I’m fickle. There, I’ve admitted it. I’ve come clean. Of course, I am sure readers of this blog have already surmised this by the simple fact that I cannot seem to stick to a theme. For those of you not up to speed with the technology lingo, that means the background and overall design of my blog. But my fickleness translates itself into other aspects of my life as well. Most importantly, into my writing.
I’m a fickle writer. I can’t make up my mind about anything. It’s really a big problem. I can’t even make up my mind about which concepts to follow, let alone which paths to take once I’ve started working on something.
This is probably also the time to mention that, with the exception of undergrad and grad school, I’ve never finished anything. I mean, ANYTHING. I’ve never even beaten a video game. I stopped doing TaeKwonDo 1 stripe away from reaching black belt. I only made it through 3 chapters of a self-taught web design course. You name it, I haven’t finished it.
You may be asking yourself, as the boyfriend has been asking me for 3 years now, how I think I’m going to finish writing a book. Simple. Writing means more to me than anything else in my life. It always has. And, in my defense, I did write a 100 page thesis to get my master’s degree and I have stuck with the same overall concept for my WIP for 3 years. Certainly that must count for something, right?
So how is the fickle writer supposed to commit to an idea, commit to the various paths that evolve out of a book and finish the darn thing? The simple answer: sheer willpower.
I’m sure this isn’t the answer you were hoping for. I’m sure you were looking for some grand scheme. Sadly, there is no grand scheme that will get one over the hurdle of being fickle other than pushing through it and forcing yourself to make a decision. Another way is to try not to over-analyze, to go with your gut. I’ve more or less mastered the first solution by reminding myself that the only way to finish a book is to suck it up and make a decision. The second solution is something I work on everyday, and I think once I’ve mastered that, I will be a much more efficient writer.
Of course, I could just blame my fickleness on being a perfectionist and pretend I don’t have a problem.
How do you overcome fickle tendencies?
