Jessica Klimesh

DON’T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET: THE BENEFITS OF MULTITASKING AS A WRITER

When I was a kid, my brothers called me “Jess the Mess.” My young creative brain was always working, and I’d flit from one imaginative project to another—from drawing and writing to creating “talk shows” and playing dress-up—always leaving a mess of markers, notebooks, construction paper, and toys in my wake. I never wanted to clean anything up because, as I’d defiantly say, “I’m not done yet—I’m coming back to it!”

Encouraging you to leave unfinished messes around and to divide your attention among multiple projects might seem like odd writing advice, but it can be more beneficial than you might realize. 

Some benefits of working on more than one writing project at a time:

• Returning to a project after a respite can help keep the writing fresh. I’ve often gotten new ideas in the interim and return to find my motivation renewed. It may take me longer to finish a project, but I easily maintain my enthusiasm for it.
• Setting a project or piece of writing aside for a while can allow you a fresh (and more objective) perspective on that piece of writing, making it easier to cut, edit, and revise.
• Creativity begets more creativity. Working on wildly different creative projects (e.g., working in a different genre or in a different art form altogether) can fuel your creativity. Feeling blocked? Take a painting class. Let other art forms and/or genres inspire you.  
• You can accomplish more than you think. Even though many of the stories I wrote in the 1980s and early 1990s remain unfinished (yes, I still have them!), I’m always amazed, when I occasionally pull them out, to see how adaptable I was as a young (untrained) writer. I wrote plays, short stories, novels, mysteries, poetry, songs, and even creative nonfiction. Had I only focused on one thing at a time until it was finished, I may not have developed the flexibility I have now as an older (trained) writer, with experience and an educational background that spans academic, technical, and creative writing. You can hone more than one skillset at a time!

Not surprisingly, I currently have multiple writing projects going. A couple of chapbook drafts that still need more work. Numerous in-process stories, all at various stages of completion (including some out for submission). Even a few plays. 

I’m not done yet—I’m coming back to it! Just as I did when I was a kid, I like to take a break from one activity for a while and then come back to it later, picking up right where I left off.

Putting your sole focus on one story (or project) at a time may potentially lead to boredom or burnout. Ultimately, multitasking—having different creative projects in different states of completion at a time—may allow you more creative flexibility and possibly less stress.

Jessica Klimesh is a US-based writer, editor, and writing coach whose flash fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Flash Frog, Milk Candy Review, trampset, Ghost Parachute, and Gone Lawn, among others. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction, Best Small Fictions, and Best of the Net. Learn more at jessicaklimesh.com.

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