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?
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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!