Staying focused on a single book is a good way to immerse yourself in that narrative and fully realize the world you’re creating. But as I have proven to myself, it’s not always possible to write under ideal circumstance. Lately I’ve been juggling books, but I think I’ve figured out why sometimes it’s necessary to do so.
Fridays We Wear Pink
Obviously it’s better to stick to one book from the minute you get the idea to the second you publish it on Amazon, and I’ve walked that route before. But sometimes, your creativity doesn’t always cooperate with your publishing plans. I’ve learned that there is a benefit to juggling books. Sometimes, you’ve got to work on the book that suits your mood.
Fridays We Wear Pink
Obviously it’s better to stick to one book from the minute you get the idea to the second you publish it on Amazon, and I’ve walked that route before. But sometimes, your creativity doesn’t always cooperate with your publishing plans. I’ve learned that there is a benefit to juggling books. Sometimes, you’ve got to work on the book that suits your mood.
Lately I’ve been making myself work on a project that’s been brewing ever since I started writing the Deck of Lies. But I keep finding myself getting drawn toward another project instead. There have been days when I actually end up working on both. One of them has been very easy to write. The other has been a truly epic struggle. And I’ve spent a lot of time feeling like I’m unfocused, and trying to force myself to concentrate on just one of these books. But just recently, I figured out why I can’t. And I learned that sometimes, juggling books is really the only thing you can do.
You can change the project you’re working on, but you can’t always change your frame of mind. I realized that the book I keep getting drawn to, the project that’s coming so easily to me, is in a pretty dark place. The frame of mind that I’ve been in recently put me in the perfect place to write darkness. Things aren’t so dark in the other book. Believe me, they’ll get there...but they aren’t there right now. When I’m in a lighter mood, I might get drawn back to that other book and start neglecting the one that I’m so captivated by right now.
It’s never easy to write a book, but sometimes it ends up being much harder than you thought it would be. Some books may take you into dark places and put you in dark moods, and you may need to turn to a different book project to put yourself in a different frame of mind. Or, you may find yourself compelled toward a book because that’s the frame of mind you’re already in. When your mood changes, it may be time to change book projects...for a little while, at least.
Maybe sometimes, juggling is really the only thing you can do as an author to get from one book to the next -- or from two books to the next. Or, I’m making excuses for myself because I’m still suffering from a fear of commitment. Either way, I’m working on two books and I still haven’t ruled out a dual release. We’ll see how it plays out.
Posts
A timely and encouraging post - many thanks. I'm not so much struggling with two books but two series: one a cyber-crime series and one a mystery series. Suspect that it is not just the darkness that decides which I work on, but where the inspiration and the research takes me. But I'm sure that mood comes into it. Also I'm living in North Wales where one is set, but may be moving to the US soon so research and inspiration in relation to location might be a factor too.
ReplyDeletesounds like two exciting projects! Thanks for your comment
ReplyDelete