I began NaNoWriMo (Nano…) the very same day I finished the first draft to a completely separate book. I don’t think I will ever do that again. I love the idea of Nano and I’m off to a great start. The problem is that for the past several months my brain has been hardwired to think about my other story. When I close my eyes or hear a song on the radio , I’m supposed to visualize my current characters and their different struggles. But now, I have to actively force myself to think about my current story.

I don’t believe that I am uninspired, I think my story has great potential. I am just obsessed with my previous story. So how do I let go and embrace the new? I haven’t found an exact process yet, but I am starting by focusing on the big scenes. You know, the ones that would be in the movie trailer. These are the scenes that get me pumped up to write. I’m not going to write those scenes out of order, but at least it gets me thinking about the right characters. 

Yesterday I finally found the face of my main male character. I descried him completely wrong for the image I found… but looking the picture, I knew that is who I meant to describe. That was also motivational.

I’m nearly complete with 2 of 20 chapters for my Nano story, and the progress tracker says that I should be done November 28th, and that gives me some time to edit!

So, to my fellow writers out there. If you have started a new project closely after finishing another… what has helped you to switch gears and mind sets?

Here’s wishing everyone a surprisingly good Monday! Take care.