Why I Hid My Credit Card and Other Tips to Help You Finish the Damned Proposal

I've been a bad, bad girl of late. I've forgotten that D's (delays) lead to F's (failure) and need to remember a much better combination, the D that stands for Discipline which leads to Finishing what I have started.

You see, beginning a new project is easy. There's the mad rush of romance when a new idea hits you, the sweet thrill of discovery as you peel back the layers of new characters, research new settings, and play around with exciting plot potential. It's so much fun that I have four different unfinished proposals started, yet I keep zipping off to begin another rather that completing anything to send it to my agent... where it might be criticized, even rejected.

Hmmm. Now, we're getting somewhere. I've recently felt the wasp's sting of rejection (happens to the best of us!) and am in no hurry to get nailed again. Which is why, rather than finishing any one project, as I swore to do this weekend, I went out boot shopping.

Bad Colleen! Although I did score a pair of awesome black boots on sale, I'm teaching myself bad (and expensive) habits. And I know darned well that if I allow myself to keep starting new things or go out to shop or catch a movie, the powers of resistance to the creative process will have a terrible new weapon to use against my powers of professionalism.

So here's the deal. I am not allowed to work on anything else or do anymore damage with my credit card until I have the project I'm closest to completing finished and ready to send out into the fray. Because I know from years of experience, that the right D's and F's (that's Discipline and Finishing, in case you weren't paying attention, can often lead to my favorite kind of C, a shiny new contract.

If I get struck with any other "brilliant" story ideas in the meantime, I'm going to just jot a quickie notation for my future file and go on about my business. Scout's honor. I've learned from past experience that many of those bright ideas are really just distraction grenades tossed into the fray by my lazy muse, who hates the tough, dangerous work of completing things and sending them out into the world.

So what about the rest of you? Ever have problems finishing what you've started? Have any excellent tips to share to help keep yourself on course?