A colleague asked me recently, “How do you choose what to write? Don’t you get paralyzed by all your potential ideas?” I get a lot of questions about the writing life, but this one gave me pause. I thought for a moment, then told him, “I get excited about a particular form, and then I try to write toward that.” This is true– I have been recently inspired by forms like micro-memoir and braided essay– but a character, historical event or personal message can also excite me. My problem is the fact that I read very widely, and therefore get inspired by many different types of writing. Then I end up with too many irons in the fire. In the past six weeks, for example, I have worked on the following projects:

• Guided journaling based on The Artist’s Way workbook by Julia Cameron (completed)
• A micro-memoir (250 words) on a concert I attended in Scotland in 2002 (completed and submitted)
• A short personal essay on my daughter’s hospital stay (completed, not submitted yet)
• Edits on two other personal essays, one about finding happiness and the other about finding creativity (still in progress)
• Reading and taking notes on essays I admire (ongoing)
• Creating and adding to a note file of ideas for braided and list-form essays (ongoing)
• Editing The Eugenicist’s Assistant (completed draft 6, but may need draft 7)
• Researching literary agents (ongoing)
• Sending queries and submitting essays to journals (ongoing)
• Writing newsletters (completed for month)
• Writing blog posts (in process)

I loved working on all of these projects, but it’s a lot of irons in the fire, particularly for someone who isn’t a full-time writer. One of my constant struggles as an artist is to find my focus– not the mental focus needed to do the work (I’m good at that) but choosing a project to see through without distractions. Through my work with The Artist’s Way, I’ve finally identified why this is a struggle for me. Julia Cameron teaches that all forms of creative block can be brought back to fear. The trick is identifying the fear so that you can face it and fight it.

I have two fears that keep me from evaluating all of those irons in the fire and choosing a focus. The first fear is that I’ll choose the wrong one. As fears go, this one makes little sense– how can you make a wrong creative choice? But I’m still early enough on my creative path that I haven’t completely established my public writer presence. Later on, there may be more expectations that I’ll have to abide by— writing the next book in a series, or the demand for a particular nonfiction subject. But right now, I still have the freedom to write what I want. Which leads me to the second fear: if I’m successful, I’ll lose my creative freedom. I shouldn’t even be thinking about success right now. I should be focused on taking the creative path one step at a time. But every once in awhile, I look up and see my dreams ahead of me, and I want to get up the path faster so one of those dreams will come true sooner.

My fears are holding me back from finding direction. They are keeping me stuck in a loop of things I can’t control.

There’s another component, too, that isn’t fear-related, just personality-driven. I like having a lot of irons in the fire. I like experimenting, jumping from form to form, and letting all of my creative projects play with each other. That’s what creativity is to me: playfulness, and some impulsivity.

If I was a full-time writer, I could give into this feeling more. I could write fiction in the morning, and nonfiction in the afternoon. I could spend hours finding inspiration for my projects. I would be good at that kind of life. I already make a lot happen with small pockets of time. Think of what I could do with a day! But the full-time writing life isn’t in the cards right now. I have a good teaching job that I like and feel committed to, and a family to co-support. Maybe someday, I’ll get a semester or a year to write. For right now, I’m working with the pockets of time, struggling against my fears and personality quirks, and seeking focus.

Readers and friends, I could use some advice. How do you choose your next project? What factors do you consider? Where should I put my focus: fiction, memoir, or writing about creativity? In books, essays, or blog posts?

Post in the comments, or on social media, or stop me in real life and deliver your advice. I need some guidance!