See how I like shiny objects?

I must have been a cat in another life. Apart from the fact that I think they're adorable, like the cute fluffballs, I'm easily distracted.

While it might be shiny objects, or just something that's moving that gets their attention, my shiny objects are either new story ideas, or my many, many started stories.

They sit there in my Writing Folder, the folder I shouldn't look in because Because of my distraction obsession, I always have two stories on the go  and these live in my WIP folder on a totally different Drive, and these have  priority. I'm currently working on two stories that both have deadlines (one for a box set and one for submission from a conference pitch).

You'd think two books to finish is more than enough to keep my writing time fully occupied, and I do

hit my daily word counts to get these done on time, but then a writing comp comes up and I think it's a good idea to enter. Not with an extract from my current WIPs, but something from my Writing Folder. So I start going through a couple of books that are only partially written and get caught up in those stories again. I have to work on them to get them up to comp standard (which is a good thing because they'd need editing eventually anyway so I'm saving myself work, aren't I?).

I get immersed in these stories again and ideas start to flow. I do resist the urge to keep writing more, but I make notes about those ideas. Ooooh I so want to keep writing these stories now, rather than going back to my WIPs (where I am struggling a little because I must have forgotten to put on my pantsing pants). My imagination is reinvigorated for these older stories.

Is it any wonder I have half a dozen 'three chapters'?

Oh, and not mention the attraction (and a bit of necessity) of re-releasing the back-catalogue of half a dozen shorter pieces that have been previously published, so they don't languish in yet another Folder for months/years.

But I am more disciplined with my writing these days, and I have deadlines which drag me back to reality. The only recent partially started story is one for a box set which had the category changed (from contemporary to paranormal) so that wasn't an actual lapse back into old bad habits - but it is one that I'm revisiting for a competition and it's trying very hard to call me back to keep writing it.

I thought I'd share my shiny object so you can see what sort of distractions I'm up against :

Partially begun stories (some only have a few pages written) :
Pleasures Mistress - historical
Second Skin - contemporary
Sophronia - historical
Summer Salsa - contemporary set in Cuba
Wicked Wishes - contemporary
Anna - paranormalish set in Greece
Purr - paranormal 
Two's Company - contemporary
Untitled - contemporary where I'd lost the file and started rewriting
Untitled - historical about female pirates

Re-releases :
Diving In - contemporary
Miss Blaine's Misconduct - contemporary
Skin On Skin - paranormal short which needs reworking into something longer
Caught In - pararnormal

Ideas :
Hothouse Flowers box set - contemporary to include Miss Blaine from above
Night Father - contemporary (non romance)
Untitled - paranormal thriller
Untitled - contemporary modern version of Peyton Place

Sooooo, putting all that out of my mind now and getting back to reaching my daily word counts on my WIPs :

Undying Night - vampire story for upcoming box set (Feb 2020)
A Firm Hand - Book 1 from Bedford Brothers series as requested at conference.

Shiny objects all safely back in their Folder now, and that's where they'll stay until above WIPs are done - and I have my little whip-cracking friend here to keep me in line !!

For more about Andra and her writing life follow her in Instagram @andraashesmutmaven or on her website here.