Blog: Butterfly Writing

Why a butterfly? Answer at the end.

As you may have realised from my post two weeks ago, I sometimes find it difficult to focus on one thing at a time when I’m writing (and in life in general). This is both a blessing and a curse - on one hand, it keeps things fresh and means I’m constantly interested in what I’m writing - but on the other, it slows down my overall progress.

Take this week as an example. I have a target to finish the edit of the first part of my fantasy novel this month. It’s getting there, slowly, and when I sit down to go through it I usually make reasonable progress. It’s helped by the fact that the first draft wasn’t as terrible and “what the flip was I thinking with that?” as I first feared. Some of the characters were a little wonky, and some of their motivations and actions were barmy, but that’s what I expect from a draft zero.

Common sense tells me that I should focus on this fantasy story and get that completed. There’s a milestone just around the corner, and it’ll give me something to build on as I write the rest of that novel. Most of the ‘how to write’ articles tell you that working on one thing at a time builds concentration and allows you to build a portfolio of completed work quickly.

So, in light of that, guess what I’ve been thinking about this week? Project Four. The flippin’ movie script! Something that was so far from the front of my brain two weeks ago that I called it Project Four. Yet I can’t stop thinking about how with a few tweaks I can tighten up the opening. And if the opening is tightened up, the rest of the story will start better, making it more interesting and… and… and…

It’s exhausting! I’m not convinced, however, that it’s a bad thing.

Over the last 20 years of writing, I’ve come to realise that creative brains work in strange ways. Remember when I said earlier “some of the characters were a little wonky”? I think part of my brain went “Oh yeah, just like in that script” and is now helpfully working on that for me.

Just because that helpful creative problem-solving isn’t in sync with my writing plan doesn’t mean it’s something to be ignored. If I want to work on the script, surely I should just do that?

So that’s what I’ve done. The last few days have been all about writing time travel and mysterious personality cults and all sorts of strange and wonderful things. And I’ve loved it! The words and the changes have come to me easily and the script is much, much better as a result.

We are told throughout life that it’s better to work on one thing, that we should get something done before we start something else. I’m not sure that’s great advice.

Having loads of projects on the go at one time means that I’ve always got something I'm excited to work out. I can learn from one project and pass it along to the other, and the fact that they are in different genres, formats and styles means that I am constantly learning and improving.

This extends to the blog and the short poems are another good example. I’m thinking about how I’m writing as much as what I’m writing. It leads to insights and improvements in my craft. The poems teach me to be concise and not too serious with what I’m writing (as well as entertaining people, hopefully).

All of this builds and swirls around me constantly, meaning I learn all the time and improve all the time.

So, why am I advocating writing like a butterfly? Next time you see one in your garden, watch how they bounce from flower to flower. They rarely sit still and are always jumping around nervously. They do, however, get the job done!

Will any of this help me get a book deal? Who knows. But it might just make it more fun to chase it.