Any Other Solo Artists Out There?

I can’t do this at all. If I spend too much time on a particular story, I tend to start delving too far into the world of Neverending Background Details. This is basically just world-building type of stuff that will never be relevant in my story or mentioned at all. The problem is that I get really into it.

I kid you not, I once started trying to figure out the horse distribution in a country and how rare/common the different horses were. I began by listing who a group of horse-breeders traded with and how that affected their relations with other groups, then I just went crazy from there. The horses weren’t even that important to the story! The only things I needed were the relationships between the different groups of people and the facts on how importation of goods was done.

So yeah. I can’t do it

Haha just look at the projects in my sig! (I haven't been on here since April though so though so numbers aren't updated at all but I'll be happy to report that book 1 is almost done now and ready for it's revision while the other threes' word counts haven't really increased by that much at all!)

I work on one project at a time -- I like the intensity of it. If new ideas pop up during that time, I just put them in the bunny hutch to grow, mature, breed, all that stuff mingled bunnies do.

chicgeek said:

Sounds like a lot of you are like me. It's good to hear about similar experiences. I guess another part of what I struggle with being a "solo artist" is the fear that I won't be particularly prolific as a writer, given how long it seems take for me to fully flesh out a concept and get it written down and polished.

As it stands, I've never fully completed a manuscript to a point that I consider polished enough to query. I'm getting there, and it's super exciting, but it seems to be taking such a long time.

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It sounds to me like you are genuinely close to being ready then. Nothing makes me cringe more, I admit, than when I see someone posting about how they have spent the past three weeks writing their first novel and are asking how much then can expect to make from it ;D From your other posts in this thread it seems you've worked at it for a while and learned a lot... As for proliferating, I find the more I write, the more quickly I develop new ideas.

As for 'solo artist', I work on one thing as far as I can go, then set it aside while I work on a second project as far as I can go with it. Then fully refreshed and 'distanced' from the first work, I go back it and vice versa. So now I have two novels that are near-completion.

My problem came when editors started asking me for stories or articles. Saying no does not come easily for most writers, simply because most hear the word too often before acceptances start coming in.

chicgeek said:

Interesting. I don't even have enough projects to warrant a master list yet. I feel the same, way, though, that my work might suffer if I split my focus. Still, even when I completed the first draft of my current manuscript, I didn't think: "oh maybe I'll go work on something else for awhile" I sort of caught my breath and thought: "Phew!! That was hard, and it looks like it's getting harder from here." I waited about a month before going back to it, but there was no doubt in my mind that that was where my focus needed to be exclusively.

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Oh, I don't have loads of projects on the list. Mainly it's just an organized dumping ground for my ideas where I can put down details as they occur to me, and then as I start working on them the entry slowly morphs into an in-progress meter, then a record of the project existing between edits! I started it with only one project when I had an idea for my second. It's never too early to start organizing.

And I, too, like to work on something else while I let a draft sit before editing. Typically I outline and research my next project for a week or two before I edit the one I just finished. That way I don't get too bogged down in the writing of the next project but still get something done, and let ideas/theories cement in my mind. For me, staying on task is all about staying organized and keeping everything within the lines, if you follow my drift.

chicgeek said:

Sometimes I feel like I take too long. I like to contemplate every blade of grass, when most people aren't going to look that closely. I'm all for quality, particularly when it comes to genre fiction, but sometimes I wish it didn't mean that I move as slowly as I do, pouring over my world. I'm the same way when I paint actually -- super technical. Every shade must be accounted for. I can drive myself a little crazy.

But I guess if that's what does it for me, I shouldn't deny myself. Still... one of these days I'm determined to write something that isn't super detailed, or ridiculously epic, or full of intensive worldbuilding.

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I'm like this too--I love my details, and I don't generally work on things that require worldbuilding. If I'm going to include something in my work, I want to portray it correctly, so I make sure to do my research. Sure, it slows me down a little in the research stage, but I enjoy it and I think in the end it makes for a better story. I wouldn't worry about it.

AshleyEpidemic said:

I am curious now, as to the proportion of solo artists who plot heavily to those who plot very little or not at all. Simply because I think it may play a role in the connection someone has to a story. Since I plot everything out, I know all the beats and nuances, twists and characterizations before a single word is written. I only let one or two subplots fly in naturally. As a result, when I am going between drafts and editing it usually isn't a complete rewrite. Also I can go back and look at pre writing notes to clarify intentions. It makes switching between projects at drafts easier.

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I tend to plot heavily, but in stages... if that makes sense! So I'll plot the first part of my project, then write it, and as I'm writing I come up with ideas for the second part and make some notes, and when I'm finished writing the first section I plot the second. Then I continue on to do the same thing for each 'segment' of the project. I do lots of research and like to know lots of detail, even if I don't always include it. As I said before, I think this has a lot to do with keeping myself organized.

I generally write only one first draft at a time. However, I will edit one project while writing another. I also have periods where I write a bunch of first chapters, trying to figure out which idea will grab me.