Cheating on Your Stories: A Confessional Piece
I have something to admit: I'm a cheater.
At one point in time, I was pretty faithful. I had this novel, Dove Keeper, and it was the one. As I worked on it, it had this momentous, singular feeling to it. There weren't any other projects I could imagine straying to while I worked on this project. Same for the sequel, Birds in a Cage. I was completely dedicated to these projects. I even wrote a prequel, A Thing with Feathers, after struggling to find another project after I finished Birds. It made sense because these recurring characters in the same universe became comfortable, a piece of me. Their motivations and histories were clear to me.
And then came the struggle. It's not so much as having no ideas, but of having too many, and all of them are tempting. What does it mean? I like to focus on one story at a time, because if I don't have one I'm dedicated to, I'm dedicated to none of them, often writing maybe a few thousands words before moving on to another story. Does this mean all my other story ideas aren't potent enough to keep my interest? Is this just a normal part of being obsessed with one project, only to complete it and going through a period of disillusionment with all other stories? Admittedly, it's frustrating, because these ideas and outlines have so much potential.
If you're a writer, have you had similar struggles? How do you dedicate (or re-dedicate) yourself to a new project after spending so much time and heart on one? Do you bear through it, or take a break? Right now, I'm focusing on revising Birds, and it feels good.