For the past few months I have been iching to start my next writing project. I told myself I had too finish my novel first. Now it is "finished" and I can start something else.
Yeah!
Wait. I am having the hardest time finding my next project. Don't get me wrong, I have hundreds of ideas, it is just hard to find the right one to work on.
I think I have it narrowed down to 2 possible projects. Let's call them TCOM and TOI. (Don't want to give the working titles away just yet ;)
They are both fantasy and both ideas that have been floating around in my head since highschool. My plan is to spend one week each on developing the ideas further and see where I stand.
This up coming week I am going to work on TOI and report back on how it went.
Do you think it is bad to work on two novels at once? And how do you choose what to write next?
I generally write whatever voice is stronger in my head. I say test them out and see where they go!
ReplyDeleteI think it would be hard to write two novels at the same time, though I have a tendency to edit one and write a new one at the same time. I usually choose what is strongest in my head like Jen. And then I go for it! :)
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the voices being stronger or weaker in me head. But now that I look back I think that has always been the case for me. I guess part of my problem is that although I have told her story, Lyni's voice is still floating around in my head. Probably because she was there so long she just moved in :)
ReplyDeleteDeciding what to write next is always the hardest part for me. My problem isn't necessarily too many ideas--it's too many unoriginal or weak ideas. I'll start something, then decide it's not strong enough and drop it.
ReplyDeleteThat's just because I'm insanely picky, though.
I agree with Jen and Krista. Go with the one with the stronger voice and run with it. If it doesn't feel right, go ahead and try the other one. Starting two novels at the same time will be pretty difficult, though.
Either way, good luck! :)
Thanks, Ava. I know what ot is like to think a idea is not good enough. I still keep track of the weak or bad ideas though. I have often found that if you combine aspects of weaker ideas you can have a really good story to work with.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be afraid to fiddle around with more than one idea at a time. It will become clear which one you have more interest in, more motivation to see through right now. And nothing that you do on the story left behind is lost. I am sure you, like me, keep a file with those stories that you start, outline, notate on, and then stash for later. You never know when some vital details will pop up while you are doing the dishes, or sleeping...note them in their file, and restash them. So I guess I am saying go with your plan. Call it a Story Idea Exploration Plan. I like plans. Explore 2 or 3 ideas, and go with what feels best. Absolutely, or Appaloopsie as my daughter says. Happy exploring!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's absolutely nothing wrong with working on more than one idea at a time. As long as you can keep the ideas straight in your head and they aren't muddling together...
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's a matter of which one gets me more excited. A lot of the time, what I'll do is think up what I'm going to make the books about and then I write out little blurbs/synopses for the book to see which one comes out better or makes me feel more comfortable.
So that's my take on the matter. Good luck with your WIPs.
Thanks everyone for the great advise! It's been 10 years since I started a new prokect. It has been more overwhelming than I thought it would be.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your support.
It's definitely harder to do when you've spent so much time on a single project. In those kinds of situations, I'd actually say you SHOULD write a couple different things. When I'm working on a big project, if I have an idea for another book, I always let myself write a small bit of it. It just sort of refreshes my writing so that I'm not writing about the same thing constantly.
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