Mentally Ill Cats and Multitasking

I've been dealing with both. We thought for sure our poor kitty was nearing her last breath: hadn't eaten or taken water in nearly a week, was in perpetual hiding, breathing was shallow and rapid. We finally flushed her out of hiding and got her to the vet. Several hours & dollars later, we hear the verdict: cat is perfectly fine, she's just suffering a feline form of PMS. Might need some anti-anxiety medication.

I guess it's true that pets take after their owners.... :-P

But now that I can rest more easily knowing only a hefty dose of Midol is needed for kitty, I have more time to worry about my own issues. Like, when am I ever going to finish another one of the many manuscripts on my hard drive. The three shorter ones that I did finish have all been published, so shouldn't I try to something longer? After all, the last couple of rejections I received for one of them all said the same thing: this one is too short for us, but please send us something longer. They said they liked my writing - just needed to see more of it. Longer, more developed. Sigh...

However, I want to work on an idea I have for Samhain's Steampunk Anthology. These characters have been knocking on my door for weeks, and I'm on my last round of edits with the one coming out with Cobblestone, so I should be good to go, right? But... but those other editors... they were so encouraging. Shouldn't I jump on that first, before they forget they requested more material? Shouldn't I hurry and finish one of those novels for them? What's a gal to do?

Edie Ramer had a post about the various characters going in and out of her life this past year, and it was great. Shana Galen also has an article about when it's a good time to cheat on your books. (In truth, just like every other rationalizing cheater, I want people to tell me it's ok if I hang with several characters at a time.) ;)

So, what about you? Are you a faithful or a fickle writer?