Dealing with Commitment Issues

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Now I'm not talking about your commitment in a relationship, I'm referring to your commitment to the craft.  Maybe this isn't even something you think about.  You're a writer, so you write.  You strive to get published, you edit, revise and edit some more.  But what about when that next novel is screaming to be released into the world?  Do you have the discipline and commitment to tell it to wait until other matters are taken care of?

Personally, I find myself dealing with this right now.  The characters from the next novel I plan to write are "talking" to me.  I see their personalties in snippets either through a brief interaction among each other, or things they say.  The concept of writing a new novel excites me.  There's something to be said about that first draft.  The freedom of expression, letting your fingers tap the keys in rapid succession.

But, I find myself taking pause.  Why?  It's because I know there are other things I need to take care of first.  My  goal is become a published author.  In order to do so, well, I have to make sure that I have a marketable product first of all, and then I have to introduce this "into the world".  If I keep writing books without refining them to perfection and taking the time, and making the effort to query them - simply put my novels will never be seen on bookstore shelves or available on Amazon.

So, you can see the situation I'm in.  Maybe you've been there before.  Maybe you're there now.

Last year, I wrote 3 novels while working full-time.  I finished my last one on December 30th, 2010.  Since then, I've been focused on writing synopses, and queries for them.  Of course, I do realize there are edits needed to be made on these.  But I've also gone back to my second mystery to fully edit it to the point of query.  Then it will need a synopsis and query.  Add to this one of my novels from last year still needs a run through, a synopsis and a query drafted for it.  The life of a committed writer is busy!

Anyway, I'm not quite sure what I've decided to do.  There comes a time when a writer, well, has to write.  But at the same point, you can't always do exactly what you want at every moment either - not if you're committed to the craft.  We'll see.  Maybe I'll juggle both a new work while editing my third mystery...

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