Just Close Your Eyes, and Point

I often hear from clients (and the voices in my own head) that they don't know which of their writing projects they should be working on.

This might be because they have lots of good ideas they're excited about, or because they're trying to figure out which one is the most "marketable," or because they're halfway through one and they hate it, but they feel bad quitting before it's finished.

Let's say you're halfway through your thriller, "Dude, Where's My Girlfriend?" about the dude whose girlfriend was abducted by aliens out to steal the brains of earthlings.

You're kind of stuck in Act II, and you're not interested in it anymore. But you've already written half of it, and you feel like it would be wrong to quit. At the same time, you have this great idea for this historical drama TV series about an old lady who travels back in time to study her dog's genealogy. Which one should you do?

Being a writer is often about balancing creativity with business sense. "What are you feeling creatively driven to write?" vs. "What would be best for my career?" But sometimes the choice is as simple as "Which one do you like?" vs. "Which one don't you like?"

Here's a little chart to help you figure out which of your projects you should be working on:

But what about the question, "Can't I work on both?" Hey, if you're able to juggle all those characters and story lines and conflict at the same time, rock on. But always (unless they're throwing money at you) choose the project you love.