Current Project: Current alternate universe WIP...and?Status: Yeah, well, that's pretty much what this blog post is about.
From other posts I've read in the past few months on this blog, I know that others have experienced something similar to the situation I'm having at the moment. When I'd read those other posts, I'll confess I felt a certain smugness that I had my characters under control. Hah! I'm learning, slowly, but surely, to never say never. Or, at least, to never think it.
I've been working on my current WIP very slowly over the last few months. Building characters and backstory, thinking *a lot* about how to start and where I want to take the plot. So, okay, I haven't done much actual writing until recently, but I have started. I now have words saved as the beginning of the book. Things were starting to gain forward momentum, like a locomotive, barely moving at first, but building up steam to get me to where I want to go.And then the oddest thing happened. A new character started invading my thoughts. A character who has absolutely nothing to do with this current WIP, but who absolutely demanded that she be allowed to tell her story, and in first person, no less. I gritted my teeth and shook my head and refused to listen. After all, I was already deep into another story, one I didn't want to give up. But this character, man, she's persistent--and different. The first thing she did was introduce herself, name and all. Which is weird, because I've always spent hours (sometimes days) agonizing over a character's name. Not for her. Nope, instead, she popped full-blown into my head, and said, "My name is Delilah Jane Sparrow and my boyfriend is a ghost."
And just like that, I knew where she lived, most of her backstory and a good deal of her current situation. I even knew the name of her boyfriend--Max. I didn't ask for that information and I sure as heck didn't sit down and start thinking about it! It was just there in my head. I have no idea where any of this came from.
My dilemma? Continue working on my current project, or strike while the iron's hot, so to speak, and start writing Ms. Sparrow's story? I don't particularly like either solution. I'm happy working on my alternate universe story and I don't want to give it up. On the other hand, Delilah Jane Sparrow just isn't taking no for an answer. I've started transcribing what she's been telling me--it's the only way I can get her to shut up, actually--and I'm beginning to be intrigued by her story (she hasn't gotten to the part where she meets Max yet and I'm curious as to how that happens).
Here's where that 'never say never' thing comes in. I've always told myself that I'd only work on one thing at a time. That I'd jot down ideas for future projects, but that I wouldn't split my concentration. I think I'm going to break that self-imposed rule and just go for it--work on both projects at the same time. Maybe it's crazy, but as long as I continue to make progress, I guess I shouldn't complain. And if I seem to run out of steam on one project, I can always set it aside and concentrate on the other for awhile.
What about you? Have you ever worked on multiple projects at the same time? Did you like it or hate it? Did you develop any habits that made it easier to manage your projects that you'd like to share? How about problems? I'm all ears (at least as long as a certain character stays quiet...)
10 comments:
Debbie, you are now a full-fledged writer! LOL
I've had characters pop out of no where so strong you can't think of anything else until you write down the facts. That's what happened with the Christmas novella I need to write soon. The characters and he back story came to me so fast and furious and he lived in my head so strong while I was working on the last WIP I finally had to stop on the WIP and write two introduced to the heroine. Then he stopped bugging me. And I've set him aside other than some research and finished the WIP.
I feel like I'm always working on multiple stories. There's the one I'm actually writing, the one I might be cleaning up or working on edits, then the one that is knocking on the door to be told next. If the one knocking on the door becomes super strong I'll stop and write on it a while until it fades and I can think about the original one.
I saw go with the one that is strongest in your head at the moment. You may come to spot that needs to be thought out, then switch over work on the other one until the problem is solved. I think it frees up your mind to the story that way.
Good luck!
Debbie -- First of all, I simply love the graphic of the stacked books. It's very neat.
I've never had a character do what your Ms. Sparrow is doing, at least not to the degree you mention. It sounds kind of spooky and neat. (Note to any Ms. Sparrows lurking in me -- come on out, let's play.) The storms that usually sidetrack me are more plot driven. I loved reading about your experience and look forward to hearing more.
It sounds to me as though you've decided what to do. Would I do it that way? It's probably more a question of COULD I do it that way. Probably not. I seem to be very linear. Point a to point b. I seldom write scenes out of sequence, etc. I may think them, I just don't write them until their time comes. But if a character showed up as strong as Delilah, then like you, I would say never say never.
Writing is so subjective.
I think there's also the point that I write under deadlines so I seldom have time to allow many diversions. There's a book I'd like to write next and I know if I started thinking about it, it would claim more real estate in my brain than the current book (probably because the current book is acting like a recalcitrant toddler...) so I purposely don't think about it. Not the same as your Delilah who insists on air time.
I know you'll find a way to juggle both these ideas. It will be good practice for the day when you are writing, editing, and plotting more or less in tandem. At least, that's the theory.
Very fun blog!
Paty, it's good to hear I'm not alone! LOL
I like your advice about working on the story that's strongest at the moment. That's basically what I've been doing, though I've felt guilty when I've put aside the original story to work on the new one. I'll just have to get over that. LOL
The nice part about not being on a deadline is that you can pick and choose what you want to work on and if you change directions, the only one who's going to know is you.
Paty is right that when you sell, you're suddenly working on multiple projects at once. There's the wip that's due soon, the copy edits you must get done for the book that's releasing soon, there's the option proposal you have to turn in to your agent and marketing wants cover information for the next book too (Please describe any scenes you think would lend themselves to a a good cover image. Keep in mind while we will take your suggestions into advisement, we reserve the right to do whatever the heck we want with your cover...).
I am linear, like Alice. I can only focus on one set of characters at a time. That means when copy edits come in, I drop the wip and work on what's most pressing. Same with the option material and everything else I listed above. I also don't write scenes out of order - though I may be thinking about ones in the future - so it could just be the way I work.
That said, I know lots of writers who work on multiple projects. Keeps them from getting bored. I just can't work that way. I have had characters come out of the blue when I'm working on a project and demand attention like you mentioned. In the past I might have listened. Now? I don't have the time.
Here's something you might ask yourself though...for me, at least, in the past when I had these pushy characters pop out of the blue, it usually happened because I wasn't as invested in the wip as I should have been. So you might ask yourself...is this other character - Delilah - really worth sacrificing your momentum on the wip? Or is she simply a temptation? A fling. A grass-is-greener kind of scenario. A tease????
Another question you might ask yourself is...if you're already being tempted by another character so early in the wip, is the wip really one you can see yourself sticking with through the long haul?
Alice, your point about writing to deadline is a very good one. If I had a contract for the first story, I'd definitely be approaching this differently. Maybe a part of this is finding out what I can and can't manage to do at the same time--I'm still learning what my "process" is!
Having Delilah Jane show up so strongly and so fully formed has been interesting. I've thought (okay, obsessed) about characters before, to the point of dreaming about them, but only *after* the arduous task of working out their personalities and personal details. Not so, with DJ -- it was almost as if she'd knocked on my front door and moved in. LOL
You bring up many good points, Elisabeth! I appreciate hearing the 'writing on a deadline' perspectives from you and Paty and Alice.
Or is she simply a temptation? A fling. A grass-is-greener kind of scenario. A tease????
Oh, she's most definitely all of those things. Of course, a lot of what I've been saying has been tongue-in-cheek. It may be that once I get what I know about her down on paper, I'll be able to set her aside and go back to my current WIP exclusively.
I really don't want to set my current WIP aside at this point. I've had other WIPs peter out (last year's mystery is a good case in point), but I don't have that same feeling -- that is, I still feel quite strongly about my current WIP and am invested in those characters, too. Maybe that'll change, but I'm hoping not. Guess I'll just have to wait and see. :-)
Hi, Debbie! What a wonderful dilemma! In the end, of course, you need to do what's right for you. Since you don't have a contract or deadlines for either of these stories, you have a delightful freedom to work on whatever you want.
I'm used to working on multiple projects at the same time--be it writing or graphic design or my house/yard--whatever. That said, I've also noticed there comes a time--usually after the story and characters are pretty well formed--when I want to be immersed in one story exclusively. The story seems to move along better and is more cohesive, with all the little bits and pieces coming together because I'm not side-tracked by other story intrusions.
As others have said, that's just me up to this point. Writing my nine-book series is going to bring new processes to the way I've written in the past simply because they are all connected, so all the characters will be developing over the entire series. So it will be like one giant book broken up into smaller stories. I'm looking forward to the process!
Sounds like that's what you're doing--enjoying the process of writing and telling stories and letting your creativity bloom. How wonderful!
Genene, my mind boggles every time I think about your nine book plan! I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress as you work through all of them.
I've also noticed there comes a time--usually after the story and characters are pretty well formed--when I want to be immersed in one story exclusively.
I suspect that this is what will happen with me, eventually. I just need to get all the stuff with the new character down and set aside so I can focus on the current WIP. It may just take a bit, though.
I envy the multiple projects thing--I think I COULD do it in theory, but I also think that teaching + mothering ARE my other books right now :) I really, really need a finished WIP, so I'm concentrating on one for the moment, but the temptation is always there.
Debbie-- I love the name Delilah Jane! (Here's my unsolicited opinion...I hope you don't call her DJ in the book because Delilah Jane is awesome!! It SINGS! And DJ sounds like a guy who spins records for a living and wears a gold chain around his neck. Yeah, I have a lot of opinions. LOL)
I love that she's talking to you so fervently and I hope you keep listening. This is a gift. Truly. Go with it. Write it all down until you can't write anymore. I work on different projects at once because, like you, I have the freedom of not being under contract/deadlines. I love switching back and forth as my characters talk to me. I just listen to them and write when they press me to write. Sometimes they're quiet for a while and that's fine too.
But my advice is, GO WITH DELILAH JANE while she's giving you all this information and don't try to tame her, just let it flow. See where it goes. Like I said, this is a gift from the muse, don't piss her off!! LOL
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