Multiple WIPs...? Yay or Nay?

If it works for you, go for it. The important thing is to write. If you can't bring yourself to work on one project, but you feel inspired to work on something else, do it.

Just make sure you're actually finishing what you start. I have that problem. I'll get distracted by another project and never finish the previous one. It'd really just be better, for me, to push through the rough patches and keep working on one project. I don't necessarily practice what I preach, in this case.

I always have a few things I'm working on and one I'm focusing on. Only problem, is sometimes I shift from one to another when I probably shouldn't.

Although, I have found taking some time away from your current WIP, and coming back to it, say a month later really helps me.

I do this and find it effective. Letting one WIP sit quietly while I work on another makes me see the first one more clearly.

Of course, everybody's different.

Sure. If you can handle switching between one and the other, without it affecting the quality of either, then go for it.

I'm switching back and forth right now, on a rewrite on one, and a totally new WIP. Both middle grade, but one older, one younger.

The only thing I find hard is that the voice from the first sometimes creeps into the second, and I have to stop myself and refocus. But I need to work on the new WIP because I need something to really get my teeth into, and inspiration for the rewrite comes and goes.

Not to mention working on another query and researching agents.

I far prefer when I'm engrossed in one project to the exclusion of all others, but at times, it just doesn't work out like that. Got to keep all those plates spinning. And got to keep writing.

Everyone is different, and you need to do what feels right for you. And enjoy it while you do it.

Research on highly creative people suggests multiple WIPs is the way to go. Really prolific and creative people tend to juggle several projects at once, and people who do that usually accomplish more in the long run than people who plug away at one thing before moving on to the next.

I know for myself, I try not to let myself sit around if I get stuck on a project. I just toss it aside, start another, and come back to it later when I don't hate it any more. I do that more with knitting than with writing, but it's the same principle. Suddenly, out of the blue, I'll know exactly how to solve the problem, and I'll go back to it with fresh enthusiasm.

But I do agree with smish: The trick is knowing when to discipline yourself and just plow ahead. With writing, I'd rather finish what I've started, send it out to betas or agents, and then move on to the next one. So I only take little mini-vacations and jot down notes on other projects, but I still do my BIC time on the WIP I want to finish.

I think we all need to learn to do this, because once we get that first book published, we're going to be doing a lot of switching back and forth as we have to set aside the second book to complete revisions and edits, etc. on the first book. I've seen most of my published friends doing this.

Right now I'm juggling two, plus all those short story/picture books that just won't quit popping into my head!

Hope that helps!

Rue

Yes, I do this. It's not a particularly fast or sane way to write... but it works for me.. One-manuscript-at-a-time does not work for me...

It is also a great insurance against writer's block.

Another thing I've learned is to trust my instinct about whether to push through the difficult times or slow down and work on something else. My subconscious usually knows before I do when something isn't working. If I'm struggling to move forward, it usually means 1) I got off track and need to go back a few chapters, find the problem and fix it before I can move on or 2) what I think needs to happen next isn't as good as it should be, and if I brainstorm for a while I'll come up with something much better.

So I try to be good about my BIC time, but I don't beat myself up if the words aren't flowing and I'm not moving forward very quickly. I'd rather figure out what will make it better than write 20K of crap I'll just have to throw out anyway.