“Let’s Start with Death”

Aloha,

THE DOCTOR IS IN. Operating through the lens of narrative, this column aims to answer any questions you have that cover the areas of craft, process, and technique, and/or the teaching of writing and literature.

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Dear Dr. Han,

I have a lot of writing projects in front of me and I am not sure which one to focus on. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s hard for me to choose. They are all equally important.

Thanks,
Peter
Pearl City, HI

Aloha Peter,

This is a common problem, especially with creatives because your mind is open to all possibilities, you consider all options, you look at all angles, and therefore, you see the benefits to any number of projects.

First of all, if you have a deadline or there is money involved, this is a no-brainer and must come first because someone is already waiting for your project and therefore has an interest in what you are doing, and you will be propelled to finish and probably will. For most creatives the truth of the dollar determines the direction of one’s efforts. Money dictates the chosen project.

Next, if there is no money at all, someone who is interested in your work also serves to motivate. You want people on your team. If someone likes your work, then prioritize that because this person has shown interest in your writing.

I’m guessing that you are alluding to a situation where dollars are not part of the equation and that, truthfully, there may be no one out there invested in one of the five projects you have started. This is where it gets more tough. This is where your purpose comes in and yes, you must take a good hard look at what you think is the most urgent project for you to complete based on your personal link between your writing and your deepest self.

Examine the Big D: Death. Personally, in almost all matters of life, even in my writing, I now work backwards from death. When you think about death you think about matters of urgency and narrow down what is it that you need to write. Need is different than want. If you were to walk out the door tomorrow and some inexplicable terrible event transpired—car wreck, drowning, UFO abduction, or whatever else leads to your unknown planetary earth-bound end, what is it that you would have needed to write?

What project out of the five wonderful projects in front of you, will best say this thing?

This is hard to think about when you are at the beginning of your writing journey and you are uncertain of your direction, your job, your personal life, your home, or can barely prioritize what you are going to eat for dinner. Death at this point in time may seem a lifetime away—so many projects and dreams dancing before your eyes. Because you are closer in years to birth than death, in your mind at least (who is to say if this is true, Death comes for everyone at any age), this logic appears difficult to apply.

WRONG. Death must always be figured in. It would probably behoove you to think about this more rather than do what Dear Doctor Han did which was to imagine that life went along endlessly scrolling into the sunset of Forever which then, as I think about it, affected my project choices. My Dear Earnest Friend Peter, please take a moment to think about what truly matters to you. Then ponder which project best says this and write it, no matter how crappy it may seem while in the thick of it and get to the end.

Now you are ready and you can be glad that should unexpected misfortune befall you, you will have completed the work that matters to you the most. Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Dr. Stephanie Han

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Image by Aaron Burden.