An on-line friend, Irysangel, talked about being a “momentum writer”.
I’m totally a momentum writer. Someone pointed that out to me the other day, and it’s sooo true. The more I work on a book, the more I want to work on it, and the more I get done. The more time I spend away from said book, the less I do, the less I’m interested in it. The less story reveals itself to me. Right now I’m back in the thick of things with THE ISLAND, and it’s fun and I can’t wait to write more tomorrow. I think this explains why I have a hard time with ‘orphaned’ books. Where I leave off somewhere in the middle and then somehow never get back to it. It also explains why I like to edit immediately upon turnaround of the completed manuscript — I like my ideas fresh and jumping around in my head like jumping beans, not cold on the page in an outline.
I am the same, except for one part: editing as soon as the manuscript is finished. I can’t do that. I have to set it aside and separate myself from it. Else, when I edit, I am overly critical and hash and slash whilst playing “kick me”. By putting distance between The End and The Edit, I am better able to see the story for itself. Hard to explain.
Other than that, yeah, I am a momentum writer too. I get started and if I stop for too long, I lose all interest in the story. I’ve had it happen before. I was hell bent for leather (whatever that means) on what became known as BG2 when I stopped for NaNo two years ago. That’s when I wrote BG1. When NaNo was over and I spent a few more weeks saying The End, I tried to get back into BG2. Blech. Couldn’t do it.
What about the rest of you?
Sometimes I’m a momentum writer, and sometimes I’m just the opposite–taking a break from something makes it easier to come back rather than harder. I think it depends in some way on what I’m writing, but I haven’t entirely narrowed down the cause.
I’m not sure either. I tend to have several projects going at once and I wonder if that is a factor. Perhaps I am not a momentum writer, but a spurt writer. Ew. 😮 That sounds gross. There has to be a better word.