Multitasking

I’ve spent this week juggling projects.

As always, I’m plugging away at my novel. Scene by scene, I am advancing through my outline, with The End slowly becoming discernible, way out in the distance. I’ve reached a highly dramatic section of the book, featuring a main character’s drug overdose and subsequent hospitalization. Rather than take the time to research medical details, I am making things up as I go merrily along. This is very freeing, and I figure I can always check with the experts if I keep these scenes in my next draft!

Another priority this week has been finishing a short story to submit to an upcoming contest in a literary journal. This has involved revamping the plot, adding a new ending,  developing the characters and polishing the language. It’s a fairly dark, satirical little tale, so it’s been lots of fun to write. I am going to find some time this weekend to work through feedback from a couple of writer friends, then I can send it off on Monday. I also need to come up with a better title before I submit this story!

Finally, as if two simultaneous projects weren’t enough, I’ve started a brand new short story. It’s my turn to submit a piece to be critiqued by my monthly writers’ group, so I’m trying to finish a decent draft for next week. This will be my first story with a male protagonist, which is also kind of fun.

Overall, I’m happy with my progress on all three projects. It has helped that they’re in three completely different stages of the writing process: drafting something new, writing from an outline and editing/revision. Considering that I’m also house-training a puppy, I think I’ll call this week a success!