I had been working on Book 3 in the Sapphire Chronicles called “Mandrean Revenge” but mostly stopped some months back in order to concentrate on marketing the first two books, “Quest for the Red Sapphire” and “The Sapphire Crucible.” I have finally set aside some time to return to my true love, writing, and find myself confronted with a problem. It has been so long since I wrote the previous chapters that I have forgotten what elements I have already added and what ones have yet to be revealed. You can’t talk about topic B if topic A was never introduced. I tried just continuing on with the story as it has been plotted out in my head for years. Doing this became one-dimensional as my storyboard had disappeared for this book. Finally I reached the point where I wondered, “What are the other characters doing right now? Did I already mention this or do I still need to?” As I was lying in bed the other night I realized what I needed to do. I had to read everything I had written over again in order to find out where I stood and storyboard out the progression. So I set to work. I’ve read through the first few chapters and found the writing to be markedly better than what I was adding on at the end in my “free time”. A sinking feeling settled in my stomach that every writer feels when they know they have to rewrite something. Now I must finish reading what has been written in order to find the place where I need to perform reconstructive surgery. This is not a crisis and is definitely fixable. What it tells me is that writing is not a multitasking job. When you are going to write; write. When you are going to promote; promote. And so on. Writing is a fluid symphony of expression. When you are on a roll (you know that feeling) you need to just go with it. Let it flow. Edit it later. Just get the good stream of ideas typed before your mind moves on and you end up looking for the end of a rope in the dark so you can follow the path once again. It doesn’t seem like it should be so hard when you consider that writing is the actual fun part of the whole process. Yet there are so many other things pulling your time and attention away that writing falls on the back burner of time management. I enjoy rereading my work as I find little tweaks each time that add to the story. But when you are nearly finished with a book and can’t remember what elements you’ve added, you know your pen has been down for too long. It is time to dive into my world and set things right. From now on, when I start a book, I’ll finish the book before I turn my attention elsewhere. It sounds easier than it is but I refuse to sacrifice quality for multitasking.
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