Auxiliary Projects

     As promised yesterday, I will share with you one tiny trick that I use to keep me from becoming bored with my current project.  My secret is that I have a set of auxiliary projects.  I only work on them when I am bored with my current project.  Each of the auxiliary projects has the potential to become my main project (once I finish the current one).  These auxiliary projects are varied enough to suit whatever mood I am in.  So if I can't focus on Bella and Gerard, I scroll through the others to see which one feels the most inspiration at the moment.  I work on it until I am satisfied, and then go back to Bella and Gerard.  It keeps me from being bored and at the same time it keeps from starting yet another new project.

     Here are some of my auxiliary projects:

Reagan's Island:  A boy is shipwrecked on an island.  He is discovered by a band of men guarding the island.  Who are they?  What are they hiding?  And who is this boy?

Alexander: This story has three parts.  I don't know if they will simply be three parts in a book or if I will break them up into a trilogy.  The first Part: Alexander was one of greatest generals to serve Henrique, king of Cabria.  When Henrique dies, Alexander offers his allegiance to Edward, son of Henrique.  But Edward is a weak leader, both jealous and afraid of the great general, and he spurns Alexander's offer.  Almost immediately, a rumor is spread of Alexander's "treason," and Alexander must disappear...

The Ultimate Stand: This story follows a young woman from her ordinary life as a veterinary assistant through a mob rebellion and into a shadow of a life in a compound under the control of a crazed and evil tyrant.

The Journey:  "We have to get away."  That is the driving force on this teenage girl's mind.  Trapped with her younger sister by a couple who claim to be their parents, she had never dreamed of escape...not until a neighbor boy secretly befriended her, taught her to drive, and gave her the courage to run.  Now, with the whole world seemingly against them, the only thing she can do is keep driving.



For me, this works.  It keeps me focused on my current project without stifling additional inspiration.  And, like I said, one of these auxiliary projects may end up being my next main project.  How about you?  What do you use to keep yourself on track without becoming bored?