Monday, October 7, 2013

Overload


Most indie writers like me like a double life.  We work in a 'normal' job, and then we snatch minutes when we can to work on our passion of writing.  Stephen King was a teacher, Hugh Howey was a jack of all trades, and I was/am a scientist.  Managing our time has always been and will always be a challenge.  Now I might not be in their league yet, but there is no harm in dreaming, right?
But therein lies the problem.  I am a dreamer.   I have one section of my brain that loosely focuses on the task in hand, whatever that might be, and I have another part of the brain that does the essentials like breathing, keeping my heart beating, and stopping my blood from boiling in the insane Cyprus summer.  But there is another part of my brain which I think only writers, and perhaps artists and other creative types share, and that is the bit that is in no way attached to reality at any point in time.   

This part of my brain spends its time doing not very much.  It has one primary function.  Day dreaming.  I might be using the other two aforementioned brain function for general living and completing tasks, but this little appendix just does its own thing, it would seem under no conscious kind of control.
My conscious brain has in mind that I have just released a book, Identity X and that I have to put some work behind it.  I have reviews to chase up, appearances to complete, a blog tour currently sort of happening, and a ticket to book for London so I can attend the book fair I have in mind.  But yet I am having a lot of random thoughts about several other things, and I blame this writer only brain add-on that comes like an optional extra that you didn't order but nevertheless you're glad is there.
Currently, I am part way through the first edit of a book that I am currently calling Crazy Girl.  This is subject to change, but for now it has stuck.  I am about 30 pages in of 160 (which equates to about 92,000 words at the moment, rising steadily all the time) on the first big edit.  Plus, I am having a great time.  Thoroughly enjoying it.  But there is another idea that is whirling around that seems to be getting the better of me.  
This idea, way more Sci-Fi in than anything I have ever done before is currently on ice.  I am trying to keep it in mind so that when it comes to getting something on paper it's there and ready to go.  There is also the first chapter of an Identity X sequel half mentally written, and that too needs to find an outlet.  My writer brain add-on is working over time! 
I thought it was bad enough trying to time-manage between ‘real’ job and writer, and now it seems there is some other creative inlet that I have accidentally opened, and I can’t even manage my writing tasks.  But I guess they do say the best kind of marketing is the next book.  Don’t they?

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