Before I get into today’s post, I want to say thank to everyone. Life has slowly been making its way back to stability. All of your condolences have been heartwarming, and I appreciate it.
Now, onto writing related stuff.
Have you ever wanted to do so much that you find yourself uncertain where to start and therefore you finish nothing?
That’s me.
As I reviewed my Isto chapters to figure out how to revise for better tension, I decided to take out the arrival of some people at my main character’s location and replace it with a monster fight (unwritten, as of yet). Since my brain insists that I keep everything in line, I hopped into book 3 of my series to see what the damage would be. I’d added these to my plan, but now they’re not going to be there. I’m okay with them not being there, because I wasn’t sure what role they’d play in the greater story arc other than a mention of them in a 6K character origin story I wrote some time back.
That got me reading book 3’s chapters.
Good news: I still find the story interesting. Bad news: It left me wanting to write fresh story rather than edit existing chapters, because creation is so much more fun than correction (though my friend Dani would disagree). I added about 2K worth of words and tried to figure out how I wanted to lay out the chapters. I’d made a plan for this book, but things aren’t as short as I’d anticipated. What had been one little Post-It note on my plan (caught in illusion) has turned into three chapters. And on my plan, I’d had another character’s story further along at that point, which again throws off the flow.
As I chewed my lip debating if I wanted to start passing this hot mess off to my critique group, I decided that no, I wouldn’t. I’d go with something safer, something lighter, something that I’d hoped to finish this year.
So I dug Murder Most Fowl out of the holding bin.
Since I needed a refresher, I started rereading. I was up to 20K with a target of finishing around 25K, so completing 5K before my group gets to that point in the story should be doable. As I got toward the last two chapters, I realized why I had stalled out. Things get serious and it just became dramatic and unfun. So I cut the last 2K, and started that section over. I’m once again where I left off, but this time I’ve got ideas on how to move the story along.
Needless to say, I haven’t made much progress on Isto’s edits. *hangs head* But hopefully, by this time next week, I’ll have finished MMF and can complete my circle to find myself back in Isto territory.
Do you tend to work on multiple stories at once? Do you ever find yourself distracted by other stories, keeping you from what you should be doing?
Wow, you are working on projects all over the place! Just don’t overwork them. And no, I can only work on one project at a time. My brain would implode otherwise.
I do bounce from one work to another, usually just a for a short time before I return to the original.
I was so excited to write ‘the end’, then realized I was way off target, so I scrapped about 5,000 words and am starting over.
And yes, I totally know what you’re saying about having so many things to do that you have no idea where to start.
I’m so sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you.
I know exactly what you’re talking about because I was there until a few weeks ago. I had three writing projects going but couldn’t focus on one. I’ve never been there before and for me, that was too confusing. Then out of nowhere a whole new idea hit me and now I’m writing an entirely new book. Go figure. haha. Good luck!!
Elsie
I tend to work on one big project and a few smaller ones at the same time. The bigger one is usually a novel or novella while the others are stories, flash fiction, blog posts, etc. The shorter ones make me feel like I’m at least accomplishing something in my life. 🙂
Having too much to do and not knowing where to start is what got me started making to-do lists. I can segment them and put them in order then I just start at the top and work my way down.
I used to be a one-thing-at-a-time girl. Then I allowed myself the freedom to flit about from project to project. I discovered that when one thing is sticking, it’s best to allow it to sit fallow until you’re ready to deal with it. And what better to do than a different project?
Good for you for going back to the other story. Good luck on your rewrites.
I’m having a bit of that trouble myself right now. I have three stories tugging at me and I just don’t know which way to go.
But yay! Getting into Murder Most Fowl and seeing why you stalled!
Sometimes I’d write a picture book at the same time I’d be working on a middle-grade story. Yes, it was distracting, because I’d be working on one and then think of something I should do in the other. Now I only do one thing at a time. It keeps me more focused.
I actually dug an old story up a few weeks ago too! It’s nice to see the work you’ve done but also get a chance to make it better. I feel your pain. When I want to get something done sometimes I get nada done.
I try not to work on too many pieces at once. Sometimes I can squeeze a short story in with a novel, but I get scared my characters blend, or the dialogue may. IN any case, I get distracted easily by a good book, but I do try to never let a couple of days go without revisiting my revisions 🙂 Happy IWSG Day.
“Have you ever wanted to do so much that you find yourself uncertain where to start and therefore you finish nothing?” That is me. All. The. Time.
Sorry you’re struggling with it all but so glad to hear of the MMF news! Woot!