Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Sometimes, I need to rearrange the furniture in my head.

Ever since I've gone and set my goal, I've realized that I needed to change my approach to writing.

I still pick what I want to do and when, but I pretty much always need to do something.

Fortunately, there's a lot to do. To illustrate. This is a long term list of  everything I want to get done so far:

Concept
StW
Wo6C4
Wo6C5
ES2
ES3
ES4
ES5
ES6
ES7
ES8
ES9
BvB2
CiC
DD
CaA?
HM
SS1
SS2

Draft
VD
P
MDtS
RH

Rewrite
Wo6C3
BvB
ES
O

Edit

Submit

Publish
Wo6C1
Wo6C2


Every single one of those highlighted abbreviations stand for books I want to write, edit or publish. The red, yellow and green show me my priorities. Green's what I'm doing at the moment, yellow's what I want to do in the near future and red's for things I want to do, but that can or must wait for a bit longer. Either way, my list is growing.

In the past six weeks, I've added three more ideas to the list of concepts: HM, SS1 and SS2. SS1 and SS2 are two books in a series. I dreamed something that's kickstarted a concept the night before last. Usually I just ignore my dreams, but for some reason, the more I ignore this one, the less I can think of anything else. So I gave in and SS is now a concept I'm trying to actively work on. In between my rewrite to BvB.

At least, now that I've decided to put more thought into the concept right now, it feels like it's letting up enough for me to finish the rewrites. Phew.

Since I know some of you will want to know what the abbreviations stand for:

Wo6C is for The War of Six Crowns. So Wo6C1 is in fact the book I'm in the process of editing for publishing. (Remember to help reveal the title! I even made it easy for you.)
BvB is for Birds vs Bastards, which is just a working title for my high concept urban fantasy.
O is for Otto, the main character in the dystopian I wrote for last year's NaNoWriMo.

The others... well... Guess you'll have to wait and see. ;-)

Do you also keep track of what you've worked on/are working on? Do you also feel the need to shift some priorities around as you go?

34 comments:

  1. I'd just be happy to have more than one idea at a time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Misha, this looks like my list, except yours is more organized and has pretty colors. Pretty! (you must say that like an airhead).

    I rearrange furniture all the time, and need to settle on a floor plan. It gets done...just want a little less hectic and a lot more smooth.

    Have a great day!

    M.L. Swift, Writer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seriously, I'm so glad I'm not the only one seeking a good floor plan. :-D

      Delete
  3. Some ideas that creep their way into my mind sometimes steer me away from whatever my current project could be. However, I can keep track of what I'm during due to my constant notes that I keep. Sometimes seeking a good floor plan for some stories can be a good thing, depending on the person!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess that's my problem. I'm pathetic at keeping notes.

      Delete
  4. I have my folders, but I always write several things at once or I go crazy. That was what made Ashes so hard for me, having to focus on one. I probably need to organize it better.

    Now I want to know what the rest is, curious minds want to know...lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha if I get working on them, you'll get a chance to figure out what the others meant. ;-)

      Delete
  5. I have a spreadsheet of my projects. Just the other day I got confused about what I submitted to whom, so that spreadsheet straightened things out for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah I definitely need to keep a spreadsheet once I'm submitting multiple projects. It's bound to happen...

      Delete
  6. That looks like my growing list of blog post notes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahahaha you're lucky. I almost never have a blog post idea ahead of time.

      Delete
  7. I'm a true pantser so not as well as you are doing now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm also a pantser, but it's good for me to keep track of what I want to do, or I'd forget half of it. ;-)

      Delete
  8. That kind of list is a great idea! I should do something like that. Having more than one idea disturbs my ability to focus at times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah same here. Especially if I have to juggle remembering a new idea with working on an old one.

      Delete
  9. I know exactly how you feel! So many projects and ideas, and the schedule that worked so well for me last summer doesn't fit at all this summer.
    It *is* nice to have more than one idea to jump around in, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah definitely. Working on more than one rough draft means that I don't need to freak out if I get stuck on one. :-)

      Delete
  10. I don't have my list arranged and colored like yours, but I like the spreadsheet idea, as Medeia said, and I will tackle that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my gosh, more organized than me, that's for sure. I think you just inspired me!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Getting organized is good, and keeping track of your goals. My hubby made me put deadlines on my works. That's where my organization comes from--necessity. But, along with that things are constantly shifting because I homeschool the kids, and plan as I might, the day might take a different angle than I'd hoped. There has to be flexibility if we truly hope to achieve, eh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yeah definitely. That's why I have a countdown timer for the five years.

      Can't plan when I want to publish what...

      Delete
  13. I usually work on multiple projects, too. The audio came in for The Backworlds, so that's what I'm doing right now... listening to give final approval. Priorities have to shift some times.

    Mid September, it will all be about Backworlds #4.

    Sometimes a gut feeling settles in, and I have to go with that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely. It's kind of the same with me. I'm prioritizing the Bird vs Bastards rewrite at the moment, but I shelve it as soon as I have to edit Wo6C1. :-)

      Delete
  14. That's a lot of books! It sounds like you've got the right idea in terms of organisation though. Far from a spreadsheet, I basically have a drawer full of scraps of paper. Something to think about for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to try notes, but put them down all over the place. And those I can find are perpetually out of order. :-D

      Delete
  15. I'm not even going to lie. I laughed so hard when I say this because...I do the same thing. Up until now I thought I was a freak. Nice to know you're one, too, Misha. (if you don't mind me pointing out.) xD I'm in good company.

    Although I also add fanciful publication dates too. Don't ask. It helps me keep myself on track if I know what and when I'm writing the first draft of my current project(s).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't mind being pointed out as a freak. Normal people are boring. :-P

      And you know what? I actually thought of adding fanciful publication dates today.

      Delete
  16. Misha, and this is why you probably will reach your goals! You're very ambitious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And in Jack Sparrow's immortal words: "Good thing I'm insane, or this would never have worked."

      Delete
  17. Hey Misha,

    Good grief, my friend! Another illustration of your organisational skills and your determination. Although, I haven't got a clue what all your symbols mean. Something about books :) And no, I'm not going into acronym overdrive. Personally, I could never be as structured as you. I just do what I do whenever I want to do it. I did mean writing, by the way.

    Happy, fulfilling writing, Misha

    Gary :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not as structured as it looks. I still do what I want, when I want. But I like knowing what I've been achieving.

      Delete

Thanks for commenting! I love to read what you think.

Feel free to ignore the check-box saying "Prove you're not a robot." My word verification is off, but I moderate comments to posts older than two weeks.