22 August 2010

KEEPING FOCUSED

I shamefully have to admit that, yes, I do decide what to read next by looking at the book's cover. I'm a sucker for a cool cover image. Like this one for Nicole Peeler's book...


So, on a different note, I've kinda got distracted from my original novel. I've now started 2 other short stories. I can't tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I know I need to focus on getting one thing finished, but my mind wanders and I do get bored easily. I think its helping developing my own writing and style, but I don't want to end up with a tonne of unfinished stories and nothing to show for it.

Just how do writers keep focused on one thing...!?

6 comments:

RosieC said...

Welcome to the double-edged sword. Sometimes its good to take a break from the bigger, central WiP and write other projects. I once took a break from my novel and wrote 50,000 words in 7 days on something so completely different (it was crap, but no one will ever see it). I even forgot some of my points on the WiP that I hadn't written down. Afterward I was so refreshed, and I've been steadily working on WiP for about a month without interruption.

On the other hand, if you're constantly project-hopping, you run the risk of never finishing the one big thing. I will say, though, that if you're bored enough with it that you don't want to spend the next year or two on it, finding another project might not be a bad idea. Of course, you can love your short stories for less time, and that's a good way to test the waters until you find a big project that you love and adore and will work on for better or for worse until death do you part, assuming that's what you want to write.

Sorry, was at a wedding yesterday...

Good luck! Will you review Tempest Rising for us when you've finished it?

M. said...

I always choose books by their cover. :) I have bought some pretty ridiculous books that way. I hope Tempest Rising is a good one... and yes, definitely review it for us!

I am so near the end of my first draft of my first big WiP and I have noticed that I keep taking breaks. There is another story idea that popped into my head a few weeks ago and I just pushed it aside but then *wham* the other day the story plot just raced through my head and now I can't get it out. I will not give in... I promised myself that I would finish the big WiP this summer and I will. But I love the idea of a few short stories here and there to come out refreshed. I think that as long as we're writing, we're learning and doing what we love... that's gotta be good.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Hi! I have just this morning finished my first draft of my first big WiP and it's an amazing feeling. But, like everyone else has said, your mind will wander and it is sometimes refreshing to take a break and write something different.
I recently had the idea for my next book but I was so close to getting this first draft finished of my current book that all I did was make a few pages of notes of what what unravelling in my head and I will go back to it when I get the time for it. I would say keep notes. Maybe try not to push it aside as it may be a really good idea and you might not remember. So just have a notepad handy to keep notes until they are ready to become stories.

Good luck!

Hannah Mariska said...

This is turning into a serious mission just to get the book from a bookshop! but yes i will very gladly review it, when i get it and read it!

Tales of Whimsy said...

I'm a cover hooker too! It's so easy to purchase my affections ;0)

Thanks for visiting Tales of Whimsy :)

Jamie Gibbs said...

Ahh my greatest vice, I always judge a book by its cover (if it truly didn't matter, there'd be no need for cover art).

Don't fret about getting distracted from your main goal. I've got a mass of not finished and barely begun stories on my laptop and in various notebooks. I've managed to combine the two major ones, which won't get written for a few years, and an idea for a YA trilogy has recently popped into my head so I'll probably work on that while I find my style before the big novel can get written :)