Can You Write Yourself To Death?

You know, you CAN write too much.

I've spent so much time writing my episodes of the Halloween story over on Smashing Stories (including two extra) that I have not been able to focus very much on my WIP (Work In Progress). And that is very not good.

But, I will tell you this: writing that story with a group of people on a deadline has taught me something very important that I hope will translate to my current novel: It Isn't About Me. (I KNOW! Go figure.)

When you've got seven other people working on the same story, and you have no idea what is going to happen next or what details you are going to have to wrap up or tie in or jettison, or what ninety-degree plot-turn you've now got to make, there's no time to worry about what others think. Or whether your writing is scintillating. Or how many people are reading it. Or whether or not it is brilliant. You just have to get the thing out there. You need to pour yourself into it without fear because you only get so many words and you only have so much time.

Above all, you have to be thinking of the other guy. You can't just throw ten new plot points out there, or go completely away from the story, or deus-ex-machina some super-power into the thing five pages from the end. You have to be considerate. To write clearly. To include past details, and transition smoothly to your ideas, while being true to the story. And you have to give a clear path for the next author to follow. All while staying on schedule

What a great experience! There's no time for insecurity in a project like this. (And incidentally, I believe insecurity is born of too much self-thinking. I've observed this in my own life.) You just focus on the story, keep your audience and the other writers in mind, and GO. Everything else falls by the wayside, and staying true to the story and what you are doing becomes the focus.

Now I'm going to translate that to my current project. And not just in writing: in everything else I do too. Because frankly, a wife/mother/singer/writer/dancer/chauffeur/chef/housekeeper/coach/psychiatrist/nurse/actor/bff needs to be that focused and devoted too. Needs to be that outside of self. It works better. It feels better.

Now if I can just maintain it . . .