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| Writing hasn't gone very well lately. (Image: ESPN) |
Since January, I've been a writing machine. Three novels, a novella, and two short stories are in various drafts. But without some form of completion, I feel like a guy who always trains but never competes. So there's been a change of plan.
Once I finish the second draft, I will pause. In that pause, I will publish an essay on jury duty that I serialized here two years ago and have subsequently rewritten. It's polished and ready to roll. I was going to marry it to another essay based on my adventures in Southeast Asia searching for an old battlefield. But I'm in dire psychological need of having work up For Sale soon. Then it's back to battling the novel.
6 comments:
yes, it's the finishing that's such a pain in the ass.
Very true.
I'm miserable now.
But I'd be worse not finishing.
And there's no one to blame. I volunteered.
There's someone who thinks you're the bees' knees.
P.S. Do bees really have knees?
They have bee-like knees.
But thank you, Anonymous.
I'm sooo on the same page and NO WHERE in the same camp with someone who gave the world Animaniacs, PatB, etc.... however, I've discovered this about myself and so I offer the advice of NOTEBOOKING. That way, you can work on one project at a time, get it done and then move onto the next. At the same time, you can have a rough road map of what you want to do. That's the notebook.
And believe me, good sir, I know notebooks! I have enough of them. I buy them the way some women buy shoes and clothes. By the same token, I have other notebooks that have half finished stories in them. So I know where you're coming from. It's that MYTH of MULTI-TASKING. Gggggrrrrrr!
What you CAN do (and I'm just offering ideas that I hope to follow myself) is set aside your writing time to get done your current project, and, for 'fun' you can take yourself to the nearest COFFEE bar and sketch out the idea for your next story. Somehow, you have to find a way to unclutter. (I'm preaching to myself here).
Get your current story wrapped up. Set it aside for a bit and take a good look at the next project you want to finish. And, one by one, they will get done.
Again, I say this by way of instructing MYSELF as well as offering advice which I hope can be useful. I NOW have a notebook full of ideas for fan fiction work (duly credited, of course!) .
I've gone the route of trying to do two projects at one time and I've driven myself bonkers! Even writers can only inhabit ONE world at a time.
Hope that helps. :D
Good stuff, Kayla.
I think my error stems from back in January when I set my initial goal.
Rather than finish one project, then the next, I assembly-lined the outlines.
The effect is to feel full and hungry at the same time.
Next year, I'll plan a bit better.
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