Is it normal to work on more than one story at the same time? I get distracted easily. Should I still feel I have done the best job possible when I complete one? (After many, many, MANY rough drafts of course ) Just wondering if I'm alone...
I'm alternating between working on two novels. It works well for me, because if I feel I am bogged down on one, I go work on the other. In the background, my mind keeps working on where I'm hung up on the first novel, and before long I know how I want to move forward.
I agree with Cogito.I've got a couple of projects going at the moment and being able to interchange between them helps me prevent the dreaded and mysterious writers block.
A lot of writers alternate between projects, me included. I usually work on a few short stories at a time. So, no, you're not alone in doing this.
I suppose at this point I'm just repeating the other folks, but there is no "correct" number of projects to work on. Some famous authors work on a single project until it is finished, then go on to a second project. (And of course, before computers came around, people using typewriters would probably do a single project by default.) Other folks write on numerous stories. For example, Limyaael of Limyaael's Rants (http://www.forresterlabs.com/limyaael/titlelistall) used to write between 5,000 and 8,000 words a day, doing work on several projects. Her schedule might call for her to write 1,500 words a day on a novella, start a short story by writing 2,500 words there (to be finished the next day), and 1,000 words at least on each of two novels, plus a brief rant (less than 2,000 words). There is no "correct" number. Find what you're comfortable with, and keep writing.
Do whatever keeps you feeling inspired. I am currently writing my novel but whenever I hit a wall or feel uninspired I write something else. Maybe some fiction just for me, maybe some ideas for another story or loads of blog posts. I think it is good to write more than one thing. It keeps you on your toes!
it's probably more 'normal' than not, especially among the pros... in over 30 years of being a full time writer, i've never worked on fewer than several projects at once...
Depends on what you mean by "Working on" I've got... oh twelve separate projects mouldering on the shelf, but I'll only ever pick up one at a time if I want to get some serious work done. That being said if you desperately want to get a single job done, don't let yourself get distracted.
I definitely mean one project at a given moment. I took a break from a short, sad story I was trying to push myself through, (just wasn't feeling sad), and have spent the past week smashing out a bunch of other ideas onto paper. They were driving me crazy. I'm so proud of myself! I could have had one crappy sad story... but now I've got 5 good ones I enjoy going back to over and over for revisions. Does anyone else get an idea half way through a story and just HAVE to try it out right then and there? For example, I was working on a story and had a part where the girl had a quick thought while in the bathtub. I kept getting carried away and had to set the work aside. I then wrote a 1200 word story which ALL took place in a bathtub. I felt satisfied when I went back to my original project. And had a much clearer image of the bathtub, lol. Any similar experiences to share?
I've does this so many frickin' times that it's almost irritating. I'll be running along on some story, like the last one I posted on here, and something will sit in my mind and bother me till I write it out. Last time it ended up being a line from a song I was listening to, I believe the lines were "Hypnotic sound of sirens / echoing through the streets / The cocking of the rifles/ the marching of the feet," and then my new idea alert started screaming in my head. I'm still currently midway through the story, but I ended up with two half stories on the table. This is one example, since it happens to me way too much. Unfortunately, writing the second short story didn't really aid with the other one as yours did, but I was happy with what came out of the mental fiasco nonetheless.
I do this all the time as well. It's totally normal. Cog took the words right out of my mouth: when I stop on one story, I can just switch to the next one and vice versa.
i mean actually 'writing'... as in having them in various stages of completion, not just sitting on a shelf waiting for me to get to them... the amount of the latter would be 'countless' and not merely 'several'...
