Neither is writing.
To the detriment of my last novel, my new one seems somehow so much better. The writing is tighter. The emotional depth is greater. The plot has more twists. I Stop. Breathe. And remind myself that I thought that very way about the last novel or the last chapter or even the last paragraph.
As a reader, I understand this all too well. I start a book, I fully intend to finish, but then I read a sample of another and start reading that one. It’s not a reflection on the first one, it’s simply mind distraction. Plenty of readers are able to shelve the next book until they finish the one they have started. And I applaud that. I do. It takes a serious commitment to the book in hand. Writing for me poses the same struggle. The tear-your-hair-out kind. I want to finish my manuscript. I do. I’m committed. I am. Except somehow there’s always a detour.
If you are anything like most of the writers I know including myself, you fall in love with whatever you’re currently working on. And relationships with your writing are somewhat like relationships with people. You need to be monogamous to finish anything. So you commit to whatever you’re working on and with commitment comes deeper attachment. But writing isn’t always monogamous. It simply isn’t.
Take my new novel which is a sequel and quite frankly at the moment I think it’s my best work. Of course without the first book in the series, it wouldn’t exist. Not relevant. So right now I’m at the point of thinking maybe I should be querying my new one. It’s just so much better. I seriously began contemplating it. Then I began writing a scene that somehow didn’t fit. I thought this is a story right here. I opened a new doc, typed it all in, gave it a working title, so I could come back to it later. Let’s call it book three, shall we? Keep in mind, book one isn’t even published yet.
Am I being unfaithful?
Perhaps I am. I truly am committed to the current story. Yet here I am stealing a great scene and working on a new one? If I don’t get right back to the current one, apology in hand, then I’m guilty as charged. My protagonist is waiting for her next adventure, next mishap, next soliloquy, so I must return to it. On the other hand, I must never forget to stop, take a break and note down my thoughts and ideas. To keep a notepad or tablet at my bedside for those 3am mind ramblings. Then get back to my anxious hero or heroine or villain or historical figure who’s patiently waiting for my direction. It’s multi-tasking for the creative soul. And it’s exhausting.
Sometimes it can feel as if you’re on a relationship hiatus. Like a night out with friends, with an hour or so spent flirting with a bartender. Long enough for guilt to start to remind your monogamous, committed self that there’s a spouse waiting at home. The love of your life, remember? Of course you do, but the shiny new penny was so very tempting. For a moment.
Relationships require your attention. They need tending to. Nurturing. And yes, when they involve an emotional attachment, monogamy may be recommended. But even monogamy needs a breather now and again. Some time away to reflect and renew. Writing relationships too sometimes need a breather. Just a time-out to regroup and refocus.
But, thankfully, writing isn’t monogamous. As long as you remember to nurture each relationship, you can have as many as you like.
Originally published at https://www.mjmillerbooks.com.
MJ Miller is busy recovering from a somewhat long and painful marketing career. A prolific procastinator and querying addict, her musings can be found on her author’s blog as well as a few other blogs floating in the cloud. Her recently self-published works of fiction can be found here.
