Have your cake and eat it--Two books at once?

[Reilly616]

Who out there in the big wide world of AW has decided to write two books at once? I have, but not entirely. I'm halfway through book one and have a sequel planned, but I will write bits of an unconnected book too. I'm not going to wory about it. It will be my side project, to work on for fun as and when I can't seem to get the words out for book 1.
How bout you guys?

[dwellerofthedeep]

I have tried to do this. The work load was just too much or both stories built up too slowly for me. If you can manage it I'd be very impressed. I would like to try it again myself eventually.

[Danger Jane]

I work well enough when I'm editing one and writing new material of another. Keeps me moving.

[Wolvel]

Try three at once.

My main book is the furtherest along, but whenever I get writers block I switch up until the block clears.

That or I get a new idea for one of the other two.

[~grace~]

I'm "working on" three at the moment. See sig.

I declared BY my primary WIP until I started Endgame, now Endgame is my primary until the first waves of Muse Awesomeness run out, then I'll make myself go back to BY.

I've sorta put SotM on hold b/c I like the other two better right now...but that is subject to change...

it means I always have something to work on. :) Like what Wolvel said.

[Use Her Name]

I'm "more or less" working on 2 books.

[Liosse de Velishaf]

Hmm... I've got about eleven books in the works, though I only work seriously on a few at a time.

[ClaudiaGray]

I can only really devote my writing energy to one book at a time. I can, however, brainstorm/research/outline multiple projects at once (I'm working on three right now), or do some of that for other projects while writing something else.

[pretticute80]

I am currently working on four different stories -three in different genres, although the two that are in the same series are getting my primary focus. For me, it works well -whenever I feel drained in one story’s world, I can bounce over to the other and recharge thus keeping me actively writing. Of course, this probably slows down the process of completing them in a timely manner but I am unsigned so can write at my leisure.

[c2ckim]

I'm working on a trilogy, book one is finished and I have outlines for the other two already lined up.

[Andre_Laurent]

I'm working on two first drafts and editing another. I'm mostly editing though. The other two are going at a very slow pace.

[darrtwish]

I tried to, but it was just too much work on top of my schoolwork. Even now that I'm on vacation, I still think it would be too much to handle. I will occasionally write down an idea I get for one of my other WIPs but, usually don't spend more than 20 minutes on any WIP but the one I'm focusing on.

[roseangel]

I've worked on more than one story before, when I use up all my inspiration for one I switch to the next until they are all done.

[MumblingSage]

I'm writing five at once.

That's having cake AND idigestion.

Pros: I always have something to do; if I have an idea I feel I MUST put in a novel, I can choose where it will fit; I get to check out five different worlds and sets of characters.

Cons: I can really only put my heart into one at a time; while I'm working on that one, the other four are negelected (and in worst cases, I have forgotten plot points of them :p)

[ynoirb]

I have started writing one, and I'm thinking about the next one.

I think I will wait at least until I've written one full draft of SOMETHING before working out what to do next :)

[VoltShadow]

I've tried doing a paralell story type of thing (Kinda like writing Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow at the same time) It took forever, but then I had two under my belt. I think... I don't know how you market that though.

[JeanneTGC]

I'm up to about 4 at one time. However, I know that one will, at some point, push itself forward and become the "main" story being worked on until it's done.

But that way, I'm always working on something and moving a variety of projects forward. And I'm also preparing myself for when I'll have more than one book in more than one series due at around the same time.

So far, I haven't found any of them bleeding into the others.

[lucky8]

I'm working on two (see my sig) but the one which is least developed is just for fun at the moment and I'm putting no pressure on myself to hit word counts or deadlines. I don't think I've even touched it in a week. That will all change when the first draft of my main MS is completed.

[Bayley]

I'm working on four (see sig). I'm working mainly on finishing and editing the outline for one of them, then when I've done that I'm going back to writing the first one. It works for me as if I get stuck on a project I can move onto another one while I think things through. And when editing I like to put the book somewhere and not touch it for a few months. Therefore, I would need another piece to get on with.

[channeller]

Because I never finish and let go of any book, I could say I'm "writing" a few... And the one I'm supposed to be concentrating on... well I started that years ago (yeah, we're talking YEARS before anything gets done here) but the one I actually finished got in the middle of it and demanded attention, so... And because I have no idea about doing queries and submissions in any efficient way whatsoever, they all just sit there on my 'puter. Yeah, it's all rather pointless. Sorry for moaning, I'm "a little" disillusioned today, could you tell ;)

[krano]

i mostly write screenplays (i'm trying my hand a novels now), and i wish that i would have worked on multiple projects at the same time. due to my style of work, which involves a roughly 80 piece step outline, working on draft after draft tends to get monotonous...in the sense that i want to discover new characters and new stories (ones i don't already know the ending in my head). i guess it's restlessness.

on the other hand, i don't know if i have the discipline to finish a current story if i move on to another one midway through the process.

[Pink Ink]

I usually have two going at once. The ms. I just finished was one that came to me while I was trying to edit another one. I was getting bored and "Ghost Moon Night" was just what I needed to get me excited about writing again.

[Dreamer3702]

My work load right now:

1. developing a YA urban fantasy
2. rewriting an MG fantasy
3. 1/4 of the way through the first draft of a YA contemporary romance thing
4. 2k away from finishing a MG fantasy (this is my primary right now)
5. editing a picture book

I have a few other things on hold, but I can't start those until I clear out a couple of things on my to do list. So, I didn't mention them.

Sometimes I feel like editing or rewriting or writing YA or MG or fantasy or contemporary. I need options and I might be slightly ADD. :D

I think I would explode if I didn't have all this stuff going. I have loads of respect for people that can sit down and only work on one thing, because it's just something I can't do.

[tehuti88]

I'm always working on multiple projects at the same time. It'd feel weird not to. That way if I get stuck or temporarily bored with one I can work on something else. I tend to think of anything unfinished as not truly on permanent hold, so I can't say how many things I've got going, there's a ton of them. :D Serials, novellas, short stories, novels, novel rewrites, etc. But some of course receive a lot more attention than others (almost exclusively, at times).

[Lady Cat]

I started one novel, got halfway through, and it stopped cold. There's more story to be told, but it can go one of two ways and I just can't make up my mind which way to send it.

So then I started something completely different and I was making pretty good progress, but two of the minor characters started bugging me for their own book so I started a sequel featuring them. It's actually going better than the previous book because a lot of the groundwork has already been done. However, every once in a while I have to go back to the previous book to work out some plot or setting issue so that I can use it in the sequel. And yes, it can be as confusing as it sounds.

Meanwhile, inspiration for this idea I'd been toying around with for years came to me and I started working on it.

So I guess that means I have four works of progress going right now, although I'm trying to stay focused on WIP 2 and 4.

[MrWrite]

I have two stories on the go. The main one I am working on, a second one that I've started and can go back to if I get a block with the first one.
I have one other on the back burner waiting until I've written the first two and potentially a fourth perculating in my brain.

[Doogs]

There's no way I could write two different novels simultaneously, at least not during the 1 1/2 to 2 hours I can devote each morning.

At the moment, though, I'm between books, drafting the query for one while trying to nail down the outline for the other. With work craziness, though, it's been a challenge to put my time in over the last few weeks...

[Nateskate]

In a way, I wrote straight through a multi-book epic. That made rewrites rather hellish. But it helped me to keep a flow.

[Cassidy]

I often have a first draft on the go, another novel in revision (or waiting to be revised!), and a third in the editing process with my publisher. I don't mind that, though I find it hard to drag myself away from my first drafts. I don't think I'd want two first drafts going at once-- I find that stage pretty consuming... and like Doogs said, it's tough when you're fitting it all into an hour or two each morning, which is what I'm doing at the moment too.

[mlhernandez]

I normally juggle one or two novellas/novels. Currently, I'm hopping back and forth between an urban fantasy I'd like to use as a platform for finding a new agent and a pair of erotic romances already contracted to EC.

Madness. Absolute madness.

Will I be doing this again any time soon? Yeah. Not so much....

[Telstar]

I can only really devote my writing energy to one book at a time. I can, however, brainstorm/research/outline multiple projects at once (I'm working on three right now), or do some of that for other projects while writing something else.

Same for me.

[Pachydermia]

*shyly raises hand*
erm... i have...
*counts*

-one 5-book series
-two (undetermined #) series
-two (unrelated) standalones

;D
I have too many ideas and not enough self-discipline.
whoooooo