I was listening to a really good podcast from Mur Lafferty today #295 for anyone who listens to her (and for those who don’t I highly recommend it). She talked about how she knew people who have only ever had one project they are working on. EVER. Now, to me that seems a bizarre impossibility. The only time I’ve had one project on the go was when I started my first piece of writing. From then on it’s pieces here and there. I’d compare it to a tree. I have the main projects, a novel, short stories and a script making up the trunk. Then there’s the branches of ideas, half written musings and random stuff. The stuff to be developed or left alone as you see fit.
It just seems wierd to me that someone could have one project only as their brain child. And a spoilt brat it must be receiving so much attention. If I was to devote myself entirely to one piece of writing then it would suffer without a doubt. I need the extra creative sparks to land elsewhere as well. Otherwise I get too absorbed in one thing and then after that period of being focused I have nothing left for anything. So I think it’s healthy to have multiple works on the go, ideas create ideas and those happen the most when I switch tings up.
I had been very preoccupied with my first novel sitting at 30k words. Then today I opened up another project which I really like but hadn’t touched for a month or two and found I’d make a great choice to switch. Writing it was easy and I was able to bring some dewy fresh perspective.
How do you work?
I work pretty much just like you. However, as you see from my About page, I am going in wa-a-ay too many directions. I like your comment that ‘ideas create ideas.’
LikeLike
I have to agree with you there, I get bored to death when I try to handle just one thing at a time. In fact, I get bored to death when I have just one tab open on my browser (I have 22 open at the moment). So, yeah, the more the merrier.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on It's a Start.
LikeLike