Sunday, March 21, 2010

Snow, Rabbit Poo, and Muses

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As I sit here, wondering why on Earth it snowed this weekend (In Texas. Two weeks before April. The heck if I'm Easter egg hunting in flakes!), I also come to realize, CRAP, I need to post something for Monday!

How was everyone's Spring Break? Assuming you have the same schedule as me, and assuming you even get a chance to "celebrate"/"enjoy" it. From a mother's perspective, yes, I enjoyed it. From a writer's perspective, um, no? Can't work when you have a kid(s) hanging on your legs every second, burning holes in your computer screen with her glare! So, I lived it up as Mom and enjoyed adventures in the sun, "fishing" on the "boat" (slide) in the backyard, exploring the Stockyards and watching the cattle drive, and running in horror for my one-year-old who decided picking up rabbit poop was something she had to do. At least I got to her before she thought about taste testing (yes, I went there.)

Aside from poop grabbing and a few tantrum-throwing girls, the week was good. But I missed writing. Not that I had anything to write at the time. I thought I had a certain Middle Grade WIP to work on, but that muse has left the building. Not indefinitely.

My sequel muse has come to badger me, so you can guess what I've now started. But I'd like to know how others deal with more than one idea vying for your creative attention? I use to not have this problem. I use to be able to set my mind on one goal, focus, and write it, get it done, viola. Though I've always been ADD, suddenly I've gone creative ADD and have had a hard time zeroing in on what I need to work on. I guess, in the end, for me, it's The Muse. The story, whichever one seems to call to me the loudest, and then I just have to learn how to ignore the other ones until it's their time. Tell me, though, what do YOU do?

8 comments:

  1. Stupid Texas. Stupid snow. Blech to Spring Break. When's summer?

    And as for the idea thing, if it's not coming naturally but something else is, then put it on hold and go for what the muse wants.

    And feed her chocolate and other yummy things.

    Can't wait to see some snippets of the new WIP!! :)

    And, why for the love of all things, am I still up? I have to be up in less that 5 hours...ARRGGHHH!!!

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  2. It depends on how much the idea is nagging me. If it becomes an obsession, i.e. if I'm thinking about it every waking moment, then I need to do something about it...like write!

    Other ideas that appeal to me but simmer gently in some remote corner of the brain are dealt with by scribbling down a few notes in my notebook. Then, when I find some time, I start writing.

    I have a shiny new idea at the moment but I also have a novel that really needs revisions because I want to start querying it in a month or two. So, I'm knuckling down to revisions at the moment and am hoping that the SNI hangs around and ferments nicely.

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  3. it depends on how much the idea is bothing me but go with what your gut tells you to do!

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  4. Sue, so glad you commented, I've been curious about how you do it because I know you always have more than one idea floating around that brilliant brain of yours!

    Jenn, I agree! But sometimes, for me, it's hard to distinguish what my gut is saying versus my mind. It likes to trick me that way.

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  5. We are in the midst of writing the second book in our series, but it's kind of slow-going. When we were on our way to NYC, we were struck with a brand-spanking new idea. But we'll finish the sequel first...as we talk obsessively about the new idea.

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  6. Gotta love multi-tasking creative ideas in diff. stages! :)

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  7. Oh, this is difficult. I'm kind of dealing with it now too. Story I put aside in Jan. is begging me to get back to it, but I should be working on revisions. I'm not touching it out of sheer will power, but it hurts... it hurts...!

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