My Cheating Muse

One of the most interesting questions I get as a writer–the one that makes me pause and give thanks for the truth behind my answer–is what happens when I run out of ideas.

While I can’t answer that question for any other writers, I can say this…I don’t. As I’m nearing the three-quarter mark of whatever my wip (work in progress) is at the time, another seed starts to grow. I never write them  down, opting instead to go the route of trusting my memory (meaning, if it’s worth writing, I won’t forget).

But a strange thing is going on in my head right now in that stories are warring. On the one hand I have the book I need to start this week–the one that’s contracted and has been brewing in my head for the last few days. On the other hand, I have an idea that grabbed hold of my imagination a few months ago and refuses to let go.

Why didn’t I start writing when it first surfaced, you ask? Simple. I was working on a proposal that was taking longer than normal (a fact I now recognize as a casualty of my muse’s stubborness). And even now that the proposal is off to my editor at Harlequin, I still can’t tackle this particular story because the contracted book takes precedence.

Yet, I can’t shake it from my mind. And the more I try to ignore it, the more it digs in its heels and takes over my thoughts. Which, as you can probably imagine, is causing a little bit of a dilemma. Especially when I know the muse is always right. Always. It’s when I don’t listen that I get in trouble. 

So I think I’m going to do what I’ve tried before yet abandoned out of weakness (or a bent toward writing monogomy)  every time I’ve tried in the past. I am going to write the book that needs to be written (the one that is tugging on my brain just as hard) while taking a real stab at this new idea. The idea itself is a slight departure for me. It’s not mystery and it’s not romance. It’s more toward women’s fiction (which might explain my personal reading choices as of late)–the kind of book that makes you think and reach…and, maybe even grow.

Which leads me to today’s question. Or, more appropriately, a plea. Have you ever tackled two big projects at a time? How’d you do? Any advice or tips?

~Elizabeth

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