Working on more than one project?

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texas_girl

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Hey all.

I finished my first novel not that long ago. I took some advice that one should never work on more than one draft. I tend to come up with a lot of ideas. Now I have 4 books that only have the first few chapters written because I couldn't decide which one I liked better! I've made quite a bit of progress on one story in particular, but now I'm stuck. I find myself wanting to work on another draft while the ideas ferment in my mind. Do you personally go back and forth on multiple projects, or do you think it's gospel that writers should only work on one novel at a time?

Cheers.
 

IAMWRITER

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I'm focussing mainly on one at the moment but I'm constanting thinking up new ideas for big projects that I jot down.

But I do write little random stories when I hit get that metaphorical block to get the juices flowing.
 

Layla Nahar

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I think that if you keep the number of WIPs small you can make this work.
 

ManOfTongues

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I find that I sometimes do what you're doing, but once I find the project that is 'the one', I tend to become more devoted to it until I reach the editing stages. However, I think you should let your creative juices take you where they may. If you find that you're writing one story but thinking of another, I think you're in the wrong relationship ;)
 

Anninyn

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I don't work on two novels at a time. For me, trying to do so is just an excuse to procrastinate on finishing one. One novel at a time.

However, I will usually be wrorking on some short stories and articles while I'm writing a novel, mainly because I often still have the urge to write something after I've put all I can into the novel that day.

On of the things I do with all my excess ideas (and believe me, they are spilling over) is I just note down the ideas in a seperate word document. Ususally they're only shorts, anyway, and if they aren't they're just my brain trying to distract me from the nitty gritty of writing a novel. If they're any good, I'll still be able to write it when I'm finished.
 

WriteMinded

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There is no such thing as "Gospel" when it comes to writing, unless it has to do with spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Even then arguments abound.

During the writing of my first novel, I stuck with it, didn't even make outlines for the ones I planned to write later. Now, I'm working on two, and I've already written the last chapter for a third. That one is put away for now. I find that when I switch back and forth, I don't bog down so often. When it isn't going well with one, I switch to the other. Every time I come back to the one I was slogging through, I have more enthusiasm for it. It feels more like fun and less like work.

If I were writing more than two, I'd never finish anything. But - that's me. We each have to find our own pace and our own method.
 
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xC0000005

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I have one I'm drafting (rough draft - envision a scene, write it down, kind of like one of those novel writing months in slow motion.

I have another I'm polishing, and just sent off to betas now that my crit group has gnawed it.

Anything more than that and I lose ground.
 

ryanswofford

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I usually have one "big" project (say a novel) going while I have something completely different (say a magazine article) in the making as well. The key here is that the projects need to be as different as possible - either with genre, style, or format - in order for multi-tasking to work...for me, anyway.
 

rwm4768

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I usually work on one at a time. But I'd like to work on a draft of a new book while I polish my finished draft of another.
 

victoriakmartin

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I used to try and limit myself but I've discovered that I actually like having multiple projects on the go. I do have a few that I consider "higher priority" but at the moment, between original and fan fiction, I have probably about 30 different WIPs going, of varying length.

I know it sounds like a lot (because it is!) and that for lots of people, it would be way too much, but generally it's been working pretty good, I think my writing output has gone up significantly since I started doing things this way.
 

CJ.Wolfe

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I have two main projects at the moment, one that I'm devoted too, but have put aside because I'm not getting enough creative juices flowing. I'm working on another one while waiting for ideas to spring.

I also have a few fanfics that I haven't actually worked on in ages but are about half way through
 

Callista Melaney

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I think it depends on your worth ethic. I'm not very disciplined myself, so I just know that if I had more than one WIP, nothing would ever be finished. To answer your question, I did have two projects going on at one point, got nowhere, and finally decided to hunker down on the one that was most developed. If I get new ideas, I jot them down or I type out the first scene and save it in a folder for later.
 

wannabe writing

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I tend to focus on one just jotting down other thoughts as they come but sometimes it feels as if an idea is just building up and taking up more and more of my thoughts. In this case I find sometimes that writing out a few thousand words on whatever the idea was let's me refocus on the initial work.
 

NyxAustin

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I used to do several at once, and none of them got finished. Now I've focused on just one to get it outlined and the first draft done.

Now that it has a full draft done I've added in another project. My main project is still editing the first one, but I have also moved the second one into the detailed outline stage. An idea for a possible third occasionally pops into my head, but I just write it down in a document to get to later.

I don't intend to outline a third until the second has a full first draft. So right now I am just focused on two, with one being my main priority.

I plan to write the first draft of my second starting in november. This gives me a deadline by which I have to complete the outline, and edit, edit, edit.

I don't think I would fare well doing two first drafts at once as that is when I find I really need to focus on the story, but what works and doesn't work for me is going to different to other people. You've just got to find what works for you.
 

VoireyLinger

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I work on multiple stories, but I limit myself to three and place finishing priority on one of them. I have no problem with jumping manuscripts when one is stalled. My thought is that if I'm not producing, I'm not earning.

If finishing one is a problem because of constant hopping, then yes, sticking to one is a good idea. If you are able to finish things and can rotate without issues, then multiple manuscripts isn't a problem. Finishing is the key. If you're doing that, then whatever you choose is just fine.
 

Justin Bossert

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As I finish up the one I'm working on I find myself fighting the urge to start thinking about any other projects. I don't want to derail the progress I've made, especially now that I'm so close. Gotta stay focused. Of course, I can't multi-task, so I'm sure there are folks out there that can pull it off. I'm not one of them.
 

ccarver30

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I'm not sure you truly have WIPS. I have a few stories that I started on but haven't finished. I think that is different than a TRUE WIP. I have two right now (as my signature suggests). Use all your writing magical powers and concentrate on two or three. It seems that if you have too many WIPs at once, things will get confusing and scattershot. Just my 2 cents. :)
 
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