component to the writing life! She claims it’s one way we can achieve our writing goals!”

“Is she turning her back on curiosity? Has it killed the cat and now she’s urging us to return to predictable poetry and lifeless prose?”

No worries, friends. Curiosity still fuels my creativity. I’m still convinced that curious writers are generally more creative and productive, and able to achieve their writing goals—all while having fun!

But every once in awhile, curiosity ruins my writing. And if you’re not careful, it can ruin yours.

1: Trouble with Curiosity about our Environment

First, what happens when we give in to an insatiable curiosity about our environment?

We think we’re sidetracked by interruptions and distractions, and those do exist and they can be the issue. But distractions alone aren’t always to blame. Sometimes what threatens my productivity or the depth of my ideas isn’t the distraction itself but my curiosity about the distraction.

Even if someone else addresses the interruption and I didn’t have to lift a finger from the keyboard, curiosity wonders:

Wait, who called?

Who was that at the door?

What’s that noise?

I wonder who wrote that song?

Hey, who’s he texting?

Curiosity is behind that niggling feeling that asks:

“I wonder if I should open that email now or if it can wait?”

“Isn’t that my Words with Friends notification?”

“Are there any chips left? I should check.”

So it’s not only the distractions—it’s our curiosity about the distractions that can create disruption, which can ruin my writing, or at least my writing session.

Try asking a question out loud about your project to distract from the distraction and bring yourself back to the work. It reminds your brain where to direct its attention, like, “What would make this section stronger?” Or, “What am I trying to say here about the topic?” It re-engages you with the work.

2: Trouble with Curiosity about Systems

Another trouble area is a consuming curiosity about systems. This is like Shiny Object Syndrome.

You’re curious to try a new organizational tool or productivity app, so you spend a few hours downloading it, messing around with it to understand how it works, then another hour moving all your information over to it, then it’s kind of slow because you’re still adapting, and just when you gain some momentum a week or a month later, you hear about another one and find yourself drawn to give it a try—Maybe it’ll work better than the last one?—and you go through the process all over again.

Productivity experts will tell you this about these alluring systems: The best system is the one you actually use. Pick one. Commit.

Don’t worry if Trello’s color scheme isn’t your favorite or Evernote’s tagging system feels a little cumbersome. If it’s working pretty well, stick with that.

You’ll be able to get to your work much more effectively if you can curb your curiosity next time someone—even someone like me—entices you to try something else. You want to be able to find your notes and research, and that works best with something you use consistently.

3: Trouble with Curiosity During the Research Process

That leads to number three: Curiosity is a friend to the research process...to a point.

It can become a crutch and an excuse not to do the work of finally planning the piece and writing it.

We research and research and research for a short story, novel, article, or essay, following interesting tidbits that branch out to more and more interesting tidbits driven by insatiable curiosity,