I'm working on my second novel, along with two poetry manuscripts, short stories, etc. One of my challenges is juggling all of these projects at once and never having enough time to work on all of them as quickly as I'd like. I enjoy the variety and it helps prevent getting stuck, but I often feel overwhelmed. Any thoughts on this? :)
Thank you, Lauren! Wow, that is a LOT! I can see why you would feel overwhelmed. When I have a lot of projects all at once, I try to section off chunks of time to work on each one. I find that if I'm trying to work on, say, three different projects all in one morning, I feel scattered and my writing suffers.
But if I can work on one project for a couple of solid hours, then move to the next for a couple of hours, I end up accomplishing more. It's about spending quality time with each project, knowing that the length of time is going to vary depending on your schedule. There are many days when I don't have hours to work on a single project, so I adjust my timeframes accordingly. I've found that longer lengths of time don't necessarily equate to higher quality writing.
I am a long-time fan of Roy Peter Clark, and like others, I reread his works often. I'm looking forward to thoughts and ideas about focus, tighter writing, and getting to the writing.
I appreciate the insights of Roy Peter Clark, whose great books on writing I return to regularly to help work on my writing or to draw some new inspiration. (50 Writing Tools is a great one, as is hie one about writing short!) I also like his point about how to become a better writer you need to do three things: read, write, and talk about reading and writing. It's sometimes hard to find others to talk shop about writing, so I appreciate you convening the conversation in this new newsletter (Write at the Edge). I've now been writing my Wonder Tools newsletter for 4 years, and it's challenging to write it weekly at a level I'm satisfied with, even though I'm not writing about lofty literary subjects or deep investigative material. It's great having other Substack writers to draw inspiration from, to learn tactics from, and to share ideas with.
Thanks, Jeremy! I agree that it can be tough finding spaces to talk about writing. I got my MFA a few years back and was reminded me of how helpful these spaces can be. Now I actively seek them out, realizing that some are a better fit than others. As I build the audience for this newsletter, I hope we can build a robust community here.
I subscribed to Wonder Tools the other day and look forward to reading it. Four years is a long time to maintain a daily newsletter, so I can understand why it's been challenging!
Hi, congrats on this new endeavor!
I'm working on my second novel, along with two poetry manuscripts, short stories, etc. One of my challenges is juggling all of these projects at once and never having enough time to work on all of them as quickly as I'd like. I enjoy the variety and it helps prevent getting stuck, but I often feel overwhelmed. Any thoughts on this? :)
Thank you, Lauren! Wow, that is a LOT! I can see why you would feel overwhelmed. When I have a lot of projects all at once, I try to section off chunks of time to work on each one. I find that if I'm trying to work on, say, three different projects all in one morning, I feel scattered and my writing suffers.
But if I can work on one project for a couple of solid hours, then move to the next for a couple of hours, I end up accomplishing more. It's about spending quality time with each project, knowing that the length of time is going to vary depending on your schedule. There are many days when I don't have hours to work on a single project, so I adjust my timeframes accordingly. I've found that longer lengths of time don't necessarily equate to higher quality writing.
Yes, that definitely makes sense. Thanks for sharing - I appreciate it! Happy writing. :)
I am a long-time fan of Roy Peter Clark, and like others, I reread his works often. I'm looking forward to thoughts and ideas about focus, tighter writing, and getting to the writing.
Thanks, Cathy. These are all great topics that we'll definitely explore!
I appreciate the insights of Roy Peter Clark, whose great books on writing I return to regularly to help work on my writing or to draw some new inspiration. (50 Writing Tools is a great one, as is hie one about writing short!) I also like his point about how to become a better writer you need to do three things: read, write, and talk about reading and writing. It's sometimes hard to find others to talk shop about writing, so I appreciate you convening the conversation in this new newsletter (Write at the Edge). I've now been writing my Wonder Tools newsletter for 4 years, and it's challenging to write it weekly at a level I'm satisfied with, even though I'm not writing about lofty literary subjects or deep investigative material. It's great having other Substack writers to draw inspiration from, to learn tactics from, and to share ideas with.
Thanks, Jeremy! I agree that it can be tough finding spaces to talk about writing. I got my MFA a few years back and was reminded me of how helpful these spaces can be. Now I actively seek them out, realizing that some are a better fit than others. As I build the audience for this newsletter, I hope we can build a robust community here.
I subscribed to Wonder Tools the other day and look forward to reading it. Four years is a long time to maintain a daily newsletter, so I can understand why it's been challenging!