Writer Defrag

By Richard Jay Parker

Had an interesting conversation with another writer this week about how we feel at the outset of a writing project.  Personally, I always feel like I'm starting all over.  I've been a professional writer since the late eighties and have been involved in a variety of writing gigs from comedy to horror.  My last project always evaporates when I turn my attention to the next, however, and I was relieved to find somebody else who felt the same way.

It doesn't matter which stage you're at in your writing career, dispensing with what last fired you up to make way for something you hope will evoke the same enthusiasm is a necessary process.

In one respect you feel as if all the work that's come before should have some sort of impact on the new.  Of course, it does in terms of your experience and how that has sharpened your approach to the latest project.  But that's not something you necessarily register when you defrag your mind in preparation for it.

It's probably a good way for the brain to operate, however.  If it was weighed down by every creative work you've ever produced it would probably be impossible to focus when you sit in front of the keyboard.

There should always be time to reflect on your achievements but it's always good to be compressing those old files and moving forward with fresh ideas.

Visit Richard at: http://www.richardjayparker.com/