Due to being neurodiverse, pivots are common for me. I frequently refer to my thought processes as squirrel brain. So named because I get distracted frequently by new things which come along, like the dog in Up, which stops talking mid-sentence when a squirrel runs past.
While I was trying to expand my novel I decided to pivot to taking a second writing course; memoir writing. I told myself it would be great for me to do something which pushes me out of my comfort zone and keeps the routine of attending classes which as been very beneficial for me.
It turns out that this experience has been a lot more all consuming than I expected. Over the last few months I’ve taken a journey through my memories. I focused on writing about my experience of being a late-diagnosed autistic women, specifically looking at the process of discovering my identity and going through the assessment process.
I now have two projects. A novel and a memoir. Both are between 10 and 15 thousand words and both are competing for my attention. Now I have a choice. Do I expand one, both or neither?
I already know it will eventually be both, but now I need to fight my brain in order to stop trying to do two large complex and difficult things at the same time.
Sometimes I really wish I could press a button and engage hyperfocus, like some kind of superpower that would enable me to hone in on one thing at once and stay focused on it until it is complete. Sadly my current hyperfocus is actually listening to podcasts about how movies are made, and finding out all the chaotic details of development hell. It’s fascinating to find out how difficult it was for some very successful movies to get past the finish post, but it’s not really helpful when I’m trying to research late-diagnosis and work out what would be a good challenge for a hero party at the same time.