How many novels are you writing at once?

I work on one novel at a time. I can't see how it'll be more productive working on multiple projects as my time would be split between them all.

aus10phile said:

I've always made myself work on one novel at a time. Mostly because it's easy to start things but hard to finish them. So I want to finish one thing before I move on to another. I'm also afraid that the temptation to work on something else is just my brain's way of resisting the challenges of the particular point I'm at with the novel I'm writing.

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This seems to be sound reasoning to stick to one. If you have a hard time finishing one, then trying to finish many would be harder. If you have some temptation to write something, make note of it and save it for later. If you run into problems with your WIP, then work out those problems instead of running away from them.

If I don't die before completing them and don't start any other projects in the meantime, I have 23 novels under one penname, 22 under another, and 6 under a third.

They're all in some stage of being worked on, from 'wouldn't-that-be-cool-to-add' outlining to actual writing or, best of all, revisions.

I would not advise this method to anyone who values their sanity.

That said, I'm working *intensively* on 3 or 4 projects right now, and can cycle between those few quite easily. Usually I start the day with a to-do list: In Book 1, I need to polish Chapter 3. I need to reread the epilogue of Book 2 to make sure it's solid. And I should write at least another paragraph of Book 4. Then if I find myself on a roll with any one project I keep up with it until I run out of time. I've never told myself 'one hour on A, one for B, and a half-hour on C' it's more 'however long it takes to do this, this, and this'. But that's because I think in terms of checked off items on the to-do list rather than in terms of a clock (I tend not to look at the clock while I'm really working).

Because I get bored quickly, I like being able to switch tacks. And I'll have a great feeling of accomplishment the next time I have 3 books come out in the same quarter (beginning of 2012, man. Fun times).

One. That's all I can handle. Its bad enough that I spend most of my day thinking about it. More than one would drive me crazy.

I have 3 or 4 going at any one time, with 1 of those taking center stage when it comes to deadline time. (I plan when I'm going to work on a book, when I'm going to have it completed, when I'm going to publish, etc.)

This gives me something to work on when I'm stalled on another book, yet still make progress toward my overall writing/publishing goals.

I cycle through my project when I shift drafts. If I am writing my first draft, then I am writing that draft and nothing else. I might throw in some edits of another piece at night after I hit my word count. I will never try to write two things at one time. I also don't edit two things at one time.

I can only handle writing/editing one. However, I'm starting to develop a new idea, so that I'll be ready when I need to begin writing #2.

But writing more than one at the same time? *shiver* I couldn't deal with that. I'm stressing out enough as it is! I admire anyone who can that much work at once!

Two, but they are in vastly different genres. I don't think I could work on two similar novels at once.

I have a problem with not finishing anything. It's not because I get bored with a story but rather it's because I have trouble setting other stories aside. I want to write them all at the same time, and for me, that's impossible. There's a thread I checked into around here somewhere that is basically a PUSH to finish ONE novel at a time.

My computer is currently broken so I've been breaking the rules in that thread lately - oops. I'll get back to it in a week or so.

The best way to complete a novel is to just stick with one idea at a time. This is my first attempt at doing so and I'm hoping for positive results. That's not to say I'm not working on other ideas currently. I am but I'm just writing one. I can't turn off my brain and I come up with a new novel idea everyday. I write a few sentences down and go back to my WIP.

Most of those ideas will never turn into novels, but I can't risk forgetting about them. Honestly I think not being able to write everything you want to write is the worst part of this career/hobby.

I've usually got three things going on at a time. Usually these are three wildly varying things in various stages of completion.

At the moment I have:
[1] A YA novel that I am drafting.
[2] A Novella that I am outlining.
[3] I just finished/submitted a Short Story, but this spot will be replaced by something else soon. Probably dig up another short I wrote and see if I can polish the final draft.

(Edit: I am usually only actively writing one of those at a time, whichever one I'm drafting, while I polish another and outline one -- which I'm doing which with might switch if I get writer's block, but yeah)

I have one that I'm crazy about and one I'm actually writing. The moment I finish my current project I will leap on to the project I've been longing to work on.

I used to skip back and forth between dozens of different short stories, but eventually I realized that none were getting finished. Jumping between them was too ineffective. Once I started focusing on one at a time, I started finishing them. Now I have written more than 50 short stories.

As for my novels, I tend to focus on just one at a time, but if I get stuck or stall out, I might switch to another, just so I'm still writing. More likely, though, I'll jump ahead and bypass the scene that's giving me trouble, coming back to it later. Once I finish a particular draft, though, sure, I'll switch to another novel, just to give my mind a break and provide some distance and distraction before I return for the next round of revisions.

The problem is, it can be difficult to switch between my novels because they're different genres, on different worlds, with completely different characters, and a different narrative voice. It requires quite an adjustment to go from an 1881 Parisian opera singer, to a time traveler living in 2015 London, to a medieval archer with amnesia, to a 1930s Dieselpunk biologist. This is why I focus on one at a time, until that draft is finished. Once I've put it aside, then I can make the mental shift necessary to work on a different novel.

I'm halfway through a WIP right now that's supposed to be a sequel but I'm thinking about shelving the project in favor a new YA that has a blockbuster concept. Now if I could only think up the concept, we'll weigh anchor and set sail.

tri

Four.

One is in final revisions for my agent.
One needs a full revision.
One is 50% complete.
One is 30% complete.

I hate spending an inordinate amount of time writing a post and then LOSING the freaking thing to the cruel whims of the internet. INTERRRNETTT!

Long story short: One. Basically.

One.

But I've been writing down random notes on the one I want to work on after this. So maybe that counts as two...

Two. Keeps me sane when I get stuck on one but can switch to another. I'm writing one, editing the other. Never more than two for me. It's usually one, honestly.

I'm working on four right now, and about to start a fifth. Three of those are co-written, though. I write one of them in collaborative sessions with my co-author, so I'm somewhat limited by his schedule. My other co-author and I alternate chapters, so I can't do much when it's her turn.

On my own, I'm usually working on 2-3 at a time: 1 on a deadline, 1-2 more that I just want to write.

I'm not sure I'd recommend it, but it works for me.

I'm working really actively on 2 novels right now. I have 3 others I poke at when I get bored.

I could never work on just one project at a time. It wouldn't suit my ADD brain at all.

Three: 1 "main" project that gets 70% of my writing time, a "back-burner" project that gets 25% of my time and a "I really can't work on you right now but I keep getting ideas for you" one that yanks away 5% of my time because I just *HAVE TO* write down the ideas that randomly appear in my head.

My *inspiration fairy* used to dictate which projects I would work on when and how and it would cause me to be working on 5-6 different things at the same time but then I put my big girl panties on, told the inspiration-fairy to write her own damned book and put myself on a strict regimen of WORK ON ONE BOOK AT A DAMNED TIME SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY FINISH IT. However, I've found that having a back-burner project helps too because I get tired of working on the same book nonstop and sometimes I need to give the book it's space. (And back-burner project happens to be the sequel anyway so it's not such a huge waste.)

You didn't specify whether you'd finished a novel yet or not. I worried about the fractured attention/ unfinished projects thing too much to try mixing it up until after I'd finished my 2nd. Since I figured out how to do that and realized how obsessive I am, I also learned how unlikely I am to drop out. Now I finish a draft or revision and go work on something else for a while so I can come back later with a fresh eye. That's the biggest benefit of having more than one project in the pipeline.

I'm currently revising one novel, researching another, and making occasional- can't-let-it-go notes on a third.
I also have promo, layout, print issues going on for 2 non-fiction pieces, and am writing a third.
I enjoy having the non-fiction WIP concurrent with the fiction; it's a nice change of pace. Personally, I get so involved in my characters internal lives & motivations that I'd have a tough time writing more than one novel at a time. I think I'd get confused who was doing what why, never mind place names, personal histories, etcetera.

I didn't see anyone mention this aspect, but to me the biggest hazard of split focus is that we all have a limited amount of time. You need to prioritize projects and goals. Even when a piece is complete, there are promotional tasks to consider, and those can take tons of time away from your writing.

I was wondering how many novels people usually work on at one time. Do you usually focus on one before starting anything else? Do you write anything else (like short stories or poetry) while you're working on a novel?

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Two novels, and I've been doing a short story a week. At the moment, I have two short stories this week, instead of just one, and I'm researching for a potential third.

Novel #1: This is in writing stage, and I'm halfway through. I write it generally at the same time every evening. That time I don't touch for anything else, because it's too easy to push the novel out of the way to rush and do a short story or because I get stuck.

Novel #2: This is going to be the next book, and I'm doing research. It's not fancy research, but more of I'm reading books for an overview and following where they lead me to see what I might do in the story. So I started with a book on stonework in Washington, DC, went to Freemasons history, and now I'm headed into Geometry.

For the short stories, I take a netbook with me to work and write them during lunch time. I've also done it at doctor appointments as well. By Saturday, I'm cleaning up all the typos and editing problems, and the story is done. Short Story #1 is at this stage. Short Story #2 needs to be redrafting, and possibly have some additional research. Story #3 is research like the way I described above.

My work follows a single character throughout her life in what I think is an interesting period of history. At first, I forged ahead with first drafts for what probably amounts to the first four or five volumes, but I've been working on the first volume exclusively since October. I'm hoping my character dies before I do.