Hatrack River Writers Workshop: I'm concidering having an affair . . .

This is topic I'm concidering having an affair . . . in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :

On my current Novel in Progress.

I am about 50000 words into this story, and I love it. I am on the steady road to finishing it.
But . . . as I was brushing my teeth two night ago, a character popped into my head. It was actually a character in a story I plotted out completely, started writing, but stopped fourty pages or so in because I couldn't stand the MC. Then, two nights ago, an altered and SO MUCH BETTER version of that MC came in, and I fell in love. And all of the sudden, I can't stop thinking about this new mistress/story. In so many ways, it has improved. I am constantly writing down notes about the NEW version.

Here's my question: should I start writing the new story, and work on my NiP at the same time? Or should I stay focused and finish my NiP?

Do you guys work on one story at a time? Or is it possible to stay motivated, invovled, and in love with two at a time?

Posted by lehollis (Member # 2883) on :

I'm new to novels, having focused on short stories for many years. Personally, I would like to be laying the groundwork on new novels, or editing previous novels, while writing one at the same time. I hope that is possible. Then I could go from one novel to the next, without any downtime between.

Realistically, I think it can be done, but it depends on your life. Some of us can barely squeeze in a short story here and there, while others can lay down 5,000 words per day and still edit and plan others.

Posted by annepin (Member # 5952) on :

quote:
Or is it possible to stay motivated, invovled, and in love with two at a time?

Oh absolutely! I'm entirely unfaithful to my novels. Let's face it, sometimes you're in the mood for something more, say, romantic than your current NIP can provide. You end up loving them each in their own way, which is as it should be, since they are unique. It's not wrong to go for that first crush feeling!

Posted by RMatthewWare (Member # 4831) on :

quote:
I am about 50000 words into this story

First, use commas when you're using numbers that require them. For example, 50,000, not 50000. Having worked in both banking and hospitals, I hate when I see more than three zeros grouped together. It makes it really hard to figure out the number.

Okay, rant over. Now, I'd suggest staying with your novel in progress until its done. A large part of writing is having the persistence and discipline to finish a project. There are many writers that never finish a project because they find a new idea and have to write it. Then they find another and move to that. You have to finish a story.

What do you do with your new character? Write down the ideas you've come up with and file them away. If you come up with more ideas, jot them down real fast and put them away. Then when you're done with your current novel you can go to your other story.

Posted by KayTi (Member # 5137) on :

I personally have difficulty moving between projects, even short stories. I am a multi-tasker, so I usually have multiple things in varying stages going at any point in time, but I move through them in serial. First I'll pick up a story and edit it. I'll try to finish my editing, or get to a stopping point, say ready to submit to critiquers. Then while I wait for the crits, I move on to something else, maybe some brainstorming, or a new story.

Your mileage may vary. I do suggest, as RMatthew does - make sure you don't use the excitement of a new story/ore revisited old story as an excuse NOT to finish. We don't need more reasons to procrastinate!

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

I almost always work on more than one novel at a time if that's any help.

I don't find that working on more than one keeps me from completing projects. But that's me. Certainly you don't want a new project to keep you from completing your old project. It is essential to finish what you start. But as long as you don't let that happen, there is no reason you can't work on both.

[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited December 06, 2007).]

Posted by Igwiz (Member # 6867) on :

I too have a novel in progress. I'm at the 27,000 right now, and have just transitioned fully from the beginning to the middle. And I have "hit a wall" with the plot of my story. It's not insurmountable, it's just that for the first time, it really started to get difficult.

I found my self getting distracted with writing short stories, and now I have sort of convinced myself that I want to hone my overall writing skills on short stories before I invest any more time in the more significant land of "The Novel." For me, this was probably the best decision at this point, because I seem happier now, living in the land of the short stories. (Oh, sorry, they like to be called "Little Stories" these days). :-)

Here's my only concern, which I hear several others echoing. As long as it doesn't distract you from your current 50,000 word investment, then why not?

But (he apologizes profusely for the pop-psychology), make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. That you aren't using this fresh start on a new story to avoid facing a writing challenge that you will need to overcome in your current 50,000 word piece. The new is always more fun that the old. And developing and sculpting out a new character/story is likely more fun than plodding away on your current NiP.

Not that I (a very junior writer) am in the position to tell anybody what to do, but that is my nickel...

[This message has been edited by Igwiz (edited December 06, 2007).]

Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :

For those of you that work on multiple stories at once, do you have a schedule, like M-W-F on novel 1 and T-Th-S on novel 2? Or do you just see how you feel on any given day?

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

I do a minimum of 1000 on one of them everyday (which I'm having to force myself to do. It's just coming very hard. Although a few days ago I was on a roll and wrote 6000 words

) The 2nd I work on a couple of days a week (in addition to the other) for a few hours. I'm not under any deadline so however long they take is how long they take.

[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited December 06, 2007).]

Posted by TaleSpinner (Member # 5638) on :

I'm doing shorts and novelettes. I'm using the shorts to develop techniques of story telling so as to feel confident of tackling the longer works.

I don't do well with a regular schedule, and prefer peaks of uninterrupted 'in the groove' activity followed by troughs of lazy recovery. Also I travel on business a lot and a regular schedule is hard to keep. During travel time I'm often making notes on plots, characters and pseudo-science for one or another WIP.

I do fresh writing when I'm feeling inspired about a story, and revising when I want to write and feel the urge to get something actually finished.

Which one I work on is a matter of mood. They're all in different milieus (though some are connected), so it's a question of, "Where would you like to go today, Pat?"

Since business life is very much a matter of sticking to schedules, it's a nice contrast to go with my feelings; keeps writing fun and fresh.

Just 2c,
Pat

Posted by Lynda (Member # 3574) on :

I write novels. I need to get a short story done for an upcoming anthology, but I've only started it, then have let it just "sit" while I work on two other things (one is in the business phase of publishing it, the other is in the final stages of writing it - mostly polished, just writing and tweaking the ending now). I have a third project (my second original novel in this series) which is finished in first-draft form but needs to be fleshed out (it's 90,000 words, and I think it's gonna be more of a 120,000 word book by the time I add the detail I've glossed over and flesh out some scenes I just put in as "bare bones"). But my novels are in the same world (a series, as I said), so the characters, setting, magic are the same and easy to keep track of. The one I'm in the final stages of writing is a fanfic I'm writing to complete a cycle I'd begun in fanfiction, as well as to let my readers know about my novel coming out soon. I'm familiar with the characters and everything in that world, but it was very hard to get back into once I'd been so immersed in "Star Sons." And that short story is just going to have to sit until I stop thinking about Star Sons (I'll work on it before I get into that second SS novel). I just can't keep all the details straight if I spread my tiny little mind over too many sets of characters, settings, details or systems of magic, etc.

I don't know how you work, but if I were you, I'd push that novel to completion in at least a rough first-draft form. You can always come back and polish, edit, add to, etc. later, but get that novel's plot completely written before you move to something else, or you may lose the thread of the novel and never get it back. (Yeah, I learned that one the hard way, although now that I'm more experienced, I can usually get back into a plot that's been sitting a while.)

[This message has been edited by Lynda (edited December 07, 2007).]

Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :

Good ideas. Thanks for sharing them with me.