Does anyone work on many projects at once?

I have a finished novel that I am currently pitching and a new one that I am still researching but on which I have also started writing some fragments. I also have an idea for a crime novel (not my preferred genre) that has been nagging at me for several months and for which I've also written a few fragments, but that's been back-burnered for the present. That's about my limit. Any additional ideas that come along, I'll just make a few notes and put them away for another time.

 

One at a time, for me. So far the pattern is that I get an idea when I'm about halfway through a novel, so I let it percolate while I finish.

I do think it's essential to start a new project the moment one book goes out for querying/sub (if you're going down that route). It's the best distraction from the nail-biting waiting, and if you get immersed in a new story it doesn't hurt so much when the old one is rejected.

But I also think breaks are important, and I don't hold with the mantra that we must write EVERY SINGLE DAY no matter what.

So I guess my rough schedule is:

1. Write a novel.
2. Have a break while it goes out for beta reading, and do some beta reading myself instead of writing.
3. Make final revisions and send it off to my agent.
4. Start next book.
5. Back to number 1.

 

Lots of ideas. File them.

Diligently finish one story at a time IMO.

 

So one thing I said I would never do and I am doing it; writing two stories at once. HOWEVER there are reasons for this. Book one draft 1 is complete. I am now working on draft 1b and taking a break because I am not confident in the story direction. Book two, I am working on draft 1 and when it is complete my plan is to go back and write Book one draft 1b. I am not writing one chapter of Book one and then one chapter of Book two...you know what I mean. I am working on one draft at a time.

 

Ditto.

 

I always seem to have a few things going at once. Honestly, I only want to be working on one thing at a time. And I am pretty good at directing my focus to whatever it is I am actually writing at the time. But before I know it there are a million word documents open on my computer.

 

I have multiple stories running, simply because writing doesn't happen from idea inception to publication as one fluid, continuous process. Once you type "the end," then editing begins, which means you are waiting on other people. While waiting you may as well write the next book.

I have one trilogy with book 1 damn near done, book 2 going through critique, and book 3 with the first draft about 1/3 written. Then I have other books in various states of writing, from a file with nothing more than an idea to one that was just formatted for publication. I also write short stories for contest and occasionally pic up freelance work for a magazine.

I feel like focusing on just one story would just leave me with too much down time with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs.

I have a couple folders within folders for stuff like this too.

 

I work on several projects at once, but generally focus on one at a time for the first-draft/creative stage. So I'll have one MS I'm actively writing, maybe another I put on hold for one reason or another, one or more on submission to various editors, one or more in the process of being self-published, one or more in the process of being edited, etc.

 

Oh dear, I suffer from this illness, too.
I used to have loads of stories on the go. Now, I try to stick to one. If I get to the point I'm not making any progress with it on a particular day, instead of getting frustrated with it, I take a break. This allows me to look at another story for a while, but no for too long.

 

I have a deleted folder, too but I call it the crap folder because most of it is...crap. And, it does come in handy. Recently, I was stuck and remembered my crap folder, had a rummage and hey presto, I stummbled upon a rejected paragraph that I adjusted here and there and used. Got me out of a hole.

 

I just wanted to add that I seem to load up on projects the most when I am procrastinating working on something specific and really should continue with rather than starting or going back to anything else. I think I get scared a little when something is going really well. Like halfway-written books or the short story that really felt like my best and needed just a lad more polishing before I'll send it out, it just seemed like such a great time for me to take poetry seriously and really work on that. And I guess I'm more okay with failing at poetry or with a different story or a different book, that isn't my best. Sometimes, for me at least, this feeling comes over me when I know I'm truly at my best. I don't know if I'm scared that I can't keep it up or that it's really not as great as I think, but I have found I really need to push myself to stay with something when it's really working. It's really hard to be dedicated to just one thing at a time.

 

Yeah, I get that a lot. When I feel like I do good, or that things get too close I get scared too.

No, it's not. That is just the fear speaking. You need to remind yourself that fear is the flipside of caring. Then it becomes a matter of necessity, to push on.

 

Just one novel at a time. Working the second as we speak, and several shorts that I bounce around working on them when I get stuck with the novel.
Helps to keep actively writing despite hitting a block in the main piece.

 

I think most of us have some experience being distracted by new ideas. Here's the thing. It's happening to me a lot lately. Today, I sat down to write and just had too many open word documents that I didn't know where to go or what to work on. So, what did I do? Opened a new doc and started something else. Now, I'm super happy with today's work so I can't say ignoring a new idea is always wrong. But the problem is the various stages of completion all these works are in. There are too many of them to focus on with any seriousness. How do you decide what to cut loose and what to really put the effort into that's needed to see something to the end?

 

Sometimes I think I'm working on a few things, but it ends up that I'm really just working on one thing that has different appearances. I'm always open to the idea that something that's only half formed is, well, only half formed. It can be recast, recostumed, repurposed into the main project. Happens all the time. To me. Others may read this and think I'm barking. 'Sorite.

Nothing you write is ever a waste if you remember that it belongs to you and that you can do with it what you want.

 

Too many projects? Impossible. But much like Wreybies said it can be recast and repurposed into a main project. Several years ago I had a midnight inspiration for a character. That's all it was a character description but after getting about 10,000 words into my main project it occurred to me how perfect this character was for my story. This happened to a short story I wrote too, ended up as a part of the main when I never had any intention to. It took a little tweeking but it fits very well. I just hope the editor likes it much as I do.

 

I guess everybody has a different way to work, but this has never happened to me. When I get an idea going, I keep at it until it's done. My new 'ideas' run along the lines of making my original idea work. It would bother me no end to have umpteen writing projects dangling while I begin yet another one. Maybe it's just a different mindset.

Yours would be a problem only if nothing ever gets finished. But obviously, judging from other posts you've made, that's not an issue for you. So I wouldn't worry about it. However, some people find it easier to start things. In other words, their 'ideas' come in huge numbers, but following through on any one of these ideas is a problem.

It's like life, really. An infinite number of things out there that you could do, but you're working with a finite timeline. So either pick a few things and do them, or just enjoy the parade of possibilities.

 

That's the jazzy rhythm that I'm caught up with. I'm not going to mention the positive and negative effects since I think that they are obvious, just provide some advise that comes from many years of experience. The most important by far is this:

Everything is fine just as long as you don't skip dead-lines that involve collaborating with other people in the same project.

So far, I haven't skipped one myself, but sometimes I have to admit, I got so many things pilling up due to my inclination of attending to my present inspirational needs that I make it to my dead-lines in the nick of time. Very stressful and unhealthy way to do things. Furthermore, it's somewhat a pity since you can't always give a 100% of yourself when there is not much time ahead to do so. It influences the outcome in a negative way. Discipline is not a strong part of mine, but I always knew that and I'm struggling with it since after many failed attempts of approaching projects and goals, I found that there is no way around it. You got to set a plan and stick with it. For the plan to work though, you also have to be realistic about it. Don't push yourself to the extremes (my past mistake) trying to follow strict schedules. You are who you are and maybe reprogramming yourself from scratch (whipping yourself in order to follow other people's examples), will only burden you and distract you more. Take a step at the time, see if it fits your personality and if it works better, become accustomed to it and then maybe take another step.

To the point now. As far as personal projects go, I lately figured out these things:

1) By involving other people into a project (directly or indirectly at least) it keeps me more motivated and focused upon it. For example, I became a much more better guitar player once I stopped playing for myself and got involved with other musicians. I was scared shitless at first but it did wonders, since it was much more fun playing in a band and my part in the process was clearer. It made all these hours I practiced pay off, since they got implemented to a greater cause. Now, I don't just practice whatever. I practice upon the next songs we agreed upon. I still practice or play other stuff too, that have nothing to do with the band, but my priority is clear. I know that writing has nothing to do with playing the guitar, but I hope that this can somehow be connected and work as an allegory.

2) When writing inspiration strikes hard, I get it all out asap. Feeling distracted because another story is just clinging tight in your mind, not letting you focus on your current one? Don't try to avoid it or act as if it's not there. Get it out right on the spot (if your circumstances are preferable of course). Write as fast as you can just to capture the essence of this inspiration. You'll edit later. Don't focus upon perfecting it on the spot. The reason for doing that, is not to start a new project asap which consumes a whole lotta time and effort. It's to liberate your mind from it and be able to move on again to whatever it is that you were about to do beforehand. Once this first step becomes materialized in front of you, you can feel at ease and catch it again later.

3) I know that this doesn't work for everyone, because it demands a writing method that is not outlined to completion, but try to treat every chapter of your novel as a short story. Connect the dots as you go. Why? Because this way you give the illusion to yourself that the long project you've bound yourself to, is not that long and demanding after all. Chapter after chapter, you get a more direct sense of completing something. Furthermore, when you are focused on writing this specific short story (the chapter), your mind doesn't gallop like a wild horse running to future parts of you novel that seem oh, so far away. The bar is set to the last line of this chapter. Keeps you more focused upon it, which usually brings better results. I just found this out for myself and so far I at least feel more focused in my personal project since my mind moves from the completion of the last chapter I wrote, to the next one. What will happen next?

To wrap this up, I never cut loose. I set my goals, keep my priorities (at least I try), and postpone what can wait for later. So, things might be pilling up at the back of my head. So what? Nothing new there. Same ol' mind-tricks. Even the slightest action upon them, decompresses a great deal of stress, so decompress and then move on. The only critique upon your personal projects and how you manage your time upon them is yourself. Break down your expectations and meet them one step at the time.

Hope this helps.

 

Hey all,

I think this issue is very very common, and I wanted to talk about it. I want write a good story, one that maybe with a pinch of a luck would be published. My problem is, I three very solid stories and I want to write them all. That's an issue, because even though they tie close to each other, I feel they cannot be in the same book.

What would be the 'professional move'? How do I prioritize, how do I know which one should I be writing first and see if it works out? Any general tips with this?

Thanks.

 

I don't have a main project, and my projects don't really fit together. For some of them, the first drafts are down, but there is still a lot of work to do before I can actually call them done. I'm not trying to fit everything together. I'm just starting to feel overwhelmed by my long to-do-list of writing projects. If you started something that you know in no way would fit with your main project, would you finish it? Still work on it?

Why does it always seem easier to just start something new? I know it's not really, but it sure can feel like it sometimes.

 

It bothers me too. LOL. I don't know why I do this to myself. I finish things, but I don't finish everything. I really struggle with what to work on when it gets like this. It's totally a form of procrastination. When I pull up a doc, it's rarely the thing I feel best about. It's usually something I feel like I can get out of the way quickly, but that never turns out to be the case. I wrote a short story over the summer that someone told me was my best work. It still needed a good deal of editing and revision, but it was close. Since then, I haven't even looked at it. I meant to, but instead I started and finished four other short stories. What's wrong with me? How do you stay so focused on one project? I would like to train myself to be more like that. But what would I be neglecting if I did that? Where would all the new idea go? I suck at lists or jotting down notes since I'm a pantser and don't work off notes or outlines.

 

Have you tried noting down your new ideas somewhere and just leaving them? I used to start new projects a lot, but then I made a Word document on my computer solely dedicated to my ideas. Now I feel fine concentrating on one at a time, knowing that the other ideas are stored somewhere other than my head.

 

At the risk of sounding facetious, you could finish some.

Alternatively, accept that some of them don't really inspire you as much as you'd thought. Perhaps some need a longer gestation.

 

I think that is particularly helpful, really. The worry is that if you've got too many projects pending, your inner gestationer won't be able to work away at any one of them, so they all just sit there. I know you do finish projects, because you're submitting many for publication, so that's not a problem for you. But maybe discipline yourself to stick with only a couple of ideas. Maybe tell yourself 'one in, one out.' Every time you get a shiny new idea, tell yourself that you've got to finish an old idea first, before you start actually working on a new one.

I think maybe the secret is not to wait till you're inspired by an idea, but to inspire yourself with the one you're currently working on. I don't know how else to do that except to pick one and stick to it until it's done. By all means, if a new idea comes to you, jot it down and store it away for later. But don't allow yourself to be sidetracked by it in the present. Spend your thinking time on the one you're doing at the moment. What needs to be worked out? What are the problems with it? Solve them.