And by juggling – I mean ideas. At the end of my explanation I have questions, so bare with me, please.
I’m currently working on a trilogy. It’s a dystopian scifi with robots and other artificial lifeforms, psionics, war and of course, lots of bloodshed. Can’t have a good Dystopia without a lot of blood shed – in my opinion anyway. Of course, I prefer my fairy tales bloody too – so maybe it’s just me 😉
The trilogy I’m working on is TDP for short. TDP 1 is sitting in first draft format waiting for me to finish TDP 2 & 3. TDP 2 is 63.5k done. So, I’ve about 29% left to go on it. This is a good thing. Sadly it’ll have taken me two months to finish the first draft of the second book. Not quite as fast as I’d have liked, but definitely not too shabby. Keep in mind, I want to finish the first drafts first – before I start revision on TDP 1. So I have a hell of a lot of work in front of me lol.
See – look 29% left 😀
(I like that much better than 30%)
The thing is, while working on this trilogy, I’ve had 2 more story ideas. And these aren’t one shots or short stories. These are whopping big, potentially epic stories which need to be spread over a few to several books.
My brain just won’t let up on it. I’ve started outlines for one of them, so I at least have the basics down. For the second I have what could essentially be a cover blurb. I know, my mind is rather odd. The things I come up with while vacationing and visiting National Parks is rather disturbing.
So, my question is, how do other people deal with this?
Do you just make a few notes and move on with your main project that’s already eaten a sizable portion of your brain?
Or
Do you work on more than one project at once?
Enquiring and partially incoherent minds need to know.
Thank you 😀
~K.T.
Personally, I have to get the stuff that is in the way OUT of the way. I promise my heroes that I will give them full treatment, but they need to give me the relevant data, and step down. I make notes on whatever I’m given and try get back to the work at hand. At least that is how it is supposed to work. Sometimes, tho, they get a bit boisterous.
Yeah, I can’t work on two full projects at once. I get mixed up, I tend to steal aspects from one and give them to another and then over complicate things in that one, while taking valuable real-estate from the other…
So I will outline and leave them, while I finish this set 😀
*laughs* NO GETTING DISTRACTICATED!!!! Because I want to read more TDP ASAP! 😛 And since it’s me, you know you have to listen. (riiiiight, like that ever would work, lol!!) Just teasing, but I still vote write the other ideas down, and go back to them after you finish TDP, while we’re editing it. 😉
LOL – I’m not letting myself get distracted. You just got chapters 15&16 – be patient. Hoping to get this finished up by the end of August so I can start on 3 just a bit behind schedule 😉
For me, I found what keeps the plotbeasts at bay is to show them a bit of attention. I’ll do a very rough outline of the new story idea, then put it aside and promise to work on it later. It seems to work.
Perfect! I think that’s a great idea. I’ve been leaning towards doing just that myself, but sometimes it’s just nice to know what other people think and do. Thank you!
I tend to juggle a bit, but I can only do souch at once so I abuse the heck out of notebooks and OneNotes :3 I have enough stuff stored up to write forever. I probably need other hobbies :3
I admire your ability to juggle. I tend to borrow, steal and lend far too much when I work on more than one large project at once. Short stories? Those I can work on multiples, because they’re usually so varied it’s not funny. But when it’s a larger work – there are some elements that could work for another if I just twist it a bit ;).
Nooo no other hobbies – churn out those stories 😀
I’m a juggler. I get periods where a particular story demands all my attention, but most of the time I rarely write on the same story from one session to the next. It can get crazy, though. Back in 2009 I was doing NaNo, when I got a plot bunny for something completely different. My head was spinning by the time they were both done, but finish them I did – and I’ve never written as much as that month.