Dash and I walk A LOT. He is a herding dog cross, meaning there is plenty of energy in that 33 lb body. He is also highly reactive, as opposed to proactive. He hears a noise, or sees a flicker of movement, and he's ready to launch.

Writers and editors would know this better as "chasing the shiny," or pursuing the new and exciting instead of finishing the old and in-progress first.

It can be the bane of a writer's existence—sometimes.

So the challenge is to find ways to rein in the enthusiasm—learn the impulse control—and don't use it as an excuse to not finish what you have on tap at the moment. But it is so hard!

New ideas always feel like so much fun. But remember, at one point the idea you are pursuing now was the shiny, too. Somewhere inside is the fervor and drive to complete the task at hand and revel in the accomplishment. Take a break, put it away for a few hours or days, and come back to it with renewed energy. 

 You loved the idea enough to start it, it has to be worthy of the time to finish it.

Besides, if you jump at every shiny you see, you're bound to fall into a rabbit hole you can't get out of. Or in Dash's case, pounce headlong into a briar patch and I have to spend time and fingertips prying him out of the thorns.

After almost four years together, he is finally learning to listen, even half-heartedly, before he acts. He's made the mistake enough to know that if I'm warning him, chances are there's a good reason. There is hope for his reactive exuberance.

There is hope for "chasing the shiny" syndrome, too. Write it down as a reward for finishing your current WIP. It will only tarnish a little until you can rub it off and dig in.~