I’m in the process of making notes on my novel, having just finished reading through and heavily editing a printed version of it. I thought I’d share a discipline I’ve imposed on myself during this process in hopes it might be of use to you as it’s turned out to be for me.

I have the ability and hence the tendency to reimagine ad nauseum. The novel I have not written, the novel I could have written–which slips easily in my imaginings into the novel I could now write–always trumps the poor old stolid paper and ink novel I have, in fact, written.

So I have made myself an editing promise. I take the phrase from a modification of the “writing promises” Maggie Nelson spoke of making to herself on an AWP/ Greywolf panel.

I must answer, for every new idea, the following question: What problem (already identified) would it fix? I have a four-page list of problems; I certainly don’t need to make changes that won’t fix the problems I’ve discovered and will surely create new ones.

In what ways can you limit or channel your creative efforts to keep yourself and your projects moving forward?