When the going gets tough on the work in progress (the one with the fast-approaching deadline) there is absolutely no temptation like the project I'm supposed to write next. Faced with the hard work of ironing out my tangled plot threads or writing a love scene (Believe it or not, I've always found these the toughest passages in the books), my devilishly-resistant brain points at some enticing sparkle on the horizon and shouts, "Look! Over There!" for all the darned thing's worth.
Think of it as the strawberry cheesecake that just distracted me from my dinner salad. Now I love a good salad, and I feel so much better for having eaten one, but if there's strawberry cheesecake anywhere in visual range, unh uh. No. Not happening.
So distracted by the cheesecake, last weekend I dropped what I was doing and worked on a synopsis for another story (which does, in my defense, have its own pressing deadline). And so it was the last two days when I noodled with the opening of the very same book (one not due for quite a long time) rather than attending several far more urgent tasks, especially muddling through the toughest parts of the current work in progress.
Eventually, I forced myself back to the big green-leafy after writing a sweet, delicious opening chapter on the distraction mechanism. But the trouble was, by the time I got to my veggies, I'd already filled up on the junk and made very little progress.
So this week, I'm going for a more disciplined approach. Veggies first, and then dessert... in a sparing, measured manner.
What's your writing goal for this week? Post here and then let's see how we do by week's end.
Comments
This week's goal - finish the rewrites on one book (only 100 pages to go) before finishing the sequel. Which is turning out a lot funnier than the first book, IMHO, but only because I hate the editing process and want to believe I'm flawless and brilliant the first time around.
Seriously, finishing the rewrite's a great goal. Finishing's way tougher than starting, but it's finishing that separates the wanna bes from the queen bees! :)
Let me know by this weekend if you make it.
This week's goal is to organize and outline my messy, grew-like-Topsey draft and pinpoint the holes and dangling threads so I can focus my efforts to complete the story.
And I guess writing down mine helped. I completed the love scene and blazed past the week-long sticking point. Plus I had a great big salad for my lunch. :)
This week I am determined to figure out who really done it in my work in progress.
Teri
Great post.
If I had a brand new baby to cuddle in my life, I'm not sure I'd get 2 pages a day done, much less 10. Enjoy that new granddaughter!
Teri,
I'm at the same point you are, with figuring out the nuances of the whodunnit. Basically, I know, but I can never trust myself not to put in a final twist. I suspect that's a good thing, though, in both of our cases.
Makes for a lot of late-stage tweaking though.
Good luck!
1) Complete Act II of McClanahan script
2) Stay on Weight Watchers
3) Kidnap baby
My goal is to write and to stop thinking of reasons not to. Like lunch with a friend and shopping. That sounds great. Or my cousin's birthday is coming up. I need to do something more besides just sending a card. No, No, No. Butt at computer. Write. Write. Write.
I have this conversation almost every day. There always something tempting me.
As for food--I have Hershey's Kisses in a bowl that disappear too quickly.
Excellent goals, Linda. I'm endlessly creative about coming up with other ideas, too. I do envy you those kisses, though. I haven't been able to eat chocolate in years without getting a migraine, but I've never lost the craving.