I was curious, do you guys usually focus on working on one story at a time, or do you have multiple projects going at once.
I personally would think the latter. When I am working on a drawing, painting, or a design, I like switching gears so my mind can have something else to focus on while my other projects steep in the back of my mind. So how about all of you?
[This message has been edited by Wenderella (edited April 01, 2005).]
Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :
I can only focus on one big project (ie novel) at a time, but I offset it by working on several short stories when I need a break.
Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :
I can only draft 1 short story at a time. But I might work on revisions for a bunch of them, just sort of wandering back and forth among them. that is, when I can get my butt settled down to work on revisions.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
I cannot focus on one thing at a time. LOL
I skip from one thing to another, like some honey-bee gone daft.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I concur with the others. I usually have one main project at a time, and several smaller ones as well. This applies not only to writing, but other things as well. For example, I might spend three months where I cross stitch almost every day, then a couple months doing quilting, then scrapbooking, then cross stitch again.
I also have a tendency to stop almost all of my projects before finishing, and don't get around to them again for sometimes years. But I do come back, so I hope that with enough cycles I'll eventually finish the projects I have started. Writing is my focus right now, and I've gotten a bit more than usual accomplished, so we'll see how it goes.
Posted by TaShaJaRo (Member # 2354) on :
I used to work only on my novel but then when I'd hit a wall I'd get really frustrated so upon suggestions from other Hatrackers, I started working on some shorts as well. It's helped. When I get stuck on one, I can move over to the other and not feel like I'm beating my head against the wall. But I can work only on one novel and one short. More than that and I start to get confused about who is who. Posted by Wenderella (Member # 2464) on :
Autumnmuse: My mother is like that with her quilting as well. She started a "Wedding Ring" quilt right before I got married. It was intended to be a wedding gift. That was 3 years ago, and she is just finishing it up now. She works on it when shes in a "quilting mood", as with a few other projects she works on.
I think I've inherited this trait. There have been patterns of watercolor painting in my life and then when I'm satisfied with what I finished, I'll move on to something else, like decorating or something.
Posted by Jaina (Member # 2387) on :
I always have at least two stories in the works. I can't focus on one thing for long enough to finish it anyway, so when one story frustrates me to no end, I can move on to the next one.
I also have autumnmuse's problem of stopping before it's finished. It drives me crazy, but I've better about it (I used to be so bad that I couldn't finish even one draft of a story before pitching it). I try to go back to them at some point, though, unless something has convinced me that it's better off in a graveyard somewhere.
Posted by DatBum65 (Member # 2452) on :
I really make an honest effort to finish one short story at a time, but that doesn't always work, because ideas pop into my head. I don't want to forget those ideas, so I jot them down. This jotting becomes another short story and soon I've delayed the previous story...
Or, one of my bigger problem is getting stuck at the beginning of a story for weeks, churning out version after version until I think it's "perfect". But that's another topic.
Posted by Isaiah13 (Member # 2283) on :
I jump around...a lot. Including revisions, I'm currently working on about a dozen different stories. I think it's because I need to let my ideas simmer for a while. I'll start a story, get about 1500 words in, then put it on the back burner. It gets rather frustrating at times, and I'll admit that I'm often feeling quite scatter-brained because of it, but I think it pays off in the long run. I'm the same way with reading; I've generally got 5 or 6 books on the go. I'm not sure why, but my brain seems to function better when it's overwhelmed.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
I find that when I have other projects going on that I can only handle one story at a time. When I'm in a slow slump with work, I wind up doing multiple stories. It all depends on if my creative energy is being diverted by other things.
By the way, if I'm right, this is post 30,000 on Open Discussions.
Posted by Jaina (Member # 2387) on :
Isaiah, I'm the same way with books: I'm currently in the middle of... hang on, let me count... about 5 books, but one of them I don't really care enought about to finish. Ferdydurke. I'm confused, and it's kind of stupid. Maybe I'm not as literarily (is that a word?) astute as some, but I don't see why it's such a great book.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I kind of go through cycles with how many books at a time I am reading. Thinking back, for the past year or so I've read only one book at a time. Previous to that I was always reading at least half a dozen at once. Maybe becoming a mother a year ago has something to do with the transformation? Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2408) on :
I work on multiple projects at once (including my art). I have two novels I'm writing, one I'm revising, two short stories I'm working on, another I'm trying to get published sometime, and a couple of fanfics at fanfiction.net. Plus I've been trying to get this drawing of Jack Sparrow done, but I keep putting it off. I'm tired of drawing his hair. It takes too long. Grr.
