This is my example piece for the “Letter to Your Anti-Muse” writing exercise (link pending).
Dear Lack of Follow-Through:
I really appreciate the years we’ve spent together. Those were some great times we had, weren’t they? You’re really great in a lot of ways: You encourage me, you tell me to jump on every wild idea I have, you fuel my creative mind. But I just can’t do this anymore.
It’s not you. It’s me. I can’t take the constant psychic weight of all my “current projects.” I have nine half-finished short stories, three half-finished novelettes, 26 half-finished blog articles, three half-finished books … I could go on.
And I wish—I wish, I wish—that two halves made a whole. But do you know how much power you’ll get out of two half-finished computers? None. Do you know how fast two, or five, or ten half-finished cheetahs are? Zero fast. Because they’re dead. Without completion, these things can’t come to life.
You’ve been a constant companion of my creative life, so it’s hard for me to say goodbye. No, we can’t be friends. No, we can’t have benefits. I just need you to leave, and I’ll do my part to make the end of our time together go smoothly.
First, I’m going to commit to bringing projects to completion, even if it’s “complete” because I’ve officially given up on it. I will give a definitive no to projects when they no longer appeal to me. These projects will be put in a folder I’m calling “the shelf.” I will not consider myself to be “writing” anything that’s on the shelf.
Second, every creative project I start will now have a deadline. Any short story that isn’t brought to a full first draft within two weeks will be thrown onto the shelf. Any other project I start will include a deadline that I decide at the time of commencement.
Third, I’m going to purge all my drafts. I’m going to put most of them on the shelf. I’m going to repeat this process every month so I don’t get a backlog of partially completed items that I still believe, at some deluded level, I’ll actually get around to.
Fourth, I’m going to focus on a single creative project at any given time. To accomplish this I’m going to set aside a specific time for creative writing every day and have that time devoted to working on a core project that’s noted in my calendar. I will do the same for my blog. For that 7-hour period each week, the core project will be at the focus of my vision.
I know this sounds harsh, but please, don’t try to come back. You’re just not good for me. I have other priorities in my life right now. My work is important enough that it deserves to be seen, and for all your wonderful appeal, you prevent that from happening.
I’m sure you’ll find somebody else. Maybe you could just go back to the politicians.
Best of luck,
Rob
As always, feedback is welcome.
Write on,
Rob
The post Dear Lack of Follow-Through: A Letter to My Anti-Muse appeared first on Rob D Young.