In this age of multi-tasking and trying to do too much, it is no wonder that we as writers are sometimes overwhelmed by choices. We have so many half-finished novels sitting in our desk drawers, so many great short stories or poems that need a good once over. But there isn’t enough time in the day.
Even if we were free from our “real life” obligations, there’s still not enough time and energy to get everything we want done. Recently in the Book Writing World, we have been talking about completing more than one project, more than one book, at the same time.
There is a school of thought that says, “of course I can do two things at once!” I’m guilty of it too. I’ve got two books that I’m working on, my novel in progress Shadow Gardens and my novella about a soccer mom going crazy in the suburbs which I have titled (tongue firmly in cheek) When Aristotle Inclines. I love them both, and I find myself unable to complete either one of them because ultimately, I waste too much time trying to decide which one to work on.
I’ve recently come across the great Henry Miller’s 11 commandments for writing. He wrote these down for himself as he was working on his hugely influential book, Tropic of Cancer.
At the risk of badly paraphrasing him, I think what he meant to say with #1 and #10 is to finish one book at a time. Now I just have to figure out which book to finish first, and how to choose. Which one of Miller’s commandments is your favorite? And what is your writing dilemma this fine day?
Henry Miller’s 11 commandments:
1.Work on one thing at a time until finished.
2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to “Black Spring.”
3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.
4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!
5. When you can’t create you can work.
6. Cement a little every day, rather than add new fertilizers.
7. Keep human! See people, go places, drink if you feel like it.
8. Don’t be a draught-horse! Work with pleasure only.
9. Discard the Program when you feel like it—but go back to it next day. Concentrate. Narrow down. Exclude.
10. Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing.
11. Write first and always. Painting, music, friends, cinema, all these come afterwards.
Devi Laskar is a founding member of the Book Writing World. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, is a rabid Tar Heel basketball fan and has three poems coming out in the next issue of The Tule Review (February 2012).
The choices we writers have to make is what often stops me in my tracks. For me it’s not which project but the decisions that must be made while working through an individual project. Choosing a direction for the character, or even whether to delete or add a character can make me waffle for days. That choice impacts everything I write after it, so it feels so serious, so… permanent. (Even though it’s not! or is it?) 🙂
BTW, I have successfully worked on 2 projects at once in the past, but I don’t have time for it now!