Two weeks ago I hosted an in-person book signing for The Witch’s Foundling. It went wonderfully and my guests seemed to have a good time. Especially those that won prizes. It was something I’m planning on doing again but it also illuminated some other issues I’ve been having. That’s where ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’ comes in. Expected or unexpected, I’ve been finding myself repeatedly distracted or diffused by different projects. Or a cat. You know how they are.
For the author, the biggest source of ‘shiny objects’ are the sheer volume of ideas you can come up with. Case in point for me: I’ve already begun writing on a spin-off series for The Witch’s Foundling. The story of two of the supporting characters, Tobias Dahlrimple and Agnes MacGregor, took off in my imagination. I had developed a backstory for them to help me in the writing of their characters. However, The Witch’s Foundling is Sally’s story so, all the information was not used within those novels. Yet, still …
Huh? What was I talking about? Oh, yeah, Shiny Object Syndrome or, if you’re any type of creative: “The distraction of a thousand ideas!” Fortunately, for me, I can divert some of this energy into my illustration work. Hence our ‘Year of Dragons.’ However, the challenge of regaining your focus remains. Part of that redirection depends upon having faith in the primary project and the goal you have for it. It helps if you remember what you loved about it in the beginning. This requires some skill of discernment as to whether the new idea is truly better than what you have going or something to put aside.
I resisted writing The Witch’s Foundling as I had other things on my plate at the time. However, images of the inciting incident for the story kept persisting so, I bought a spiral bound journal and started writing in my spare time. I did this more to exorcise the idea than thinking it would go any further. Well, you know what happened there. Yet, jotting down –not necessarily writing a whole novel – your distracting idea in a book set aside for that purpose can help grant you some control over all that wonderful creative energy.
A cool blog post that breaks down Shiny Object Syndrome is found at the Everhour site, written by Isaac Dumet. There, effective methods to work through diversions are offered. In 6 simple steps, too. FYI – Everhour is a time management app – I’m not affiliated with them but if you’re really far gone, it might be good to check them or other time management apps out.
Now, I want to point out Tip #4 – Limit the number of Projects running at a time – for me that means some of my time is dedicated to my writing, some is for my illustrations and some for my day job/rest of life. The best aid to sticking to those goals is trying to remembering Tip #6 Reduce time on social media. That particular addiction is promoting a sense lately I’ve spent too much time aimlessly scrolling so, my goal is to be more intentional with social media. It’s a struggle since as an introvert, lurking on the different platforms is the most natural for me. As you can see, the positive of recognizing Shiny Object Syndrome is reflecting upon and re-focussing on those priorities that best serve your creative goals. Perhaps you have hacks already that work for you. If so, please share. You never know who else could use the help.
I previously mentioned that one thing that works for me is to segment my work into writing, illustration and day-job/life. You can have more than one passion but it’s a matter of regulating the attention spent on the different areas. For day-jobs/life there is often not much personal choice available to you. However, that still leaves the rest completely under your control. I have my writing and my illustration set up as separate entities. Having a theme for my primary art projects has helped me keep a focus for that area. This is most recently seen in our latest dragon – Pumpkin the Halloween Dragon! There’s peril in the pumpkin patch! Watch out as our latest creature stalks the Jack O’ Lanterns. Or join him?
