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Henry Miller’s first commandment is: Work on one thing at a time until finished. His tenth is: Forget the books you want to write. Think only of the book you are writing. The rest of his self-imposed schedule for 1932-33 is also worth reading: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/02/22/henry-miller-on-writing/
Although I can multi-task on many non-writing occasions, I can only think about one story at a time. That’s not to say I don’t have ideas for other stories, and occasionally I may write an opening or a scene for another story, but I’ll then put them to one side while I concentrate on completing the ‘work in progress’.
I don’t recall any occasion when I have worked on two different writing projects at the same time. The main reason is that I become too involved with my characters and their story to direct my thoughts to another story or another set of characters. If I abandoned them, even temporarily, I would have difficulty in picking them up again and/or my mind would keep switching back and forth, resulting in two (or more) disjointed stories.
I know of writers who can work on several things at once, and I do wonder how they can do it. Recently, I read an article about a well-known American author who claims it took him nearly fifteen years to write one of his novels but wrote short stories when he got stuck on it. My immediate reaction was that he would have taken less time to write that novel if he hadn’t diverted his mind to other stories! The same author also admitted that he switches between novels when he gets bored – which actually shocked me. If he gets bored with his own novels, there’s not much hope for the reader, is there?
Am I alone in only working on one story at a time? If you can work on several stories at the same time, I’d be interested to know how you switch your mind from one to the other, and back again!
I'm dogged about one story at a time. In between drafts, though, I have outlined future stories. Gotta hold onto them so they don't run away.
ReplyDeleteI may jot down ideas for another story, or save an article that has triggered an idea, but I don't outline them. Instead, it's a case of, 'I'll think about that later.'
DeleteWell, I'd love to say I only work on one at a time, but I wouldn't be able to keep the poker face.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am stuck on one thing, I jump on another, even if it's just a poem. It keeps me writing.
I tried doing morning pages, as advised by many writing books, you write any old dribble that pops in your head, it doesn't have to make sense. I thought it a waste of time. I'd rather be writing towards something I can finish later.
I do wish that I could just pick one, write, write, write and finish it quickly, but I end up sitting in front of a blank screen for days on end. Then I get disheartened.
Awen, I sometimes (often?) have to force myself through that blank screen syndrome, and some days I may only add 100 words to my story - and delete them all the next day! But staying with just one story helps with the continuity, I think.
DeleteI'm tend to be a one-at-a-time girl when drafting. Ideas for story-lines come all the time and definitely overlap.
ReplyDeleteIt's been interesting with the series I've been writing, though, because the stories have over-lapped in the process so I've had drafts and edits and blurbs and cover information and publicity all spinning in my head. Sometimes it was hard to keep the stories straight!
Debra, I've just done the edits for the re-publication of 'Her Only Option'. They've not taken very long, fortunately, (less than a day)so it's not too difficult to get back to my WIP. I agree that the publication process can interrupt your current writing, but I find that easier to cope with than trying to write two or more stories at the same time!
DeleteI'm definitely a one story at a time person. I've been known to have two books on the go to read, each in different rooms of the house, but I could never write two books at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same, Margaret - and at the moment am reading one story on my Kindle and another (non-fiction) paperback on my desk.
DeleteI've learnt to be a 'one at a time' girl and have to admit it has worked much better than jumping around. it's a question of disciplining yourself, I think.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Carol. Better to immerse yourself completely in one story to achieve the maximum effect.
DeleteI used to be a one-story-at-a-time person, but right now, I'm finding my attention span is not as long as it used to be. So to keep myself on task, I've found some success in working on multiple stories. I'll start with one and when I get stuck, I'll let my characters percolate and work on something else. For me, it keeps the juices flowing and keeps me more productive. I'll also do something similar when I'm in the editing process--I'll write one and edit another. I'm not suggesting it will work for everyone, but right now, it seems to be working for me.
ReplyDeleteThat definitely wouldn't work for me! I can break off to do edits (and other publishing requirements), but couldn't deal with multiple stories. I prefer to 'power though' the times when I think I am stuck, rather than deflect my attention to anything else.
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