[From the Archive] The Long Haul Projects
This week’s archive post…
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In my quest to coordinate my life and my writing, I’m stuck in the middle of two “Long Haul Projects” – novels both. These are two very different projects requiring totally different mindsets. How do most writers handle that? Simply put, many don’t. Probably most don’t. The – most likely – sane way to handle the Long Haul Projects (the ones that take forever and go on and on) is to start at the beginning, putting aside everything else, and not stopping until its completion.
That would very likely be the sane and logical thing to do. If you ask those who know me, I’ve not always been the embodiment of logic and sanity. I routinely work on multiple projects simultaneously because 1)I’m a multi-tasker, and 2)I’m a glutton for punishment. No, seriously, I find having more than one project going helps keep the word counts coming when I’m distracted by life.
I don’t know about other writers, but I’m not always in the right frame of mind to work on certain projects. Two projects I’m working on now are diametric opposites – one is a serial killer
thriller, the other a humorous YA fantasy. You can see where some days I need something lighter to work on, and others the darker.
I know this seems awfully disjointed, and it’s not for everyone, but for me – and maybe for others, it allows me to get past obstacles in my path when I’m working on these projects. If the scene stalls, or something jams my thought process, I can go to the other project. This allows my subconscious to work its way through the roadblocks and see the problem differently while my conscious mind is actively working on something completely different.
This is what works for me. It may work for you, but if you’re a “start to finish” person that’s okay, too. And it’s okay to be a combination of the two. I’ve had several short stories that demand to be written NOW and don’t let up until their finished. You have to find out what works for you – and don’t let anyone tell you you “HAVE” to do something one way or another. Writing is personal and subjective.
No two writers have the EXACT same processes – they definitely don’t have the exact same results. You, as a writer, have to figure out what works for you – and then DO IT. No process is right. No process is wrong. Take what seems right to you and discard the rest, and good luck.