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I have been completely focused on my current WIP since January. I find that that is the best way to write, for me at least. I guess I have a one track mind, I tend to be able to focus on only one storyline at a time. I'm always amazed when I see writers who have three or four WIPs going on at one time. My brain just does not compute!
That said, over the weekend I started thinking about my WIP that's currently on hold. I began writing it in late summer 2008. I got engaged in September 2008, so most my energy went into wedding planning and not into writing. I've picked it up here and there, but I shelved it permanently when I started writing Love at the End of the World.
Saturday night I was at my parent's house and I couldn't sleep, so I grabbed my ipod. I ended up on the playlist for the WIP (tentatively titled Obscura) and ideas started coming to me. Thankfully, I remembered a lot of previous ideas I'd had (this is something of a feat for me, as I have the short-term memory of a goldfish) and now I'm suddenly inspired to pick up where I left off. This is a harder book to write, as it's a time travel novel, and most of the action is set in 1920's Washington, DC. I tend to detest research, I find it ruins the flow of my writing. I am horrible that way, I'll be writing, and come to a place where I want to include a real landmark, and I'm not sure if it was there in 1924. So, instead of just pushing forward and researching later, I get sidetracked. So that's difficult, and frankly, writing about time travel is also difficult. I did pick up this book which is helpful, but not exactly an easy read. I'm a bit of a snob about time travel (I'd want to be more Connie Willis less Audrey Niffenegger-don't get me wrong, I loved the Time Traveler's Wife, but in my opinion the time travel aspect is off in parts) so if I'm going to write a time travel novel, I want to get it right.
So, now I'm debating if I want to work on the "Damn Historical Novel" (as Jackson Pearce would say) in addition to my current WIP. I've never written this way, so I'm not sure if it'll work for me, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try, especially since writing Obscura is probably going to be more slow going than Love at the End of the World.
Do any of you write more than one novel at a time? If so, do you have any tips?
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I'm no where near being an actual author, but I currently have five novel WIP. My usual process is to constantly switch from one to another whenever the mood strikes, and the attention they all get is not equal. This usually means short and unpolished writing on the computer and lots of random notebook pages I usually don't even look at twice. It does, however, keep the ideas fresh and flowing.
ReplyDeleteI even often find myself thinking about one WIP then inexplicably switching to another in my head without realizing. Music is a big factor here. I listen to music for hours at work, and if a song comes on that is a major influence for one WIP but I'm thinking about a different WIP, it gets me completely off track. The trouble is I like to listen to music that fits my mood, which at work translates into dark and moody (go figure), most of which is earmarked for a certain WIP. Trouble is I don't have a vast collection of tracks, or even an iPod (gasp! I know) and no access to music online while at work. So that is one of my own personal issues of which my only remedy at the moment is to borrow (beg for) one of my friend's mp3 players for a night.
Lately though, I've been working to change my constant WIP flux, not completely ignoring all but one but sticking with each one longer. I'm sure I will switch again at some point, but at least I'll have a few thousand words, rather than a few hundred words, to show for that whim.
I have also found that when I really want to work on a specific WIP, I talk about it with someone (someone I can trust and who understands my vision), and that usually keeps the flow going a bit longer and the story and the writing seems to be stronger as I get feedback. Also, it helps to block any music already marked for another WIP; not always possible, but definitely helpful in the focus area.
For me, all this is only under the hope that yet another new WIP idea won't invade my head and consume me for a while. And I totally agree about research - it is usually an inspiration/flow/joy-of-writing assassin. I've started using very obvious textual place holders so that I can come back and fix whatever needs research at a more convenient time.
Good luck and keep us updated!
I know exactly what you mean about research ... I only have one WIP, although I can't seem to settle on the plot, and keep changing it up when I get bored of contemplating the current one (this is a serious problem I have, lol) ... but whenever I hit a point where research needs to be done, I get completely side-tracked ... not wanting to research, but unwilling to carry on until I have.
ReplyDelete@ blueivina: Music is incredibly important to my writing process as well. I almost always write with one of my WIP playlists playing in the background. I also have specific songs for my two WIP, and never shall the two meet!
ReplyDelete@ Bella: Research is a huge time suck. I wish I was one of those writers that could plan ahead and do all my research ahead of time, but sadly, that is not how I roll. I'll either get frustrated and not write, or end up researching something and not writing!
I am afraid I can only work on one at a time. I have many projects that are left untouched. Luckily, I am so close to finishing my WIP, that it will be nice to moce onto something different. I just can't juggle more than one at a time.
ReplyDeleteTime travel is really tricky. That darn grandfather paradox!
ReplyDeleteI also cannot juggle two WIPs. I'm in the middle of my first draft and have a few ideas for what to write after it, but haven't gotten to the plotting stage or anything.
I know! I think that's half the reason I abandoned the WIP in the first place, because it would be a lot of work to get it right. My husband pointed out that I wouldn't necessarily have to get into the hard sci-fi aspects of time travel in the book, but still...I want to get it right.
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