So, since the end of May I have had four new titles release, two in ebook, two in print. During that time I also did revisions and copyedits on Satisfaction Guaranteed (St. Martin’s), Miss Lonely Hearts (Samhain), Earth Girls Aren’t Easy and I Was An Alien’s Love Slave (Ellora’s Cave). I did various business things, website updates, cover art discussions/request sheets. And all the while I have worked on The Book, Wicked Hot. I come back to it after edits, after promo stuff, after whatever business has come up, and I write. This book has been slow going but it has been constant. And I’m happy to say that after sending a chunk of it off for a beta read, I am more than reassured that it’s solid. The summer of the demons, druids and Nephilim is wrapping up.
It isn’t easy to deal with these kinds of interruptions and going back and forth when you only want to bury yourself in your new book and ignore everything else, but life rarely allows that. Even if I had nothing else in the publishing pipeline, my kids (and husband) wouldn’t allow that. Creative whiplash is a fact of the creative life. You get pulled away from Current Book to revise this book, that novella, do these proofs, turn around that set of copyedits, answer these questions for the cover artist on Yet Another Book. How to handle all these creative transitions?
I’ve mentioned before that I make a soundtrack for every project. Sometimes, if it’s short, it just gets one theme song. It helps to pull out the soundtrack or theme song for the project you have to drop everything to work on to get back into the right mindset and the “feel” of the story. I do this for the writing stage, the revision stage, the copyedit stage, the works. Music helps me switch gears from story to story. And then coming back to Wicked Hot, I go back to The Devil Went Down To Georgia and the rest of the Wicked soundtrack. The music sets up the right mindset, brings back the mood and tone.
Most people aren’t good at multitasking. Most of us lose momentum with interruptions. (I would say “all” but there’s probably an exception out there somewhere.) So find whatever tool makes it easier to cope with transitioning from Project A to B to C and back to A again with a side trip to project F. For me, music smooths the way. Other people use collages. Any tool that helps you focus on the project at hand can help get the creative energy flowing on the right track, on task.
Fast Draft is a tool that I find really helpful and I’m glad I discovered it this year; a short time focused intensely on just writing. It lets me get momentum built up and get a lot done in a short time. Even if a Fast Draft round only produces a couple of chapters, it’s big progress, and lets me make the most of my chunk of time for Project A before I’m interrupted by B, C, and D again.
I think you need to add more to your plate, darlin’, you ain’t nearly busy enough
I can listen to music in my car, while running kids to and fro, to set the mood of what I’m writing at the time – country if I’m working on a western romance, hard rock if I’m working on a mystery. But I absolutely cannot listen to music while I’m writing, revising, or editing. Period. I can’t shut out the words and I start singing along (life is too short to listen to music you don’t like)and then I forget what the hell I was doing…I used to listen to classical music at work, but working with numbers and words are two different things.
Sometimes I think I’m the only one in the romance writing world who is not creating a playlist for each book…and I get playlist envy, followed by guilt that I’m not hip.
But it sounds like you have it whipped and know what works for you…bravo! Glad your readers are reaping the rewards of your hard work 🙂
You’re hip. *ggg*
I don’t listen to music while I write, either, just before I start to set the mood. Otherwise, like you, I find the words too distracting. I listen while I’m doing email, or making dinner, or whatever. It helps keep the project humming in my head.
Yep, my plate has been pretty full. It beats unemployment, though!