New plot?

lividseras said:

When beginning to write an MS, do any of you ever just stop and start something new, or do you stick with one until you get to the end? I like the one I am on alot, but i kind of want to skip around to all the other ideas i have. Not sure if i should go through with this one or try others then come back. Do any of you write more than one at a time?

Click to expand...

Best advice I can give you for this is to resist it. If you're a beginner writer, then focus on one book/story at a time.

I like to outline a new novel while I'm drafting, but that's just me. That way I have a progression of work. When I'm done drafting one, I can start drafting a new one while I revise a third.

I realize that this can be messy, though.

But if you're asking 'Should I start to write a new draft while drafting another one' then my advice would be to draft one thing at a time.

If you've never finished a novel before, I think it's best to focus on finishing what you've started. Starting is easy, finishing is difficult. You might learn more from finishing one than from starting ten.

lividseras said:

When beginning to write an MS, do any of you ever just stop and start something new, or do you stick with one until you get to the end? I like the one I am on alot, but i kind of want to skip around to all the other ideas i have. Not sure if i should go through with this one or try others then come back. Do any of you write more than one at a time?

Click to expand...

I always stick it out to the end.

Seun's advice is good. Part of what a beginning writer learns in the first couple of manuscripts is how to finish a manuscript.

I start with an outline, myself, briefly jotting down the major plot points and how the book will end. Even with a short story idea, I write one or two paragraphs of summary that show the plot in very broad terms. That way I'm committing less time and energy to the idea in my head, and if it ends up being non-workable I haven't lost a lot of mental resources on it.

Once I decide to commit to a story, though, I personally don't work on any other writing projects until it's done. I've found that if I let myself have more than one WIP at a time, I never get any of them finished.

lividseras said:

When beginning to write an MS, do any of you ever just stop and start something new, or do you stick with one until you get to the end?

Click to expand...

I've got a couple hundred outlines and three times as many scenes for other novels I could write, but my obsession for the last fifteen years has been with one novel: Starbreaker.