ISBW #29 - Multiple Projects
Thanks for all your great feedback regarding the show last week! Keep your podcatcher tuned, there will be an ISBW surprise this week!
- Ralan.com
- Various markets are dead
- Thanks to our sponsor, Lulu.com
- Multiple Projects
- Getting Things Done
- Eat that Frog
- Mike the Filmmaker’s podcast
- Daniel Emery’s Brief Glimpses of Somewhere Else
- Wingin’ It
- Jason Erik Lundberg’s Blog
- Jenn Reese’s Blog
- Editing Reality
- Music by Dr. Kuch from Magnatune.com
Write.






Paul Campbell | Mar 25, 2006 | Reply
I recently bought Getting Things Done. It hasn’t helped a great deal. I suppose I better try actually reading it.
Actually, I’ve been able to use some of the GTD ideas that I’ve gleaned from the 43folders blog.
Mur Lafferty | Mar 25, 2006 | Reply
Yeah, Paul, the books only do some good if you actually read them.
NFHW London | Mar 26, 2006 | Reply
If people are looking for books that might help with writing, I would recommend ‘The Elements of Style’ by William Shrunk Jr, a professor at Cornell in the twenties.
If you want to write succint, tight prose with perfect grammar, then this will help. The book itself is tiny (will fit your back pocket) and will make a difference.
MWS Media | Mar 26, 2006 | Reply
Hey, Mur, we have the same bookshelf, at least where productivity is concerned! I’ve read “Eat That Frog,” and I’m in the middle of “Getting Things Done” right now.
Christiana Ellis | Mar 27, 2006 | Reply
I really enjoyed the topic today, as it’s something I frequently struggle with too. I think I’m going to try both the breaking it into bite-size chunks, and the eat the frog approaches, and hopefully that’ll help me.
One caveat though, when I’ve tried the “work on something else to remove the blockage” approach, I was initially successful, but before long, I have three half-finished novels. Then, when I feel like writing, I have to decide which one to work on, and then I second-guess myself about my choice, and I doubt, and soon the whole thing starts seeming hard again and I don’t end up writing anything!
Just a word of warning! The other ideas sound interesting and I hope they work! ^_^
Caitlin | Mar 27, 2006 | Reply
Great show, as usual.
I think you are being overly modest. From the fact that you have just finished a novel and are writing lots of short stories, I would have placed you at six - awakening.
In response to Christiana, I think the working on something else to free the blockage approach really only works with short projects. If you are writing a novel and get stuck, try writing a short story, don’t start another novel!
Micah Dubinko | Mar 28, 2006 | Reply
BTW here’s a live web link to Editing Reality, as mentioned in the episode. Thanks, Mur! -m
Mur Lafferty | Mar 28, 2006 | Reply
Thanks, everyone. Caitlin, I appreciate your vote of confidence, but I am clearly in 5 at the most, because I am lately depressed about writing, and am seeing the careers of everyone around me just fly by and I feel like I’m standing still. I still feel like i have a lot to learn and a lot to process.
And sorry if I got the link wrong, Micah.
Mur Lafferty | Mar 28, 2006 | Reply
Argh! I mean sorry I forgot the link entirely, Micah. *blush*