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  1.  

    Do you think that it is a good idea to write more than one book at once? I have considered, but I’ve never actually tried for fear of ending up not writing anything at all. I think that it might help when you get stuck on one project to work on another one that you have fresh ideas about, and then move back to the other when you have had a short break. I’ve also worried that the characters would become too similar if I constantly switched back and forth. I’ve thought about having a main story that I’m working on and just switching when I need a break.

    So what do you think? Do you think that it depends on the person or that it is never a good idea? Do you think that it’s okay when there is no looming deadline?

  2.  

    Eh, I’m not a good multitasker when it comes to things like this. I can’t even read to books simulatenously, never mind write them. That’s just me. If you work better when you have a little time off every now and again, then work on multiple projects by all means.

    It’s about what works best for you, after all. Try it, and see how it goes. It can’t hurt, right?

  3.  

    See, I don’t read more than one thing at a time either, but this just seems different to me. I might try it out and see how it goes to write more than one. I’ve just been a little afraid to try it because I can’t really find anything on the subject. But, yeah, it can’t hurt.

    •  
      CommentAuthorVirgil
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2009
     

    I do feel that you need to take frequent breaks when writing a story, but I don’t know about several at a time. Unless you already have several well formed ideas bouncing around your head, setting out to do different stories can become very.. interesting. Either they do become very similar, or you’re aware of the fact and you push them far apart, which may compromise the original idea.

  4.  

    Unless you already have several well formed ideas bouncing around your head, setting out to do different stories can become very.. interesting.

    I do actually; that’s what made me wonder about it.

    Either they do become very similar, or you’re aware of the fact and you push them far apart, which may compromise the original idea.

    Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. I think it might work better if the ideas are extremely different. There might be less of a chance of them being compromised that way.

    •  
      CommentAuthorSpanman
    • CommentTimeAug 7th 2009
     

    I don’t know about writing two different books at a time, but I often write two scenes within a story at a time, usually dealing with two different characters in unrelated situations so I can switch from one to the other if I get frustrated. It’s a pretty okay system. Sometimes I get so frustrated that I have to have three going at once…

  5.  

    @Spanman
    The book I’m writing now is in the first person, so I can’t really do that. It might work if I had multiple POVs.

  6.  

    I’m working on six things at once at the moment, and it’s not hampering me at all. Actually, it’s kinda fun, because I can go, “Hmm, I want to work on ———————- today.” Or, “I feel like a bit of ——————————————————-.”

    ha ha. I love my titles.

    EDIT: Titles deleted to preserve anonymity.

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeAug 8th 2009
     

    How quirky/eccentric. You get +5 slightly-insane genius points!

  7.  

    You want more?

    “————-” (school-kid action story), “————————” (love story) and “———————————-” (kid action story)

    EDIT: titles deleted because I’m paranoid.

  8.  

    “————————-” (school-kid action story), “—————————————” (love story) and “———————————-” (kid action story)

    You seem to enjoy kid action stories. :D Sweet.

  9.  
    I do. I've always had a thing for stories where the kids are the ones who know more, save the day, figure out the mystery, etc.

    If you want to go all Freudian that probably means I'm subversive. What the heck am I doing on II then...?

    Speaking of kid action, I'm planning a ganglands thing where the gangs are run by kids. It's hard work figuring out plausible explanations for all that, I tell you! I started it longhand and got on like a house on fire. Then I typed it up and bang went my muse!
  10.  

    I’d love to read a good kid action story.

    I do. I’ve always had a thing for stories where the kids are the ones who know more, save the day, figure out the mystery, etc.

    I am the same. When I was younger, I pretended to be an adult sometimes. I’m slightly older and I wish I could go back. By the way, the “ganglands thing” sounds fascinating.

    Now I want to write a kid action story…

  11.  
    Lol, I'm glad I've taken to writing for kids. The things you can do are so much broader.

    My first kid action story needs editing first, though. I don't like how the girl appears so weak and she's the main character!

    Finding Nick is more of a YA novel. I don't think I'd ever write adult novels.
  12.  

    I don’t really know if what I write is ‘kid’, ‘YA’, or ‘adult’. Whatever comes out, comes out.

  13.  

    ^^I’m with you.

  14.  

    lol, and whatever comes out of me is kid or YA :P

    •  
      CommentAuthorJeni
    • CommentTimeAug 10th 2009
     

    I do. I’ve always had a thing for stories where the kids are the ones who know more, save the day, figure out the mystery, etc.

    They’re very good at appealing to all kinds of audiences too, child and adult. So YAY, you’ll sell lots of books when you’re published one day. ;)

    •  
      CommentAuthorMoldorm
    • CommentTimeAug 10th 2009
     

    I keep reading “YA” as “yaoi”.

  15.  

    Too bad, Moldorm. you’ll have to retrain your own sick twisted mind.

    And, Jeni? WHAT A PERK!

    •  
      CommentAuthorhappycrab91
    • CommentTimeAug 10th 2009 edited
     
    aha yaoi. I'd rather yuri myself. I assume YA is young adult.

    I've got several different story ideas I sometimes continue to write, jumping back and forth between 2 books, but not very often.
  16.  

    I assume YA is young adult.

    yes.

  17.  

    I’ve tried writing two novels at a time, but I ended up spending a lot more time on one of them than the other. I did manage to complete both of them though. :)

    •  
      CommentAuthorJabrosky
    • CommentTimeAug 10th 2009
     

    Although I have had moments when I feel tempted to start a new story alongside the one I’m currently working on, I suppress that temptation. I don’t think I can multitask that well.

  18.  

    I barely have enough time for one, so how will I write two?

  19.  

    I don’t have time for any of them.

    •  
      CommentAuthorKyllorac
    • CommentTimeAug 12th 2009 edited
     

    I happen to be a master multitasker and currently have no less than 7 stories which I’m working on concurrently in addition to all the other stuff I do. Even then, I have one main project, one major side project, and a whole slew of other projects in various stages of completion. I like being/need to be able to take breaks from some stories, and working on other stories makes me feel a lot less unproductive, especially as I’m not particularly prolific (I’m lucky if I fill half a page after an entire day of writing).

    So, yes, not impossible/a bad idea, though it may not work for you. XD

  20.  

    @ Kyllorac: I have nineteen projects all in various stages of completion. I am a very BAD multitasker.

  21.  

    I’ve started to write more than one, but I haven’t really got into the new ones yet, except the fanfic. I’ve never written a fanfic before. It’s surprisingly fun. I did have a dream the other night that had some interesting bookish element to it.

    •  
      CommentAuthorswenson
    • CommentTimeAug 18th 2009
     

    Fanfic of what? nosily

  22.  

    Dead Like Me. The ending of the show is unsatisfying, and the movie sucks and takes place five years later. So I wanted to know what happened directly after the last episode. So I decided to make it up. It’s quite fun.

    It’s okay; I’m incredibly nosey as well.

  23.  

    I’ve never written a fanfic before. It’s surprisingly fun.

    It is fun, isn’t it? I love writing fanfic, it’s like eating cotton candy instead of a pound of steak. Steak is delicious, but sometimes you can’t eat the whole thing. And cotton candy is yummy.

    Yes, I make weird food analogies.

  24.  

    ^^I like your analogy. It is really fun. I don’t have to think as much because the characters are already there. I like it.

  25.  

    I wrote the book for myself.

    All I can guess is that when I write, I forget that it’s not real.

    -Stephenie Meyer

  26.  

    I think that you mean “it’s not real?”

    I’m sorry for pointing that out.

  27.  

    It wasn’t my fault, it was the copypasta’s. :P

    edits