To "The End"

Once you sit down, determined to create a masterpiece of writing, take that moment to make the conscious decision to commit to the piece until it is finished. In this technologically advanced world, distractions are waiting around every corner, beckoning you to partake of its forbidden fruits. The power, however, remains in your hands to maintain control.

Each day from that starting point of writing your newest novel or short, make the effort to continue with that story. If you keep your focus on that piece of writing, instead of writing a little about this and a little about that, then your story as a whole will be more complete and succinct. However, if you are pulling your brain in too many different directions, your work will suffer and may not be the strongest piece as what you had first envisioned that day you sat down and began creating that brilliant work that you knew would become your legacy.

I have fallen into the sticky situation of writing two pieces at once. Quickly realizing that both pieces were suffering for it, I decided to put my long novel aside and focus on writing and editing my short to completion before jumping back into the novel. My short is almost finished and I will be releasing it in the next two weeks, so I will soon be switching gears and concentrating all of my attention on the novel.  

The daunting thought of picking up my novel again has been creeping to the forefront of my brain as the time draws near for me to turn my attention back to its story. What I have concluded is that it would have been much easier to have been solely dedicated to one writing at a time, and not taking a long break from telling a story. In a way I feel a little disconnected from the novel now, and I know it will take much effort for me to get back into that time and place of that particular story. I know that I must do it, and I will, but the struggle will be greater because of the process I chose to follow.

Simply put, learn from my mistakes and stay dedicated to one story at a time. Let yourself be fully transplanted to that other world, without hopping from one world to another. This will make your process much easier, not to mention a lot more fun; you get to stay in an alternate world and lose yourself within the story. In the end, you will complete your stories in a quicker fashion, tell them in a stronger, connected voice, and boost your confidence moving forward, knowing that you can write a story to its “The End.”