Irons in the Fire

How much stuff do you work on at once? When I’m deep in a project, like the play script I wrote in April, that commands most of my focus. Deadlines also help – the challenge was to finish the play before the end of the month.

Now, two months later, I’m a little out of focus. A little fuzzy around the edges. Here is what is currently going on – I have an idea for a very short theater piece for an Society for Creative Anachronism event coming up in the fall, I have a new novel idea I’m working on based on a creative challenge from my wife, and I have an unfinished web comic script for my sister-in-law. Not to mention the other usual bits of creativity and weirdness that typically occupy my mind.

I don’t know that human creativity is necessarily a limited pool. Spending it here doesn’t mean you will have none left to spend there.  But let’s be real – your time is a limited pool.  And actually working on a project takes time. So, how many irons can you have in the fire at once? For me, things get done when they are given  priority.

So, based on my previous experiences with my own brain, this is what I predict will happen: The play script will jump up in priority after I figure out when it is due – i.e., what is the date of the event and how much lead time before that will be required to mount the production? The play is short and will probably be finished in a comparatively short time.

The novel suffers from the opposite problem. It isn’t short and I don’t expect to finish it soon. I predict the novel to be worked on in intermittent bursts of creativity as cooler versions of scenes present themselves, causing me to re-think and rewrite the little bit I’ve already done.  I hope to eventually achieve a kind of critical mass, where ideas lead to ideas and a the old snowball-rolling-downhill effect occurs.  There is a certain point, if I can reach it, where successfully completing the work becomes exciting on its own.

Not sure about the web comic script – I suspect there will be some outside demand from that quarter coming down the line.

Authors tend to bitch about deadlines, but they have a certain value. Its the things that I need to get done that I do get done. So here’s a bit of writing advice to round out this otherwise overly personal blog entry – if you are having trouble getting motivated to finish your story, try promising it to someone else. Set a realistic, achievable deadline and tell someone about it. Find a way to make it a priority.

Now I just need to take my own advice.

One year later…

This blog is one year old today.  I’ve been doing this, even if not quite as regularly as I should, for a year now.

It was easy in the early days.  I’ve spent a lot of creative thought on the subject of creative thought.  At the beginning, I had a vast pool of ideas to from which to pull.  Ideas about the writing process, about plot structure and satisfying stories, about creativity and imagination.

And I didn’t have to worry about repeating myself.

So now I need to stop and think about what this blog will be for the next year.

For the moment, the writing project I started in November still continues, but at a slower pace than I might like.  I think if I had signed up for Nanowrimo I’d have a higher word count.  The impossible question is whether I’d be happier with the story.

My writing style is not particularly dense.  I like stories that read quickly.  But I’m trying to write a little less sparsely this time.  To make sure that I get all the value out of each scene.  To make sure my first-person narrator takes time to contemplate the meaning of the events happening around him.

This means that I am reviewing scenes and revisiting scenes.  In contrast, my typical page-count producing Nano style involves always jumping ahead to the next scene to keep up my interest and to build word count.

The thing is, way I’m not doing it might still produce better odds of getting a finished piece.  I’ve got four published novels on my resume and I’m still learning.

And that’s what keeps it fun.

Thanksgiving and Priorities

Oh boy, it’s been a week. Sorry for not blogging earlier, but here’s the thing – between bad travelling weather, the need to make up lost hours at work, and the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve not had a lot of time to write. So when I did write, I worked on my current manuscript instead of blogging.

I suppose the prioritizing of creative time is an issue for everyone. I love the idea of the professional writer who sits in his quiet cabin and just writes, trusting that his or her efforts will ultimately pay the bills.  I’m not there yet.  I assume most writers are not.  So, in this Thanksgiving week, let me just say I am thankful to have a day job.

Oddly, I get appear to get more done when there are more demands on my time. I did a lot less writing when I was unemployed. Now I find myself thinking ahead about when I can get this or that done, while still allowing time to eat, sleep, and spend quality time with my wife and friends.

So when I know I have time to work on my manuscript, I do.

Do I have my priorities straight? Possibly not if the goal is to become a truly pro writer. But I am happy and relatively sane.

And I’m still writing.

Don’t Abuse the Muse

Writers and poets and other artists should, I suppose, be very nice to their muses. Right now I want to smack mine upside the head.

So here I am, on the bus.  I downloaded that old Nanowrimo piece that I discussed in my last blog entry onto the halfling laptop a few days ago and I’m ready to start revising.

On my way to the bus stop this new idea spring loads into my head. It has characters, a narrative voice, an opening sequence, even a tentative title, The Illusionist’s House. All I have to do is write it down. The old Nano piece still doesn’t have a title, a year later.

So do I practice discipline and work on the piece I have committed to doing (if only in my last blog entry) or follow the advice I gave a few posts back and respect the mysteries of my brain? A classic writer’s dilemma.

If I had a firm deadline for the old piece, if I had a contract waiting, I’d do the professional thing and concentrate on it. I might take the time to jot down notes on the new piece while it remains fresh and inspiring.

But since I am at liberty, I will follow the muse, even if she can be difficult at times.

Blogging on the Bus

Okay, past time I got back on the blogging train. Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. See, I’ve been unemployed for a while, and now suddenly I’m not.  More than that, for the past several years, when I’ve been employed, I’ve worked from home.  Now I’m commuting again.

I kinda’ like it, actually. Gets me out of the house. It also focuses my time. Now I’m actually thinking ahead – when will I pay the bills, when do I make this important phone call, meet that obligation, whatever.

And one of the questions in the background is – when will I write?

In related news, I got a new toy with the part of the birthday money that isn’t going to pay down the credit card bill.  It’s a netbook.  It looks like a laptop for halflings. Cute little thing.

And I will use it to write on the bus. So I’ll be blogging again, among other projects. I need to get the movie script software on it so I can finish revising my movie project (see any of my posts from last April for more details). I’m also hashing out a radio play for two voices, just for the fun of it. And hey, Nanowrimo is coming up again, too.

I don’t know if this new job will ultimately make life better. I hope so. But it’s certainly made things busy. But when things need to get done, sometimes a busy person is a better bet than someone with all the time in the world.