First Drafting, Part 11: Multiple Stories

Ah...time to write....

With a contented little smile, you open up the folder containing your stories and glance at the word documents.  A number of half-finished drafts sit, some patiently waiting for you to click on them, while others scream "WRITE ME WRITE MEEEEE!"  One hides in the corner, chewing gum and not in the least interested in doing anything.  And then maybe two start fighting each other...

I myself am especially guilty here.  Seems like every few days I'm getting a new story, character, or plot idea that I'm just dying to start writing about.  And I know I'm not alone.  Especially when I first began this writing thing, I was starting new stories constantly.  I can remember one time when I had...*does some maths*  at least five stories that I was trying to write at the same.

Things haven't changed.  But since I want to finish, I had to learn a few things.

Learn Control

Resist that temptation to start that idea right away.  Save it, tuck it away, and keep working on your current WIP.  Do what you can to focus on what you are working on at the moment.

This is hard.  But not only is learning control something that can help you with finishing a first draft, it can be a good thing to have all throughout your life.

But sometimes I have this really great scene in my head, and I'm worried I'll forget it.  So I'll write it.  I'll just spend an evening and bang out that scene - then I file it away on my flash drive and save it for later.  Because I'm in the middle of a different story and must finish that one first.

Take Turns

However, if I work too long on the same WIP, I can (and admittedly do) get bored and lose some excitement.  This shows in my writing - the characters, descriptions, the feel of the story - it all dies. 

So I work on a different WIP every month.  I write first drafts during NaNo events (April, July, and November).  In the other months I'll work on editing, finishing said NaNo drafts, and/or working on outlines.  I may take a "break month" and tackle little side things that have been neglected (blog posts, organizing flash drives, TBRs).

This way I can buckle down for a month and tackle one WIP, and then put it aside and work on another one for the next month, and then so on.  So then my brain is always engaged on something new and exciting.

A month may not work for some of you.  Maybe you'll switch every two months.  Or maybe every two weeks.  Maybe a different WIP every day.  But if you have multiple stories you want to work on, I would definitely suggest making some kind of schedule to hold yourself accountable and ensure that each story gets writing time.

Be Content

It is certainly possible to finish a draft by having multiple stories at the same time and writing what you felt like at that moment.  I've finished some this way.  You don't have to put yourself on a schedule and take turns, and try to focus on just one at a time.

But unless you are a super fast typist, or have lots of time to sit and write, finishing a draft this way will take a while. 

So go ahead and work on multiple stories - just don't complain when they take longer to finish.  After all, writing one book can be hard - and you're trying to write more than one at the same time!  It'll be hard, but perseverance can take you places - unlike procrastination.

Well, next Monday will be my last post in this series.  I hope y'all have been enjoying and profiting from it.  (And not too dreadfully bored at this time!)