Writing (or editing) two novels at once?

[scarletpeaches]

What's your view on working on more than one piece at the same time, if those pieces are of the same 'kind' - for instance, two novels or two short stories or two poems (or do I mean peoms)?

The reason I ask is, since getting the interweb cut off at home, I'm getting a lot more work done and have got a lot to edit. I have two first drafts on my laptop at home; extremely rough, 55k-ish drafts. I decided to work on one particular piece and devote all my brain power to it. However, yesterday I was flicking through the tea-stained hard copy first draft of something else which is also lurking on my PC, began to laugh at the funny bits, become concerned at the serious bits, think, "Yeah, the characterisation really works; you could do something with this."

So I opened up another Word file and typed out an edited version of the first chapter of this newly-discovered piece.

Does working on two books at once keep you fresh? Or stretch you too much? With me, 'book' one is a supernatural mystery and the second is what I call a 'problem' novel. Women's fiction, bordering on chicklit.

If you work on two pieces at once, how do you decide which you will 'do' each morning you switch on your PC? (Or open up your notebook)? Does it just grab you, or must you make a conscious decision?

[FloVoyager]

I would imagine it depends on the person. Some would have trouble doing this, and some would not. If it works for you, do it. :)

Right now I'm writing one book and checking another for typos, missing words, that sort of thing. One is horror and the other is sci-fi. I don't have any trouble keeping them straight. And I work on each daily.

[Penguin Queen]

This doesnt really answer your question since you asked about two pieces of the same sort, but here goes anyway -- I wrote a mystery novel & a non-fiction thing (book of travel writing) side by side, & that worked rather well.
I didnt do them exactly side by side, but rather interlaved, so to speak: I started the mystery novel & finished the first part of that, then put it aside for half a year while I wrote teh first part of the travel thing; then put that aside & went back to the novel, finished that & am now finishing the travel book.

I'm not sure that I woudl do it with two novels, though, would you be able to keep them apart in things like tone & style? Not to mention characters... I always read more than one book at a time, & I sometimes look for a character in the wrong book, so to speak. I'd be worried that they'd end up cross-pollinatig in not-so-good ways, unless they're really different in style -- say, one a noir thriller and the other a comic fantasy novel or something like that.

[Soccer Mom]

I don't like to write more than one WIP at a time, but I am usually writing one and editing the previous work at the same time. Right now I am writing a novel, editing a children's ms and shopping a previous novel that I just finished editing.

I write my quota for the day and then edit. I like to edit from hardcopy and take that with me when I go to day time job. I guess it has passed from conscious decision into routine now. You just have to find what makes you most productive. For me, multiple projects keeps me from getting bored. But I can't be actively writing multiple first drafts at one time. I've tried it and it makes me too unfocused. (like I need help being more unfocused!)

[scarletpeaches]

I don't think I could write two at the same time, but strictly speaking this would be editing, so...or maybe WIP2 is just calling to me more, which probably says quite a bit about the quality of WIP1! ;)

[Marlys]

I don't have a problem working back and forth between two mss. One usually is the primary project, though. The other is for when I get stuck on the first, or just need a break from it.

I'll also work back and forth between two projects when I'm not sure which one I want to focus on. Eventually, one will grab me and take off.

So far, I haven't had any trouble keeping the characters and tone separate. It's like two different T.V. series running in my head--the folks from Deadwood just aren't going to show up on Project Runway.

[stephblake24]

Well, let's see. I am proofing my novel for about the 5th time, (2 Editors have 3 ch of it and I am hoping they ask for more), and I just finished editing my MG novel...and have sent out 10 queries for it.

I guess I work on whatever strikes me as the project I want to do for the day.

I started another MG novel when I got bored. Have several PB's in slush piles...so the other stuff is what I have been doing while I wait.

At a conference last weekend, an agent told me to work on 1 thing at a time. Wonder if she is right?

[MidnightMuse]

It's all about the devil you know. Either you can, easily, work on more than one piece at a time, our you can't.

Me -- I can't. I get too distracted and it does neither piece justice.

[Jamesaritchie]

I have no problem working on two, or even three, novels at the same time, as long as they are not in the same type in the same genre. I have worked on two mysteries at once, but they were not the same type of mysteries.

[katiemac]

I haven't done it myself, but I've known others for whom it's worked well.

An option to consider: Sit aside two different times of BIC, separated by a couple of hours at least. Use on BIC time for one draft and the other for the second, and don't swap the times every day, so you'll be working on them in the same order.

Either it'll just completely kill your muse OR your brain will adjust to the time distinction and you'll be in the mindset for the novel you'll be working on before you sit down. ;)

[JanDarby]

I'm scattered across assorted projects, across two or three genres. Which is very weird, b/c I'm more left-brained and organized than most writers. I work on a dozen or more projects at any given time, for a given value of "work on."

The down side is the risk that I won't finish some of them, but I'm not sure -- for me, b/c everyone's process is different -- that it's really a down side, because I doubt I'd ever finish ANY book if I had to work on it exclusively from start to finish through any one of the early drafts, and I've proven to myself that this scattered approach works for me, because I do finish the stories that are worth finishing, and by skipping to a different project whenever I get stuck, it keeps me from being stuck for too long. I'm always producing pages (or edits, depending on which stage I'm in), but they can be on assorted projects (my record so far is producing about 30 pages in one marathon session, divided among four or five different projects, about one scene in each project, but I try not to get quite that scattered generally), and I often find that I figure out why I was stuck on a previous project while working on the next project.

JD

[Jamesaritchie]

I haven't done it myself, but I've known others for whom it's worked well.

An option to consider: Sit aside two different times of BIC, separated by a couple of hours at least. Use on BIC time for one draft and the other for the second, and don't swap the times every day, so you'll be working on them in the same order.
;)

That's basically what I do. Two and a half hours in the "morning," and the a nice walk and a long lunch before putting in another two and a half hours in the afternoon. The long break between clears my mind of one project and lets me start fresh on another,

[Soccer Mom]

I guess time plays a factor in the equation. I can't squeeze time in for the second project. Hmmm. If I could find the time, say when I have some days off of work, I might try carving two seperate times for projects.

Thanks for the idea :)

[Cat Scratch]

I usually have various projects going, in different stages. That way there is never an excuse to not work. If I'm not feeling "inspired" than it's the perfect time to dig into something that needs work and tackle the mechanics of the writing. If grammar makes me want to slit my wrists, I'll knock off part of a first draft and worry about the rest later. I'm also usually working on a novel and play at the same time, so if I'd rather write dialogue and let the scene mechanics worry about itself, then I can just tear through. But if I'm feeling very descriptive I'll work on the novel.

It's easier, I think, becuase sometimes I just get sick of working on the same old thing.

[emsuniverse]

I'm like Cat - I have a few things going, all in different stages. If I get tired of editing, I go to another WIP where I have to write. If I don't want to write, I can always go to an outline.

This makes me have something to do always.

[bubblegirl]

I sometimes work on up to three novels at once. Working on more than one means you can use your mood and energy levels for the day on the book that would most benefit.

At the moment, I have a non-fiction sitting on 55,000, a childrens' novella at 6,000, a science fiction at 10,000 and a romance piece at 11,000. I think it helps to have more than one going at a time, so you can avoid writers' block. If you can't get ideas for one, you can put it to the side and work on another.

[seun]

I used to work on two at once but I found they were becoming similar in tone so I stopped doing that. Now I've got one WIP and am editing the last one. I think as they are such different stories, I can leave one behind when I begin work on the other.

[expatbrat]

There I was yesterday, somewhere else on the net, when someone asked a question and I was like 'wow, good question, that would be great idea for a book'. So I searched Amazon and woo and behold - there is no such book out there. Getting excited I write up a bunch of notes and start putting ideas together. It's looking pretty good.

Hubs gets home all sweaty from his bike ride, we grab beverages-of-our-choice, and head out to the pool. I'm excited. Jumping about the deck I’m; “So, hubs, I've got this fantastic idea for another book,” and I start explaining my ideas.

“Ooooh no you don't,” he says giving me that look. That, come on Kaz, you start millions of projects and never finish them look. Which is fair enough - it's true. (It’s the same look he gave when I had the brilliant idea of cycling from the top of Norway to the bottom of South Africa.)

I still have the notes and will go back to it when in the editing stage of this first book. Or not - it got to join the other four book ideas I’ve gotten excited about and would have/ could have started if I was less disciplined.

Multiple WIP’s might work for you, but I know it wouldn’t work for me.

[Novelist in Paradise]

I reckon this is one of those things where it's not possible for you to decide for yourself, or force yourself into any one particular mode, simply because who are you will decide it for you. Either you can work on multiple fiction projects at a time or you cannot (or, middle road, maybe you can write first draft material in the morning and revise other material in the afternoon).

[bubblegirl]

Kaz is right. You have to be disciplined and finish projects also. I limit myself to 4 at one time. My surroundings can dictate which I work on. Sometimes Mum is talking to me in the background so I may work on research for my non-fiction. During the night I stay up to write, with my dog asleep beside me, so there is no danger of interruption. At these times I immerse myself into the emotionally heavy pieces.

Sometimes writers can benefit from having more than one book going at once. You know that old saying where your answer will come if you don't concentrate on the problem as much? In my experience, absolutely true! I was working on plotting my second dog story, to be struck with genius for my science fiction. So I scribbled (on my Pocket PC) my ideas down. While doing that, I came up with a great idea for the dog story. Sometimes the ideas just flow, and sometimes they don't. I embrace whatever the brain is doing at the time, and progress from there.

The formula works for me. So far I've completed . . . I've lost count! Let's see . . .

Pocket PC manual 11,000
Life in a Bubble 80,000
A Doggy Diary 10,000

Then, joke collections I've compiled for free download on my website:
Christian Jokes
Feline Funnies
Bloopers and Super Dooper Errors
Doggy Jokes
Music Jokes

Currently in progress:
A Doggy Diary 2 6,000
Science Fiction 11,000
Non-fiction reference 55,000
Romance 11,000

[KTC]

I am currently working on two. I don't really think about how I'm going to break down my time between each. I just open the file I want to work on and plunge in. I also have a few short stories in progress. I never feel stretched. The most you can work on is one at a time...even if you're going back and forth. Unless I grow a third and fourth hand...or learn how to use my feet to type, I won't have to worry about over-stretching myself. I'm comfortable flip flopping between one story and another.

[NightWynde]

I've learned that if I don't work on multiple projects at once I'm worn out after a long one, so much so that I take a break from writing that can last from 6 months to a year. Icky.

Right now I've got:

17K into a novel that can't decide whether it's horror or comedy (I'll figure that out later, probably a combination of the two, kinda like "Sean of the Dead" but with a ghost and a serial killer instead of zombies).

A completed short whose ending is so cliche' that I'll probably set it aside until I come up with a better ending.

3K into what I thought would be a short but it's coming up with so many twists and turns that it's probably going to be a novel. (This one thinks it's a ghost story, but trust me it's not. Well, sort of).

Pre-development on a novel that's supposed to be macabre humor but who the heck knows where that one is going to end up.

Edit: As to which one I work on at any given time? Depends on whose voices are screaming loudest in my head.

[brainstorm77]

I have multiple works on the go.... I find it keeps me fresh going back and forth :)

[Snitchcat]

I usually have multiple writing projects going. I find that they keep up my motivation and one story helps another. At the moment, I have one main novel/outline WIP, a side WIP, an outline, and a couple of shorts.

[scarletpeaches]

I am currently working on two. I don't really think about how I'm going to break down my time between each. I just open the file I want to work on and plunge in. I also have a few short stories in progress. I never feel stretched. The most you can work on is one at a time...even if you're going back and forth. Unless I grow a third and fourth hand...or learn how to use my feet to type, I won't have to worry about over-stretching myself. I'm comfortable flip flopping between one story and another.

I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact you've got opposable thumbs.

[scarletpeaches]

I'm 10k into WIP1 (supernatural thriller) and 5k into WIP2 (chicklit). However, about 3k of the 2nd novel was written in the last 24 hours, so clearly my momentum is with that one.