The great thing about getting a group of writers together is that you get to hear how unique everyone’s current project is. Oftentimes, you’ll find many different genres in one group of writers. You’ll also find that everyone has their own focus when they sit down to write. Some people may be concentrating on their characters, others may be more concerned about the plot. Yesterday I wrote about a quote from Chuck Wendig, which focused on the idea of using keywords in your writing. Today I’d like to talk about your focus in your current writing project.
Your focus is what you think about when you sit down to write each day and what you keep in mind as your progress through your project. Whatever your focus is, it might show up in the keywords that you thought of for yesterday’s post. So if you’re having trouble pinning down what your focus is, you might want to revisit those keywords.
Your focus might also be the central theme or plot element of whatever project you’re working on now. If you’re writing a crime thriller, you might be focusing on the person who did it and writing in such a way that leads your detective to that person. If you’re writing a romance story, your focus is probably the two people you’re trying to bring together in your story.
For me, the focus in my current writing project is a suburban town’s underground history of ancient magic. No matter what scene I’m writing, I always have that focus and foundation in the back of my mind. Keeping myself focused on that central story element means that I never forget where my story is headed, and it helps me remember to keep all of my characters on track.
So, what is the focus of your current writing project? What is it that you want to convey? Share what you’re working on in the comments!
— Jet Fuel Blog Editor, Mary Egan
