Ugochukwu-Charles Onyewuchi writes that as he works on one project, he keeps breaking off to start others. He asks for some advice because he really wants to finish a novel.

Thanks for this excellent question.

First of all, I’d like to say–it’s great to have too many ideas instead of too few! Some of the best artists have the problem you mention, Leonardo da Vinci among them. Leonardo was forever breaking off from work on this painting of that sculpture to begin a new project, and many of his most ambitious ideas remained unrealized. You have only to look at his notebooks to see that this man was brimming with plans and designs.

So I’d say this is a good problem to have.

It’s also true that we know Leonardo for the work he finished. At some point an artist has to commit to an idea and follow through. This is particularly true for novels which require patience and staying power. You need to love your characters enough to keep writing, over days, weeks, months, even years. Writing a novel means keeping the faith–even when you’re writing shorter pieces as well, or going to school, or working your day job, or taking care of children, or all of the above.

So the big questions is: how do you keep the faith?

Here’s what I do:

I spend time thinking about my characters before I go to sleep.

I reread the previous day’s work before I write anything new.

I chart out what’s going to happen next and write down the scenes I’m aiming for–so that I keep my goals in mind.

I imagine what ifs with my characters, composing little stories for them in my head so that they’re real to me and I can indulge my impulse to digress.

I spend time on each sentence that I’ve written so that I’m proud of every word. If you feel that your draft is sound and beautiful then you’re more likely to stick with it. You’ll respect it more.

Anne Lamott writes famously in “Bird by Bird” that you should feel free to write “shitty first drafts”. I understand what she means, but in my opinion, writing a good first draft and revising as you go can be a huge confidence booster. Neither way is the right way–these are just different styles. Some people like to make a huge mess in the kitchen as they cook. Some clean as they go. I belong to the clean as you go school. A clean draft motivates me and helps me to stay the course with a long term project.

It’s a natural impulse to run away and start fresh when you’ve got a huge mess on your hands. My advice: write a witty first draft instead of a shitty first draft. I think you’ll find yourself returning to it whenever you can.

Today as I was driving along I heard James Galway playing a Mozart flute concerto on NPR. Joyous, wistful, subtle, he did justice to the music.

After the performance I heard a bit of an interview. The interviewer asked: “What’s it like to practice and play the same pieces over and over again? How do you keep it fresh?”

Galway’s answer touched me. In essence he said that when he was a child he knelt down before bed and said his prayers–God bless mummy and daddy, etc. As he got older, his prayers got more complex, and he thought of praying for more people, and praying about new situations. He said that performing was very much like that. As you mature, you explore new dimensions and bring to the performance new experiences.

I think this analogy makes perfect sense. I would add that composing, whether in words or in music, is much like prayer as well. As artists mature, they bring new experiences and more complex ideas to the table. You can do more technically as you get older, but you also have more to convey. Like anyone praying and hoping, the artist feels small and also blessed in the attempt.

Double decker buses, roomy taxi cabs, amazing shops and bakeries, stone churches, brick houses, tiny streets lined with boutiques. London is so much fun.

I don’t have time to be much of a tourist, but I did get to participate in Jewish Book Week. I spoke with chef Yotam Otelenghi and novelist Charlotte Mendelson at a wonderful event last night. We talked about food, literature, the creative process. The audience was lively and afterward they bought many books. I sat at a table with Yotam and signed my novel, while he signed copies of his two award winning cookbooks. I loved the woman who bought a fresh copy of his book “Plenty” because she’d “burned the other one”!

This evening I did a small event at a gorgeous little store called Books for Cooks in Notting Hill. I’d have happily spent hours wandering and window shopping.

Favorite London windows so far:

a Lebanese grocery with sweets piled on platters, hundreds of tiny baklava pieces arrayed in layered pin wheels.

a couture dress store with immaculate spring clothes, cream colored dress with a silver band at the waist beautiful enough for a guest at the royal wedding

an Italian bakery with miniature canolis in the window. I ate one about three inches long. The crunchy shell was lined with chocolate on the inside. One end was dipped in crushed pistachios, the other in minced candied orange. Crunchy, creamy, chocolate, pistachio, orange. A dessert for the ages.

I wish I could stay a little longer and find one of Yotam’s take away shops–but tomorrow I’m off to Edinburgh.