It’s getting to be fall, and for writers, that usually means at least an awareness of NaNoWriMo, if not outright participation. Many of us are going to be engaging in some form of all-out, keyboard-smashing orgies of writing some time in the next 60 days. That usually requires focus.
I remember well the stories I wrote while under the influence of laser focus. For whatever reason, I had a clear idea of where I was going and what I needed to write about to get to the next part of the story, and I burned through a draft like white lightning. But most of my stories don’t happen this way, because my life doesn’t afford me the ability to laser focus for extended periods of time.
So instead of telling you some to or thing to think about, I’m going to ask instead–how do you keep your focus when you are in the middle of a project? How do you maintain the close connection with your characters that a good writer needs in order to tell their story?
I’m not good at focusing, either. Although it does get easier if one can write every day. This is tough for me, but I did it for NaNo in 2009. It also helps to outline beforehand. Even so, I rarely get the kind of laser-focus you mention – there is just too much else going on.
I miss those times where I had a great, clear idea, stuck my head into a sack with a laptop, and just blasted out a story from start to finish. Some days, I’m lucky if I can blast out a sentence from start to finish, LOL.