Ack! Nothing like being in the middle of a WIP (work in progress) when you get the call to work on another story...or do edits...or start promoting a book coming out.
This time it's edits taking me away from my book, but I don't mind. Really, I don't. However, if it was for something like "Run down to Lowe's with me. They have plywood on sale.", I would definitely have second thoughts.
But the edits have a purpose, and I truly want to make my work better looking. And this time the break gave me enough of a mental breather to look through my hard drive to see what I had still stewing in the pot. I counted them.
Five. Five books either started or outlined. One is a mere four chapters away from completion (at 40K+ words!) Of the five, 3 are stand-alones, but the other 2 are sequels.
Am I alone in this? Am I the only author who, once she gets destracted from the plot, ends up working on something else and not finishing what she was originally writing? From listening to other authors, most of what I "hear" is that once they start, they finish. "I did this story for NoRoMo, and I'm polishing it up to submit." "I got this great idea, and I'll be subbing it pronto!"
Hopefully, it's not just me. :)
Hey Linda. I'm like you. I can;'t work on just one thing. I write until the flow stops, then have to refresh my brain with something totally different. right now I have two novellas and two fulls in various stages of writing, and another full that I have to do some major rewrites on. But I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way, it just means I have to keep careful character charts and an outlione of each WIP.
ReplyDeleteLinda, My writing/critique friends say I am ADHD in writing. They work on one thing at a time. Me? Right now, I have six going, and thinking of another. And I'm also in the middle of final edits. Honestly? This drives me crazy, and one of my friends tells me to write all of them down, tell her about each one, and then choose! Put the others away. It sort of works, I guess. I read the same way. I have a book on my nightstand, another beside my chair where I watch TV, and one on my desk.The only time I get away from this is when we travel.Good quetion! Celia Yeary
ReplyDeleteI'm writing one book, editing one that's complete, and jotting down scene ideas for one or two. Sometimes I think about starting a new one when I get stuck in my current WIP, but it's too hard to stray and I usually work through my block and stick with just one.
ReplyDeleteNot by a long shot. In the progress folder I have 7 minimum. In the holding pattern folder, there's at least another 10. And I always have something that can be fiddled with for a few hundred words, or will keep at me until I just finish the story completely.
ReplyDeleteMy answer to this question is always: TOO MANY! *LOL*
ReplyDeleteMy muse flits constantly. I write at one book until I run out of steam, shelve it for a while and move to another. I know I'll eventually come back around to them all. It may take years but they will get done, sometime. *LOL*
I keep a list on my web site of works including works in progress. Let me try to count how many I have...
Hmm looks like 15 right now. Some of the WIPs are series so I am counting each book in the series separately. Plus I have a few more ideas in my head that I haven't even begun to start work on.
Carpe Noctem,
Des
Lets see I have two I'm editing, three I'm writing in spurts and one that sneaked up on me and is dying to be written. If I only had one to work on, I'd never finish it. :)
ReplyDeleteI generally have multiple things going on as well. My to be written file keeps growing!!! I would say easily I have 5 or more WIP in different stages!
ReplyDeleteRobyn
At the moment:
ReplyDeleteediting 3 novellas and 1 novel. Rewriting a novel.
Writing on a novel and pushing hard (2000 words a day). Seven more novels in various stages from outline to 2/3rds done.
Seven short pieces started, plus three more knocking around with actual deadlines.
I ran a WIP poll
http://valarltd.livejournal.com/783514.html