I left a novella of a comment on a blog post yesterday, responding to the question of whether I am a monogamous reader. Again, because of my comment promiscuity, I can’t remember which blog.
I try not to read more than three books at once because I can’t always follow the stories very well–they start to merge after a while.
But the question made me think about writing. Can you write more than one piece at a time? If so, how do you keep everything straight? If not, how do you deal with the fits of inspiration for new stories while you are solidly entrenched in the current one?
Sure you can!
Okay, let me temper that remark, though.
I can write more than one piece at a time. I can write more than one NON-FICTION piece at a time–and in fact, I usually am. One of my favorite J-school professors calls it the “two-notebook phenomenon.” You work on one story (i.e. notes from one notebook) for awhile, then when you hit a wall, you switch over the other one. So for example, a few years ago, I worked on a huge, nearly 3,000 word non-fiction piece about a young boy paralyzed in a freak accident, all the while writing daily ordinary news stories of 500-800 words. Just recently, I’ve been writing a series of articles about people living with diabetes, while also working on a series of articles about the nursing shortage for a completely different publication. And blogging, too. When I get ADD, I switch from one story to another.
Is that possible for fiction writers? I’d like to think so, but it’s not my primary genre, so I don’t know. If you’re a procrastinator or someone who sometimes does hit a wall and needs to take a break and do something else, I’d think having a second project to work on might be useful. Or even helpful.
I tend to bounce around a lot of ideas, giving me the impression that my muse might actually be a Jack Russell Terrier, and I also have a paid day job as a copy writer. So, you can spread your words all over town.
I think it keeps you fresh, keeps the ideas coming in, and can be useful during the initial drafting process. However, when working in longer form and in the later drafts, I think it’s important to focus wholly on the job at hand.
Great tips. Thanks to both of you!