It’s hard to believe that the sun has already set on the 2025-2026 NHL season. Just a few weeks ago, I thought I’d be watching the Colorado Avalanche battling for the Cup this June. Instead, it’s the offseason, and the roster is already changing.
Meanwhile, I’m making changes too.
If you asked me about my favorite part of the writing process, today, I would not say the first draft. Don’t get me wrong, there’s great freedom on a blank page. In fact, there’s almost a little too much freedom on the blank page with a mind like mine that thrives in producing possibilities. I might begin drafting a story with what I think is a clear map of plot points, but soon enough my characters get ideas of their own and my map becomes worthless. Or, I think my map is drawn with attention to detail, and it is guiding me where I want to go—until I realize that the landmarks don’t make sense and the bridge on the map doesn’t actually reach the other side of the canyon.
I’ve been drafting a new novel since last month, and although I’m excited about the story, the drafting process has been, for various reasons, a slog. Late last week, it dawned on me that, while any progress is progress, I was also neglecting other projects I care about. I have a couple short stories that need revision and notebooks full of ideas for other stories. There are submission deadlines this month I’d like to meet. Various agents have closed or will soon close their open querying windows for the summer. Maybe it’s time to pivot.
Several writers have shared this tip with me: have multiple projects to work on at all times.
The idea is that when Project 1 becomes difficult or less fun, having multiple projects means I can pivot and work on Project 2 until it gives me grief and then I can either return to Project 1 or hop over to Project 3 or Project 4 and so on. This way, I can constantly make progress on something. Besides, there’s always the possibility that, while working on Project 3, I will develop a solution for Project 1.
For a while, I didn’t appreciate this advice. I was convinced that having multiple projects to work on only made my head spin. When I was in the second year of my MFA, taking a full load of classes and writing my thesis novel, I only wanted to work on the novel. For one, I was behind schedule, and for another, I wanted to write this story more than I wanted to do the homework. Ignoring the rest of my life at the time, homework was constantly getting in the way of my thesis novel because those deadlines were more immediate. There were short stories to write, readings to digest, weekly discussion posts to compose, videos to watch, classes to attend. By the second half of the year, I was running out of bandwidth.
It wasn’t until the second semester was over that I could dedicate nearly two months almost exclusively to finishing my novel. It was freeing to finally focus on the thing that most needed to get done and I most wanted to do. Up to that point, I had never written so consistently and prolifically toward a single large project on a tight timeline. I was exhausted but I loved the work of writing. I still do.
For a while after I graduated, that semester and two months convinced me I did my best writing when I had only one big project to work on, one that I was particularly passionate about. That might have been true sometimes, but back then, maybe I was just an overwhelmed grad student battling the burnout beast. Maybe working on just one project was relief amid a stressful season, not a rule I needed to follow for the rest of my writing life.
This week, I am working on not giving myself grief for pivoting from my unfinished first draft to working on other projects. I wanted to finish the draft last month, and I still want to finish it as soon as possible, but for right now, I’m pivoting to make progress on other projects. Progress is progress.
I’ll keep you posted on my writing life and pursuit of publication, and as always, LET’S GO PIOS! GO AVS GO!
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