Juggling WIPs?

abctriplets · Jan 22, 2009

Does anyone else have trouble juggling their multiple works-in-progress? Sometimes I feel like a bad parent - spending too much time with one, at the expense of another. Does anyone feel like they don't give their WIPs all the attention they deserve? Or am I just crazy from lack of sleep?

Red.Ink.Rain · Jan 22, 2009

No, I do that too. I've figured out that I can only work on a maximum of two WIPs at a time, otherwise I get confused and overwhelmed. Right now I'm supposedly working on two, but I'm giving much more attention to CoS than FW, mostly because I have CoS all mapped out in my head and FW is just...meh.

tehuti88 · Jan 22, 2009

I'm the same way. I'd really like to devote more time--heck, ANY time--to the rewrite I started of my old novel, and to the notetaking and writing of my adult serial, but I'm afraid my fantasy serial is consuming all my time. All I can do is just wait until my mood/preference should change. I'm not trying to get published, and don't really have a huge audience whose whims I must cater to, so it's all up to me to decide which takes precedence.

Just cross my fingers that someday I'll manage to get around to everything!

KosseMix · Jan 22, 2009

I think I juggled three or four at one point...
*headbash*

Write the one that speaks to you. It's better to write a bunch of good prose in one WIP than mediocre prose in multiple WIPs. And you'll be excited about writing in it

NeuroFizz · Jan 22, 2009

Have you finished any?

priggy · Jan 22, 2009

Red.Ink.Rain said:
No, I do that too. I've figured out that I can only work on a maximum of two WIPs at a time, otherwise I get confused and overwhelmed. Right now I'm supposedly working on two, but I'm giving much more attention to CoS than FW, mostly because I have CoS all mapped out in my head and FW is just...meh.

Is it just me who reads CoS as Chamber of Secrets(HP)? Have i spent too much time on HP sites?

Horserider · Jan 22, 2009

Yes. At one time I had four WIPs. Now I only have one that I'm actively working on. The other three are on hold, including my janowrimo project. I got on a roll with one of my stories and I just dropped the others. I'll get back to them eventually.

Plus if I take on too many WIPs I have the tendency to get characters and POVs mixed up and that's not a good idea.

stormie · Jan 22, 2009

I have multiple genre disorder (MGD) and I also happen to have several mss. going at one time. I always do. Can't work otherwise.

Red.Ink.Rain · Jan 22, 2009

priggy said:
Is it just me who reads CoS as Chamber of Secrets(HP)? Have i spent too much time on HP sites?

Bwahahaha. I didn't think about that.

If you want to interpret that as Chamber of Secrets, I will totally take that and pretend it's a compliment. Why thank you, I've never been mistaken for JK Rowling before.

It actually stands for City of Shadows, but I don't spend as much time on HP sites as other fans do.

tehuti88 · Jan 23, 2009

Horserider said:
Plus if I take on too many WIPs I have the tendency to get characters and POVs mixed up and that's not a good idea.

I find it so curious that people can mix up their characters and stories. To me that would be like not being able to tell my own children apart. Granted, I only write in about four main storylines, with recurring characters (albeit hundreds of them), so perhaps it's more complex if one writes more original stories, and we all work differently. I admit I'm a little too close to my own characters.

I'm not judging you, mind.

I know other writers have the same issue. I just find it puzzling.

abctriplets · Jan 23, 2009

tehuti88 said:
I find it so curious that people can mix up their characters and stories. To me that would be like not being able to tell my own children apart. Granted, I only write in about four main storylines, with recurring characters (albeit hundreds of them), so perhaps it's more complex if one writes more original stories, and we all work differently. I admit I'm a little too close to my own characters.

I'm not judging you, mind. I know other writers have the same issue. I just find it puzzling.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell your own children apart. Especially if they are identical

CharlotteAmbrose · Jan 24, 2009

I'm always working on two at the same time.
I find myself always looking for a better angle to my stories then what I have already written. Every movie or book is a "how can I spin this into a fresh idea for my characters?". I can't stop it, it's always on my brain.
I bounce between the first thing I've ever written - Bloodborn - and then anything new I come up with, depending on my mood.

NeuroFizz · Jan 24, 2009

For all of the people here who have indicated they work on multiple projects, and for all of the people who read these posts and who do likewise, I'll ask again: Have you finished anything lately?

If the answer is "yes, I finish things regularly" then carry on with my admiration. You've found a stride that works well for you. If the answer is "no" then think of the top three reasons why not (and be honest about it). If one of them is because you can't keep your mind and attention on any one project long enough, consider changing your approach.

Alternately, a bunch of us can come over to your place, grab you by the shoulders, and shake you real hard.

Cassiopeia · Jan 25, 2009

I'm going to back Fizzy up on this one. I have several WIP's and none are getting done. I have given up on trying to write them all. I've picked one and that's what I'm focusing on.

It takes discipline to finish a project and when you feel stuck it's time to knuckle down and keep writing. Even if you think it sucks. Don't run off to another WIP because really, that's just running away from a problem and that's never a good idea.

CharlotteAmbrose · Jan 25, 2009

Yes, me too. Fizz is right - it's not working for me. I'm still learning things and when I come across something new I go back and re-do what I have , still no desire to finish.
It has to do with me gaining knowledge from here, I don't want to keep writing crap and then fix the middle to end.

The Rav · Jan 25, 2009

I'm just starting a novel and a screenplay, so I'm having a bit of trouble right now. I'm wondering if I should get one to the actual writing stage and then start the juggling process. It might be easier for me than having to actually plot and outline each at the same time. Even though I enjoy the process, plotting and outlining take a lot of energy out of me.

I also add short stories into the mix. I had planned on not writing any more until one or both of my big projects was over, but sometimes I can't help it. This morning, for example, I woke from a dream at 5AM (how dumb is that?) and had to write it down. Before I knew it I'd written 9 pages (I'm usually a 3 or 4 page max at a time guy), so I guess that one really did need to get out.

abctriplets · Jan 25, 2009

NeuroFizz said:
For all of the people here who have indicated they work on multiple projects, and for all of the people who read these posts and who do likewise, I'll ask again: Have you finished anything lately?

Finished? Yes. I steadily make my way through the main WIP that I am working on. If ideas/dialogue/paragraphs/chapters jump into my head from a different WIP, I'll take a break and type up the appropriate info before it disappears back into the ether. I even shelved my current WIP, after writing a third of the rough draft, in order to push my previous WIP through to a final draft. I do find though, that for every WIP I finish, a few more take its place

Now the main question though. Have I published any of these works? Not really. Now that I have a few finished works, I need to find time during juggling WIPs to start the submission process.....

stormie · Jan 25, 2009

NeuroFizz said:
For all of the people here who have indicated they work on multiple projects, and for all of the people who read these posts and who do likewise, I'll ask again: Have you finished anything lately?

If the answer is "yes, I finish things regularly" then carry on with my admiration. You've found a stride that works well for you.

Yep. In fact, working on different mss. at one time helps me to complete most of them, some sooner than others, a few I have to just let sit by the wayside, not going anywhere. It's worked for me for over nine years now. And, yes, I've received acceptances for my essays, articles, poems, short stories. And got an agent (but we parted amicably after two years).

ragefaith · Jan 30, 2009

Oh, yes! I suffer from that too. But I think it's a good idea to just narrow your focus onto one single WIP, that way you don't have to divide your attentions

cry

and get a better quality product.

scarletpeaches · Jan 31, 2009

I stick to one at a time now. I used to have a couple on the go at once, but that taught me to jump to another project when the going got tough. I now prefer to train myself to write through the blahs, or I'll never finish anything. Well, if I do, it takes months. Even years.

abctriplets · Jan 31, 2009

scarletpeaches said:
I stick to one at a time now. I used to have a couple on the go at once, but that taught me to jump to another project when the going got tough. I now prefer to train myself to write through the blahs, or I'll never finish anything. Well, if I do, it takes months. Even years.

Hm...good point about using other WIPs as a crutch to avoid the blahs...

Juggling WIPs?

abctriplets

Red.Ink.Rain

Not your kid brother's YA

tehuti88

Mackinac Island Fanatic

KosseMix

fixing a limp query...

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

priggy

Horserider

Ever onward

stormie

storm central

Red.Ink.Rain

Not your kid brother's YA

tehuti88

Mackinac Island Fanatic

abctriplets

CharlotteAmbrose

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

Cassiopeia

Otherwise Occupied

CharlotteAmbrose

The Rav

abctriplets

stormie

storm central

ragefaith

Wants to be Yami when she grows up.

scarletpeaches

abctriplets