Just curious as how everyone else is on an issue that I've been having. I'm fairly certain the rest of you have multiple stories that you are working on at one time, just like I am. I'm currently editing one, starting another. However, today, at work, I got another idea for a story I'd love to start... so, my question is, how many stories and ideas does everyone have? How do you guys pick which one to work on? By how well it might do on the market, or just something you're dying to write?
Wait, I have to count... I have 5 stories going and a large handful of ideas that I don't want to develop past their current states. Honestly? It's whatever one has my interest at the time, but I force myself to work on all of them at some points. If you are at an editing stage, make sure you work on that one just as much as other ideas, don't allow yourself to slack on that because it's not as fun or interesting as the ideas that aren't on paper yet.
I work on one at a time (other than quick notes that could go into others), but a friend of mine is usually outlining A, writing B, and revising C.
It's one at a time for me also. I have tried more in the past particularly on an occasion when I struggled with a particular story but it didn't work. I was too distracted by the original to move on to something new.
I have a lot of ideas. Like, tons of them... But then, I write a few paragraphs with the idea or the beginning and focus in only one. Or at least, I try. I'm still on vacation, but when my classes start again, I don't think I will have time to work on more than one story. But once I was writing five stories.
Any new ideas I have are kept in one place so it's easy to go back and look at them later. I recently tried working on two scripts at a time, but my focus wasn't completely there. So I just focused on the script I was excited about the most. This allowed me to feel the excitement of finishing something and it encouraged me to keep writing. So now I'm focusing on the next idea and when I'm done with that I'll go back to rewriting the previous one. I'm always taking notes on either story, I just write down my ideas and save them for later if I'm working on a different story.
I'm ruled by deadlines like April for an Open Doors, various awards, gay history month, fayres etc' Generally, if I get an idea like that I write a short story (around 2K) or a first chapter and decide if the story has legs to be a novel, novella, short story etc. I give myself one day and then I go back to my current work. I've just had to drop my plans for 2012 to rewrite another story. Then I'll get back on them.
I only work on one story at a time. However, an hour later I might be working on another story. I don't know offhand how many stories are "in the works." I have two novels in development. Of the many "in the works" short stories, there are two or three I have actually edited in the last couple weeks.
I have five stories that I'm "working" on, but I only actively juggle writing one or two at a time. The rest I am just collecting ideas and brainstorming for.
I actually focus on one story at the time. I have one awaiting revision but today i started on a new story that I'll be writing until I am ready to pick up the other one, hopefuly I'll be able to finish a first draft at least before returning to the other. That said, I have 6 other story-ideas in my head, but I'm only writing one. I let the other ones 'mature' in my head before picking up the next, whenever that will be. I'm not even sure I will write them all, because several of them are the kind of stories I don't like to write. Don't even ask me why I came up with them, given that fact. They just appeared and I took notes of the basics. Time will tell If I'll write them or not.
I have a bunch of story ideas, but I find it easier to just focus on the one that really gets you excited, then at least one or two more that makes you somewhat excited. The other that elicits no response from you? Put them away for another time, or just forget them all together! Or you can combine the different story ideas into one complex story.
I have about forty ideas for novels written down. About five of them are partly written because I still have a hard time sticking to one story until it's complete .
i've never counted, but have always been able to work on multiple [usually many] writing projects concurrently, can switch from one to another easily...
I do the same thing and I never have a problem. Each piece, if not fully planned out, at least has a vibe or image I associate with it that allow me to easily slip between projects.
I'm a multitasker by nature. I read while I watch TV, use the computer on more than one program at a time, etc. It would be strange for me NOT to have thoughts in the background when working on a foreground task. When I hit a roadblock on a foreground task, I switch to something else. The problem that was blocking me becomes a background task, and I usually wake up with ideas, if not a solution, the next day. What seems unnatural to me is not having something else to switch to when I hit a wall on my foreground project.
Not really. Everything is organized and like Cogito said, if I'm not doing more than one thing at a time... well, something's wrong and I need to go to sleep. I've tried working on only one project at a time, it didn't work very well for me.
Huh. I'm the exact opposite. I get even two first drafts of two different stories going, I freak out. I think it's my OCD nature screaming about the fact that I have two disorganized stories going at the same time, and I get cluttered. To me, it's easier if I had one story going at a time, but I could be wrong.
I multitask (like the watching TV while reading) but writing as a whole is one task. I tried actually working on two stories once and started getting the plots/characters interchanged. What a mess! I can do flash fiction or drabbles while working on a story, but that's the extent of it, I think because it's written and done in one setting.
This applies to me, too. I have several projects on the go at any one time, some on the front burner and some on the back. I freely switch back-burner stuff to the front if I get inspired to work on it - if, for example, a new idea hits for that story.
