Writers pitch stories. Pitchers pitch baseballs. Maybe there's some overlap. I heard a story on "Fresh Air" yesterday with knuckleball pitcher R. A. Dickey. It's a fascinating interview even if you aren't a baseball fan or a devout Christian (but if you're either of those things you should especially enjoy it). I found it fascinating because of how his philosophy on pitching relates to writing. He tells a story about surviving a near-drowning and deciding to live in the moment. Before he almost drowned in the Missouri river, he had a mediocre record in the minor leagues. Afterward, he started pitching better and realized the reason was that he started focusing only on that pitch, not the pitch before and not the pitch after. His attention to only the pitch he was throwing at the moment got him to the majors.
"I went into the Missouri River, I was hanging on by a thread professionally. ... And when I came out of the river, I ended up going 11-2 with a 2.80 ERA and became the Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year. I think when I came out of the river, I was so consumed with just wanting to live in the present well — wanting to enjoy every second — that I think that carried over directly into my pitching, and I just cared about each pitch singularly. ... And I decided that that's how I wanted to live my life."
What's the corollary for writers? As someone who's working on two books now, how much would my writing (and productivity) improve if I focused only on one book at a time? Instead of having half of my mind on making notes for my book for writers and half on my edits for my next novel? What if instead of thinking of the whole book, our focus was wholly on just the chapter or scene or paragraph we're working on at the moment? What if we get a rejection from an agent or an editor and let it go before we query the next?
He's got an amazing story. I really recommend listening to the interview, and I'm also planning to read Dickey's memoir, Wherever I Wind Up.
What about you all? Am I the only writer who needs a good reminder to live in the moment? To pay attention only to the task (feeling, experience) at hand? Got any tips for me for focusing? Would love to hear them!
I think it's fine to switch projects--the key is to focus on the one you're working on at that moment. Instead of when I'm editing my novel, thinking about my nonfiction, etc.
I think living in the moment is different from working on more than one project at a time. I need to switch gears frequently; helps to keep me from feeling frustrated, thoughts and work in one area stimulate thoughts in other areas. As for formal rejections, I prefer not to think of them at all. If I focused on a rejection, I'd give up immediately. Bonnie McCune, author, "A Saint Comes Stumbling In"