Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Focus or Multi-task?

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." - Thomas Mann

I'm working hard on planning out my next novel (as I've mentioned previously, so I won't go into it again). And while I'm excited about planning it, and I like getting to know the characters and it's fun to brainstorm scenes (does anyone else "see" the scenes in their heads like a movie??), I MISS WRITING.

I need to write something. I'm probably going to work on some short stories again, just to get writing and submitting. My fingers itch to really compose.

But, I wonder... will brainstorming a short story (which are more difficult than novels, I think - cramming a beginning, middle and end into just a couple thousand words and having it makes sense is hard!) cause my enthusiasm for my novel project to dilute? Will spending brain power on something else take away from the novel? I can't remember to send out emails thanking people for doing wonderfully special things for me (thanks again, Pam!!) and I think I can work on several projects at once?

What think you? Do you work on several things at the same time, or do you try to stay focused on one?

3 comments:

Ceri Hebert said...

Thats a tough one. If I don't rein myself in I tend to flit from one project to another. I tend to go with whats in my head. If I'm working on one project and then another idea turns my head then I go to that one. I guess its being productive, but it makes it hard to do what needs to be done (for me its finishing this editing).

Is your plotting still going strong? If it isn't, or you can pick up right where you left off, then go for the other projects (I'm bad but then again I just did a writing prompt for one of my groups instead of spending my hour editing).

pfeyc-plan for every yelling contest. sorry.

Anonymous said...

Focus is something I'm sadly lacking these days, though I've never really had much before.

MJFredrick said...

I can only stay on one thing at a time, but I do worry that putting off a story, once it starts coming to me, dilutes it. We'll see when I start my new one tomorrow.