What did I just do?

Dreamer3702

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There I was, working on my YA Fantasy WIP in the few minutes I had rubbed together, when I accidentally started a whimsical MG Fantasy set in the same world. They're severely different in tone and voice, but I love both of them and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now. Why do I hurt me this way?
 

starrystorm

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How far are you into your WIP? I once thought of two different stories set in the same world except they were different genres, not different age-levels. After many months of struggling, I finally decided to combine what I liked most out of both of them. The genre in one and the MC in the other. I was still in the shiny idea phase, though.

My other question is why do they have to be set in the same world? Is there something you like about that world? The characters? The culture? The animals? The magic system? If there is something significant, could you change the age-level of one? That way you could keep both.

Hopefully this helps.
 

hopeful09

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I would try not to feel constrained, as though you have to choose one over the other. Do you have a publisher waiting on your WIP with a hard deadline? If not, give yourself the freedom to explore both, write in both, think about both, and see what happens.
 

Dreamer3702

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How far are you into your WIP?

Word count wise, I'm equal distance. Story wise, I'm much farther along in the MG since they're much shorter in length.

My other question is why do they have to be set in the same world? Is there something you like about that world? The characters? The culture? The animals? The magic system? If there is something significant, could you change the age-level of one? That way you could keep both.

It's a combo of the magic system and the sub-culture I developed for the kobolds. They're featured heavily in the MG novel and play a minor role in the YA novel.

I would try not to feel constrained, as though you have to choose one over the other. Do you have a publisher waiting on your WIP with a hard deadline? If not, give yourself the freedom to explore both, write in both, think about both, and see what happens.

I've thought about this a lot over the past couple of days. I don't have a hard deadline, so I'm going to take the time to keep writing both, but also see if there is a way I can separate the two worlds. Luckily, they both take place in different regions, so it might be easier to do if I can find a way to replace the kobolds' role in the YA novel.

Thanks, Hopeful and Starry, for helping me figure out my own mind!
 

GreenGrape

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A companion novel is a great idea. Although writing both I would imagine will only help give you a better understanding of your world! If you have time to write both stick with them :)
 

RhysBC

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I would concur, if you do have time then working on both can be advantageous.
I worked on two projects concurrently and found no difficulty in swapping between both. With creative juices flowing I found great ideas for one while working on others.
 

SarahJane

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There's no reason you can't work on both. Work on one until you get stuck, then switch to the other. Once they're done, you can decide whether to keep them in the same universe or change things up.

The companion novel flarue suggested is a great idea though. People love expanded universes nowadays.
 

CharlesXav

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There's no reason you can't work on both. Work on one until you get stuck, then switch to the other. Once they're done, you can decide whether to keep them in the same universe or change things up.

The companion novel flarue suggested is a great idea though. People love expanded universes nowadays.

Agreed! It's always good to have another project that you can switch to when you get bogged down. I like my secondary project to be of a much different tone than the first, always in a different world but there is no reason they can't be set in the same world.
 

spork

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Honestly, if you love both of them, I don't see any reason to choose at this point. Maybe you'll change one to another world or eventually decide that you like one better. If you don't keep writing both, it sounds like you're always going to wonder about the story you left unfinished.