No, I don't know how I get anything done, ever

I'm going to Austin for a week, ostensibly to finish my book. But I just started another play and another screenplay, and if there's one thing that I'm good at, it's distracting myself with new projects. Like three or four at once. That's the way I work.

I was talking to Chiara about this last night (about what keeps you motivated and gets you writing), and for me, it's having an excess of work. I have never focused on one script at a time-- I can't do that. I've tried, but it literally gives me panic attacks, especially if I get stuck or bored. I always have two or three documents open on the desktop, and I sometimes flit between them as I'm working.

This insane multitasking/ADD writing isn't for everyone. I know people who write one script at a time, or who spend four days on a first draft and four weeks rewriting or who spend years on one project or who thrive under external deadline pressure or who write one draft and wait for development. Whatever works.

Truth is, I think you need to figure out how you function best in life, when you're the most comfortable with what you're doing and how you're doing it, and then that translates into how you write.

And I've gotten flak for this before, but I write with the TV on and the roommates running around and one hand scratching the dog's tummy. I never have a "DO NOT DISTURB ME I'M WRITING" sign around my neck. So I don't know what it means that I'm fueled by constant and often self-imposed interruptions. Some of the writing teachers I've had would be mortified to watch me at work.

I'm curious how other people write. I imagine there are much more peaceful and serious-minded processes than mine. Ah, well.