Hi all, I'm (at present) primarily a poet. However, I also write short stories and reviews/articles. I have had some poems published; also reviews and articles. Less fiction, though!
A few years ago I began a novel. I go back and away from it every so often. The following year, I started another novel, and a couple of years later, I had another idea for a novel. I currently have three in various stages of drafts.
My question is:
Do other people find it useful, or a hindrance, to work on several projects at once? If useful, are these projects similar - i.e. several novels at once, several short stories at once? I find it useful to pick up something different if I'm stuck with one project, but I wonder if I need to be more focused on one particular thing. I'm curious what you guys think. Thanks.
Hi Laura,
I'm one of the ones who finds it easier to concentrate on 1 project at a time. I find it gets all to confusing if I have more than one thing on the go at the same time.
That's funny, I was literally just writing on my own profile how I'm focusing on two novels at the same time when I saw this question. I think that, depending on how similar/different they are in terms of characters/story/genre (one of mine in women's fiction, the other fantasy/saga fiction) working on both at the same time is pretty useful. Which piece of work I'll focus on from one day to the next completely depends on what mood I'm in; sometimes I'll end up working on one of them for a couple of months so I can give myself time to "rehydrate" so that I can go back to one piece of work, change anything that doesn't quite sit right with me and feel more inspired to go back to writing it. I think the most important thing is to not stop writing. If I'm in the middle of a story that I love and I suddenly become blocked, I'll take a few hours out, then come back and start writing something new and light-hearted just to get myself back in the game. It saves me from producing work that's not really well thought through and gives me more ideas for the future! So, I think it's good to have a few pieces on the go at one time; it keeps the imagination alive.
Thanks for all the helpful advice and comments. I plan to work on a small poetry collection this year, and then I hope to be able to focus more fully and in depth on working more on my first novel idea/drafts.
Laura