Switching between novels--how do you avoid making them too similar?

Just my opinion, but like musicians their voice is what defines them. You can hear a well known artist and know who they are just because of their "voice" regardless of whether the style of music they're doing is something completely different than anything else they've ever recorded. So keep your voice, just change the style.

Try writing a novel in a diff. genre. Radically different. If you write fantasy, try writing a crime thriller. A realistic one. If you write historical fiction, try a romance. Contemporary. If you're all about MG or YA, write something for the older folks.

It might not work, maybe a tremendous failure, but trying it might force you to stretch your creative self.

Some folk like to read novels with the same voice, atmosphere and 'taste' and it works very well for many authors.

Windcutter said:

A question for those who have several WIPs. How do you avoid making the novels too alike if you keep switching from one to another? I don't mean the plot, there are outlines and plans for that. I mean voice, atmosphere, that intangible "taste" of a story.

I used to be able to do it somehow, but now it seems like my wips are becoming one big lump. Yet I feel the urge to switch.

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For me, POV characters help differentiate the novels. Each character is distinct, and POV characters in particular each view the world around them in distinct ways. They have different attitudes, expectations, values, and even different ways of perceiving the world.

For instance, I might have a thief whose perceptions in every situation are guided by what she can gain (figuratively as well as literally) and how she can maintain an easy exit strategy. On the other hand, I might have a teenage artist whose attention is dominated by visuals so she can "read" people's expressions well but might not interpret their words and tone as effectively.

And this works for me in either 1st person or 3rd person. So my suggestion is that you pause once in a while to do a "status check" on your current POV character...what is that particular person experiencing here, what stands out for him/her, and what's at stake for him/her in this scene?

That distinct voice should rise to the fore.

Just my $.02.

My simple solution is that I only really concentrate on one novel at a time. I may have a few different ideas and chucks of text floating around, but when I decide on one novel, I commit. I find that's it's easier to stay in the mood of the piece that way. I like to immerse myself in a novel and I feel like I would get confused and lose hold of the 'feel/taste' of a novel if I tried to work on more than one at a time.

- Michael

I also generally stick with one WIP but I have on occasion worked on more than one. For me, it's the characters' voices in my head that do it. Each one is totally unique, so there's no way I'd write character A in story B and character B in story A. (I have a weird brain that can compartmentalize everything so there's absolutely no bleed-through).

For me, mostly, it's writing main characters with a distinct voice and direction, and letting them guide the story. They won't sound alike if the MCs are completely different. As for the narrative voice, it's okay to have a particular writing style. Many authors do, and all that means is hopefully that you will be recognizable and that there will be continuity between your books.

It seems that this doesn't have to be a multiple WIP phenomenon. I have this problem because I write regency romance and they obviously have the same theme. It is difficult, but I try to give the characters some background (in my head, maybe a note or two somewhere) and I catch myself when I think- hey, this sounds like blahblah from x novel. If you can interchange scenes with other people, there may be a problem...

I understand your pain though. :\

Well, I don't know. For me, and I've said this a billion times before, the characters are the absolute best part of writing. The characters are the "taste" and they all have different voices because they're all different in one way or another. So as long as my characters have different personalities, and think about different things and have different problems, I think I'm okay.

I don't find it problematical. Different characters demand different voices, and the type of story it is sets the atmosphere. I'd never try to write two novels at the same time, if both used similar story and characters.

Jamesaritchie said:

I don't find it problematical. Different characters demand different voices, and the type of story it is sets the atmosphere. I'd never try to write two novels at the same time, if both used similar story and characters.

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*Please see my signature.*
Apparently I am crazy.

Nah, not crazy. Never that.

It IS very hard. My last finished novel is minimalist adult UF (Urban Fantasy). So far in my YA UF I'm having trouble shaking that minimalist voice. I decided to just go with it since it's the first draft, and I'll add in layers in future edits.