Story ADD

I have a confession to make: I have story ADD.

Raise your hand if, like me, you have trouble concentrating on one story at a time. … If characters start talking to you, demanding you tell their story now — even when you’re in the middle of another one. … If you have a bunch of half- or two-thirds-finished manuscripts moldering under your bed.

They all get finished eventually, but I’ve always had a little trouble focusing on one story from start to finish.

Since March’s call notifying me that I’d finaled in the RWA Golden Heart®, the affliction has intensified. Reasoning that if “Beauty and the Ballplayer” was going to be the successful MS, I ought to have a companion, I decided to start a new story related to it. So I started working on Dave & Melinda’s story while actively writing Beth & Cody’s and trying to edit Kenny & Kristi’s.

That left poor Drew & Lainy waiting waiting in the wings. I’d planned to finish writing their story  after I started querying with Kenny & Kristi.

Nearly three months later and I still haven’t even written the query/synopsis on Kenny & Kristi. I’ve written only a handful of pages on Beth & Cody’s story and am just five chapters into Dave & Melinda’s.

Every time I get any momentum, I end up coming to a dead stop to do something else entirely. “Beauty and the Ballplayer” needs revising … or I need to shop for stuff to wear at Nationals … or I need to do other conference prep (business cards, pitches, schedule planning). The list goes on and on.

I’m not complaining, mind you. As far as problems go, this is one a lot people would love to have — me included. I’m thrilled to be a GH finalist — and going to Nationals in NYC is a fantastic opportunity that I hadn’t counted on getting.

I’m just saying all this planning/panic does nothing to help my story-related ADD.

Please tell me I’m not the only one with this problem.

How do you cope with conference prep while still managing to get any writing done?