User blog:Forestpaw13/Why You Can't Commit to Completion

(taken from fuelyourwriting.com, author: Icy Sedgewick)

If you browse any writing blogs for long enough, you’ll notice a common theme among the posts. Blogs written by writers about their work will admit to having many unfinished projects, either lurking in their notebooks or on their hard drives, while blogs written for writers will caution against starting new projects before you finish existing ones. You’ll see post titles like “Are you cheating on your work in progress?” and so on. While you can find an element of amusement in it, flitting from project to project can really hamper your overall progress.



There are lots of reasons why a project might remain unfinished. Some of these may sound familiar to you – and if they do, how should you tackle it?

 Reason One 

'''I’m kind of bored with my old idea, and I figure if I’m bored with it, then readers would be too. My new idea is much more exciting!'''

I know this one well. If you spend long enough on a serial, or a novel, then chances are that eventually you’ll get sick of it. (I know some people who don’t because they’re so fully immersed in the story they’re telling, and they’re just lucky!) However, don’t use this as an excuse to start something new. It’s understandable that a new idea will seem exciting in comparison – it's like driving the same reliable Volvo for years, that never breaks down and always gets you from A to B, and then coming across a Corvette. Resist the urge to start a new project, and simply take a little break from the existing one. Maybe read some non-fiction, or do some research that relates to your project. Coming back to it with fresh eyes can remind you just how exciting it was – and still can be.

 Reason Two 

'''I want to write down the new idea while it’s fresh in my mind, but that’s all I’m doing. Just writing an outline. I won’t start on it yet. Honest. Oh look, I just wrote a chapter... well, I’d better keep going while I’ve got some momentum...'''

As outlined above, resist the urge to start something new. By all means write the outline and make notes on as much as you can about your new idea, but put those notes away and go back to finish your existing project. If your new idea is good enough, it will still be there when you’ve finished, and the new project will have been marinating in your subconscious. When you finally get around to it, you’ll have so much more that you can give to it.

 Reason Three 

'''I’m scared. If I never finish writing it, or I never make all of the changes to the draft, then it’ll always have the potential to be amazing. If I do finish it, then it loses that potential and just becomes a 'thing' I’ve done. It might not live up to expectation.'''

I understand this one most of all – I almost don’t want to make the last set of changes to my current project because when I do, it becomes final, thus ‘fixed’ as it is. All the potential it currently has will be lost. However, by fixating on the potential, you lose far more than you gain, because once it is finished, you finally have a project you can share with others – and that you can send off on its merry way while you turn to a new project. The only real way to combat this line of thinking is to bite the bullet and just power through until you’re done.

 Reason Four 

I haven’t got the time to do all the stuff I want to do, so if I divide my time and do a little bit on each project, I’ll get more done.

I can see the logic behind this one. If you have five projects on the go, and you spend one hour every week on each one, then you’ll be one hour further ahead with each of them by the end of the week. The problem is, you’re dividing your focus, and you’re not giving each project the attention it deserves. As a result, it’ll probably take you longer to finish each project than it would if you focused on one at a time. Prioritise, and devote your available time to the biggest project, and keep going until you’re done. Then you can move onto the next project. Be glad you have so many things to pursue!

 Reason Five 

'''It started off okay, but then I got blocked. I can’t think of how to finish, so why waste my time on it any more? Might as well start something new instead. Maybe I can use parts of the unfinished project elsewhere.'''

If you’re truly stuck with a project, then sometimes putting it aside in favour of something new really is the only way to go. You might find there’s a place in the new project where your old material would really work, in which case you haven’t lost anything in abandoning the first one. Then again, if you’ve sunk time and effort into an idea, it seems a shame to put it one side. Try having a break from it for a couple of days, and see if anything new presents itself when you come back to it. Read a different kind of fiction, or watch a different kind of movie – sometimes coming back to it with a new perspective can ‘unlock’ the story. If you have writer friends, perhaps you can bounce ideas back and forth until a solution occurs. Just make sure you’ve given it your best shot to become ‘unblocked’.

''Hopefully this advice will be useful – and I also highly recommend Dan Goodwin’s A Big Creative Yes blog. It’s aimed at all creative types, and gives a lot of good advice for stimulating frequent creativity.''

Okay, seriously, I read this, and I was like "I HEAR THIS ALL THE TIME! IN MY OWN HEAD!" Especially the top 3... my Lord.

I hope this helps you uncommitted people, and Arti, this means you should probably finish Firefly. :)