Irons in
the Fire
by Robin Bayne
Imagine. . . You are working
feverishly on a novel, and in your snail mail comes an invitation to submit to
an anthology for charity. You put your novel aside and write a short story.
After that’s submitted, you dash off a piece on a local book signing for your
writer’s organization, then spot a new online publisher who is seeking novellas
to launch an inspirational imprint. You start drafting a 30,000 word story,
meanwhile still thinking about your novel there on the back burner.
You send off some of the
poetry you wrote a few years ago to a new Christian web site. . . then get back
to your novel. . . until you get an
e-mail message calling for partial manuscripts in a sub-genre you don’t usually
write, and you decide to whip up a synopsis and three chapters.
Do you wonder then how to
get re-involved in your story, how to get reacquainted with your characters and
their lives? Is it difficult to revive the passion you had for your plot? How
many times do you have to start over because you lost focus?
If this sounds like you, you
may be a writer with too many irons in the publishing fire. You need to narrow
it down; narrow the scope of your writing activities. To bring things into
perspective, consider the following:
- Do you work a full time job? How much time do
you actually have to write? If it’s limited, would it be better for you to
restrict yourself to one project at a time? Only you can decide.
- Are you still interested in your novel? It’s
said that if a project doesn’t hold the author’s interest, it probably won’t
hold anyone else’s, either. Analyze what you’ve done so far. Do you still
care what happens to these characters? Is it worth your time to finish
this story?
- Are you overly impatient to be published?
Articles on writing tell you to always have something in the mail, and
that individual rejections don’t sting as much if you know you still have
other pieces out there under consideration. But how many is too many? Does
this practice rob you of precious time with your favorite project?
- Perhaps most important: Which project is most in
line with your ultimate goal, and which will help you move forward in a
five-year plan? Do you want to be a novelist? A poet? A journalist? Are
you putting together a book of devotions?
On an e-mail listserv
discussion, a writer recently commented that she felt a need to respond to
every new writing opportunity that came her way. To never miss a chance to get
published. Her novel in progress was suffering as a result, but she couldn’t
escape the excitement of something new right around the corner, just beyond her
grasp. And to a point, she’s right. Luckily her critique buddies advised her to
focus on what was most important to her, and dedicate herself to that project.
There are as many methods of
staying focused as there are writers.
Take some time to set your
priorities, decide which irons to keep hot and keep writing!
Copyright 2003 Robin Bayne
(Revised, previously
published by Spirit Led Writer, 2002)
Robin Bayne, who is now
getting back to work on her current novel. Her fifth book, Cougar Lake,
was an October ‘02 release. She has just sold a short story to Chocolate For Women
for a 2004 collection. Visit her website at http://www.robinbayne.com