#IWSG: Keeping all the plates spinning

 So 2014 is over now--whoosh! That went fast.

2015 is already a Balancing Act. I guess that shouldn't surprise me anymore, but each shift in expectations and responsibilities seems to knock me newly for a loop even though I've been around that loop several times now.

My struggle this year is balancing projects--I've got several going and figuring out which one should get my attention first and keeping my attention focused on just that one until I've finished is hard for my easily distracted right-brain.

http://ciao-for-now.net/content/uploa... of me is wanting to grab onto that shiny new story over there--the one that is still just an idea, a gleam in my eye. But if I do that, than what happens to all my other babies? They need to grow up and get out there in submission (and eventually publication!), too.  One can almost walk on its own. Another still needs its training wheels. A third stinks a bit and probably needs its diaper changed.

I've three of these kinds of balls in the air right now. My 2013 NaNoWriMo novel, My 2014 NaNoWriMo novel, and the sequel to my superhero novel (coming out in April with Curiosity Quills).

My solution is to be ruthless with myself. I'm setting deadlines and the forcing myself to focus on just one thing at a time. This month, it's the rewrite of my 2013 NaNoWriMo novel (Cold Spring, historical fiction). It's been through my critique group, so it's a matter of processing all that feedback and applying it, then sending the new and improved version out to beta readers. I love this baby, of course, but I've been working on her a long time and it can be hard to ignore the toddler-superhero book jumping up and down in the corner. After all, its older sister had some success and that means it has a better shot than some of the others.

How do you do it? How do you keep your focus on ONE project among all the things you want to write?

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This posting is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group blog hop. To check out other posts by writers in a variety of places in their careers, check out the participant list. This group is one of the most open and supportive groups of people I have ever been associated with. You should check them out!

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UPDATE: In reading other #IWSG postings, I learned that I was supposed to introduce myself this week. I missed the memo!

So, hi! I'm Samantha Bryant. I teach middle school Spanish by day and write by night. I write a variety of things from women's fiction to speculative fiction to humorous essays ( at least they amuse me).  My debut novel, Going Through the Change, will be released by Curiosity Quills on April 23, 2015. You all should buy it so I can take my family on a nice vacation :-)