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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Freud and Changing Gears

This is one of those things I'm always reluctant to do. Mainly because I think if I keep changing gears then nothing ever gets done. So I have to rationalize to myself why it's okay to work on two things at the same time (more or less). It's totally Freud:

According to his model of the psyche, the id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trends; the super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role; and the ego is the organized, realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego. The super-ego can stop one from doing certain things that one's id may want to do.


It's sort of like this constant war between three parties: the one who wants to sit on the couch and watch Netflix and eat cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting, the one who's industrious and constantly cites the dangers of not following her advice - exactly, and the one who mediates between them.

Anyway. A compromise was reached between the parties in which it was agreed that if we weren't going to work on RUN (my YA/NA Apocalyptic), then it was okay to finish revising GRIMOIRE (my witchy regency romance). Out of everything, it's the most revised piece of work I have, and all I had to do was fix the ending, a mere fifty pages. As you can from my progress on my sidebar, I'm at 92% which is a pretty nice number to be at. Almost done. I can do this. Then I can figure out the character issue I'm having with RUN. But that's another story...


So, do you argue with yourself? Who wins?

26 comments:

  1. Hopefully I win.
    If you're that close, need to finish it!

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  2. Yes, I struggle with that balance. Work is great, but it's also important to relax. So glad you figured out your battle.

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    1. Yes, that's it. Balance. I need more of that.

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  3. I don't argue with myself. I look at what I should be doing, what I am doing, and then ask myself, why aren't you doing that?

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  4. 92% is a good place to be with a project.

    I'm currently sitting at just over 50% on a revision and it isn't nearly as satisfying, as far as percentages go. :P

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    1. Yeah, that's how I was feeling with my WIP. Maybe I just needed to work on something where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't a pinprick in the distance.

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  5. Very cool, Marcy. You can do this.

    Sometimes I do argue with myself, but I try to keep it at a minimum.

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    1. I know I can. Butt in chair, fingers on keyboard.

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    2. That's what I always say but a little more crudely than that. Mine is ass in chair.

      I don't argue with myself over that one, but I will sometimes not want to rest, when I should. I'll want to bake or write/test a new formula. But I try to keep that battle to a minimum.

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  6. I argue with myself about food and sleep. I don't always listen to my best advice. 92% done is pretty good.
    Susan Says

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  7. Oh yes. I argue with myself. And one at least of the voices in my head is not my friend. A super critical voice.
    Ninety-two per cent sounds really, really good. Go for it.
    And I can't remember whether I have said how much I loved what I have read of RUN. I do. And hope you can find your way forward there too.

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    1. Oh, I will, there's a character that's giving me trouble and I either need to figure out who he is and what his part is or get rid of him.

      Glad I'm not the only one who has that super critical voice.

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  8. Oh man, good question. When I argue with myself, it's usually my practical side that wins. But I love it when the side that says, "it feels like a nap and pizza" day wins.

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    1. Yeah, I let the side that wanted to sit in the sun for a bit win today :)

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  9. Good luck with GRIMOIRE!

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  10. It's totally okay to switch between two stories. Or even work on them at the same time. I used to be of the mind that one had to work on one thing at a time, but then I discovered that letting one project sit fallow for a time helped me. Because then when I went back to it I was fresher.

    And besides, if you work on a couple of things at a time, you may end up finishing a couple things at about the same time...

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  11. 92% That's a good percentage. Congrats. Go for it!!!!

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    1. It's a very good percentage. It means days of revising rather than weeks - or more!

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  12. I will often switch gears when I'm stuck on something and work on a different project -- like that Hollywood silent film mystery thing I started last summer because I was stuck on my WIP. I abandoned it when I got unstuck. *scratches head* I wonder if I should look at that one again?

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    1. Yeah, I think I'm too strict with myself.

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