Down to Brass Tacks

I have just one New Year's resolution this year: quit wasting so much time on the internet.

You know that saying about how when the going gets tough, the tough get going (or go shopping, or make lemonade, or whatever it is they do)? When I'm supposed to be working, my brain seems to interpret that phrase as, "When the going gets tough, the tough go online."

Regrettably, this doesn't get much writing done. And unfortunately, if I'm reading author blogs or scouring Goodreads for my next read, my brain is perfectly capable of justifying this as writing... or research... or market analysis.

Therein lies the problem. As long as I can justify it, it isn't going to stop. So what needs to happen is that internet use needs to become Uncomfortable and Awkward so that I will avoid it with the same fervor with which I avoid other Uncomfortable and Awkward things. Like exercise. And housework. And my in-laws.

To that end, I have unplugged my writing computer from the internet and set up the decrepit, ancient, snail-paced laptop in the other room. I have equipped it with a mushy, unresponsive keyboard, a mouse that is far too small for comfort, and an extremely uncomfortable chair.

Now if I want to go online, I have to sit on a horrible chair and use equipment I hate, and wait ten seconds between page loads... hardly worth the effort, right?

And what's even better? In order to get the writing computer back online, I have to crawl under the desk to plug the cable in. With my back the way it is right now, that is just not happening. (Well... it could happen, but then I would be stuck under the desk until someone took pity on me and rescued me, and I shudder to contemplate the logistics of that.)

Eventually, I'll be able to crawl under desks again, at which point I'll have to come up with a different way to outwit myself.

Or maybe I'll just have Husband Beast set a few mousetraps back there.

Creative Procrastination

So it's been two weeks that I've had people in my office. Playing video games. Munching candy. Talking to (at) me while I'm trying to work. Arguing over whose turn it is to play Xbox... and whose turn it isn't to do dishes.

Okay, actually? It's more like three weeks, if you count the week before xmas, when Husband Beast decided to "work from home" (read: perch in my office) three out of the five work days I thought I would have to write.

So I'm sort of really needing some quiet time to get down to business.

Today I finally got them all out the door. And it was quiet. And there was no After-Vacation Cleanup like there was yesterday. And I could write. Except that when I sat down to write, I discovered that I had a pressing need to:

1. Change the beds.
2. Do the associated laundry.
3. Go to the grocery store to buy stuff that I don't need until Thursday.
4. Wind all the yarn for the Offensively Long Rainbow Stocking Cap I am planning to knit.
5. Go to the yarn shop and buy a set of knitting needles that I am realistically not going to need for three weeks.
6. Chat with the yarn shop owner about how I really should be writing.
7. Get a batch of bagels started even though I don't actually need them yet.
8. Dither over lunch (I hate lunch—can't I just drink chai lattes all day and have dinner?)
9. Consider cleaning and organizing every closet in the house.

If I can actually justify writing today, it's going to be a miracle.

Order of Operations

So I'm in the middle of first-drafting a sci fi series, and I'm pretty sure it's going to end up being five or six books.  Each book is a romance, so each book features a different couple.  Some of the characters are secondary characters introduced in earlier books, and some of them are entirely new, and each book is complete, in terms of the romance.  There is a definite over-arching sci fi plotline that moves forward with each book, but I don't intend to leave any of the books on a cliff-hanger ending (because as a reader, I really hate having to wait months or even years for the next installment). 

And what I'm trying to figure out is whether or not it's best to first draft the entire series before trying to revise anything, or if I should be trying to draft a book and rewrite/edit the previous book at the same time, or if I should work on one book at a time, alternating between first drafting and rewriting. 

One thing I do know is that I can't do a first draft of one thing and a second draft of something else at the same time.  I tend to get so focused on the first draft that it's really hard to switch gears.  And if the two stories are in the same universe, it's hard to pull my head completely out of one and focus on the other, and keep all my facts and histories straight.

So I really think I should do one thing at a time, and my gut feeling is that I probably ought to first draft the whole dang thing before I invest too much time in revising, because I might come up with some fantastic idea for book 5 that requires some groundwork to be laid in book 1.

Unfortunately, the part of my Brain that tries (with varying degrees of success) to keep me organized and on track is now looking down at me with those ridiculous glasses perched precariously at the tip of its nose, and I'm trying really hard not to laugh as it asks me if this is just another example of Creative Procrastination.  Because, you know, if I don't ever finish anything, I don't have to submit anything, thus avoiding rejection, devastation, and feelings of inadequacy.

"Why, no," I say earnestly.  "If this was Creative Procrastination, I would be researching the mating habits of the stick insect, or hopping in the car for a trip to my favorite yarn shop, or scrubbing the toilet with a toothbrush (not mine, of course), or scouring the mall in search of Shiny Things with which to decorate The Swamp."

Neither of us is really satisfied with this answer, but I suppose time will tell.  For now, as long as the creative fire is burning so brightly, I will dig in and take the first drafts as far as I can.  Then, we shall see. 

The good thing about this venture is that I'm not actually under any sort of financial pressure—Husband Beast is doing well enough that we are able to pay the bills and there's even enough left over for pizza and beer now and then.  And books.  There must always be books.