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Working on multiple pieces?

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jkosbart

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I was just wondering if anyone else works on multiple stories/novels at once? If so, how do you switch back and forth and keep everything straight?
 

rwm4768

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I've done it before, usually when they're two quite different pieces. For instance, I wrote an adult epic fantasy and a middle grade contemporary fantasy at the same time. The stories were nothing alike, so I didn't worry about them leaking into one another. However, I'm not sure I could write two relatively similar stories at the same time.
 

infinitefrank

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I've done it before, usually when they're two quite different pieces. For instance, I wrote an adult epic fantasy and a middle grade contemporary fantasy at the same time. The stories were nothing alike, so I didn't worry about them leaking into one another. However, I'm not sure I could write two relatively similar stories at the same time.

Same. At the moment I'm working on a Science Fiction novel, and throwing around ideas for a nearly-completely unrelated comedy.
 

StoryofWoe

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I used to have one big project (a novel) and a few smaller projects (short stories) going at the same time, and to an extent, I still make a concerted effort to do that. However, after finishing my first novel and starting my second, I've found it a lot harder to get back into writing short stories. I prefer to hurl myself at one project at a time, though I know this may not be the most effective way to work. Then again, it looks like I'll be finishing novel 2 in half the time it took to write novel 1, so I must be doing something right. :tongue
 

VoireyLinger

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I usually have three in progress at any given time. My brain only likes dealing with one scene per story per day. When I write that scene, I set the story aside and move on to the next book. When books are in edit/revision mode, I save them for last because I can work straight through on those.

As for keeping them straight, I know my stories and characters very well before I write them. I have no issues with writing out of order or jumping between stories. I don't have any techniques to share on that, it's just how my mind works.
 

Taylor Harbin

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I'm not brave enough to try it. With a full-time job and family obligations, I sometimes have enough difficulty getting my 1000 words a day on just one project. My mind likes to be focused on one story at a time.
 

JalexM

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Some days I'm not interested in writing the same story as the day before, so I have jingled multiple projects before. I'm not currently but i'm going to outline my next three books at the same time.
 

Loverofwords

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I've tried, but found it didn't really work out. That doesn't mean it won't work for you! I'm just not good at multitasking. But I feel like you should have a time slot for both stories so neither gets neglected.
 

that redhead

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With a full-time job and single parenthood, it's hard for me to get the time and brainpower to actively write more than one story at a time. However, when I'm in revisions and editing (like now), the back of my brain is kicking around ideas for the next book.
 

Judg

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I don't like working on more than one novel at a time, but I find it helpful to have a short piece or two going on the side. It allows me the satisfaction of actually finishing something more often, and on days when I'm blocked with novel writing, reminds me that I still know how to write.
 

dawinsor

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I was going to say more or less what Judg did. I especially like to have a short story going while planning a novel. No matter how many novels I've finished, they scare me before I start because they're so long and complicated. Working on a short story makes me confident that I can write.
 

WriteMinded

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I have done that. That's why I have the first draft of the book that will follow my current wip nearly completed. Whenever I got stuck, I'd work on the other book for a while. I enjoyed jumping back and forth, but it never helped me get unstuck and it was very detrimental to finishing anything, so I stopped.
 

oceansoul

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I can't. I'm really singularly focused when I write and have to work exclusively on one project at a time or I feel like the voice I develop for each character slips around (I mostly write first person). It means I finish my WIPs reasonably quickly, but sometimse I wish I could multi-task with my writing.
 

larissahinton

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I use to write multiple novels at the same time, I think at the most three. I found that my pieces were just strained and weaker. Especially written in the same genre. It just was a hot mess. Just recently, I moved from my apartment to my house and I picked up one of my older works. I read it and was so confused. I was like, "What the-I wrote this?" Not in an amazed way, but in a I-don't-remember-writing-that way. So I do not suggest it.

I suggest putting all your time and attention into one novel at a time. Maybe one novel and some short stories like the previous poster mentioned, at the most. But that's it.
 

Isilya

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I work on three novels at once but they are in different stages. One is a rough draft. Another is in the rewrite and beta read stage. The last is being shined and polished. I work on short stories and novels at the same time. Oddly enough, I only work on one short at a time.
 

El Rustito

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Working on multiple projects might work for other people, but I've found I'm unable to do it. If I do, I run the risk of being that writer who starts a chapter, says "blah," writes another first chapter for a different story, says "ugh," writes another first chapter for yet another story, and so on. Just one WIP is enough to challenge me creatively.
 

kkbe

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Not sure if this fits but I was revising one, writing one, and starting one.

:)

Or maybe, :p

No, more like

@_@

I forgot to say, it wasn't too hard keeping them straight because they were each so different. But I did have to reread the preceding chapter or two before working of any of them, to get my head in the right place. Btw, querying two novels simultaneously is trickier, and not as fun; esp. when rejections started coming at me from both fronts.

:(
 
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RKarina

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At the moment, I am:
  • Promoting two recently published books.
  • Shopping a third for an agent or more mainstream publisher.
  • Writing another novel.
  • Puttering with ideas for about two others. (more on that later)
  • Doing editing for two blogs.
  • Writing content for six commercial sites, plus my own (yeah, mine falls behind).
  • Picking up occasional freelance pieces here and there.

When I get a new idea, I tend to write down whatever comes to mind. Maybe it's just an idea. Maybe it's a scene. Maybe it's a few scenes. Generally, I won't tackle writing another large piece until the current WIP is at least completed, and hopefully through the first draft of revisions.

Partly that's because I don't really have time for another full-blown novel. Partly it's because, for me, the characters and places I create come to life in my head and when I write, I am so immersed in that world that writing another completely different one would be difficult to do at the same time.
 

Shunter

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I like to take a few weeks between writing a novel and editing it, during which time I either write another novel or edit another novel. This has resulted in my having four not-quite-finished novels on the table right now. I refuse to write another until I have hammered the nails into the first, so four would be my limit. That's my first 'proper' novel which needed umpteen edits, but is going through betas at the moment. The others are in states of: needs betas, needs a second edit, and needs a first edit. I'm usually a week per edit when I'm focused, so I anticipate getting back into writing near the end of July. Maybe by then I'll have two novels done even (or at least in beta edits). That would be a relief.

As a kid, I read multiple books at once. I don't know why, I just did. Usually three at once, it just wasn't a problem, and that seems to translate to writing. Three of the novels I'm working on tie into each other, to the point of having PoV characters in common. Makes it easy to keep the world straight, the characters straight, and because I'm right in the middle of things it's easy for me to pluck plot elements from other stories and explode them later on. So that actually works really well. The other book is a random children's novel that has nothing to do with the others. Literally, nothing. To me, it's like watching a TV series and reading a few books in the meantime and going out and seeing a movie. They're separate activities, so they stay separate in my mind, no overlap.
 

chompers

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I work on multiple stories at a time. I know the general premise of the story well enough that I can keep them separate, as well as also knowing my characters well. I'm actually a bit surprised I don't have trouble keeping them separate, as I usually have a terrible, terrible memory. Oh, and it also helps that the stories are pretty different usually.

I do have to reread the story first if I haven't worked on it in a while or if I need to get used to the style and/or voice again.
 
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Fictionalizer

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Right now I'm working on three novels and have another on the back burner. All four of them are crime fiction with different sub genres and characters and that's how I keep them straight. I write two of them at a time, switching back and forth between the stories. I find writing in this way helps me to keep better focus on each story.

I multitask with other interests as well. I play an online word game, getting good scores, and carry on a conversation with a friend on the phone. Add to that I research topics during or after a game ends and before the next one starts. Occasionally, I write and alternate with playing the game until the writing wins out because it's far more interesting.
 

snc84

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I can only write one at a time. BUT I have one I'm writing while editing a completed draft and outlining a third. I write on the uncompleted one for a week or two, outline for a few days then take a pass at editing(usually tackling a specific problem or section), take a few day back at outlining/researching, then it's back to writing for a few weeks. And so the cycle goes.
 

AprilMay4

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What I do is put most of my energy into writing one novel but I work on the outline and ideas for another novel at the same time. I don't think I could write two novels at once. In my current book, I do have 4 MCs though, so if I don't feel in the mood to write as one of them, I'll choose a different character.
 

Chase

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Like SNC and AprilMay, I'm a one novel at a time guy. I'm writing a sequel with the same amateur sleuths. Some items in their past lives come into play, and I tend to mix timelines if I don't write one book at a time. But I send forward lots of notes on ideas.
 
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