WIPs; can there be only one?

[Nihilium 7th]

I currently have three.......and a half wips right now all at different stages of development. I tend to jump to each one after I've ran out of steam when writing another. Is this detrimental to progress and quality or simply another way of staying productive.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

For the longest time I worked one project until completion. Recently, I've been persuaded to take on multiple projects at once.

It's been a good experience so far. All of the projects have been different in scope. One is a solo novel that I'm 80k deep into. Another is a collaboration project. And the third, forays into short story writing.

Admittedly, the novel has slowed down, but I've enjoyed the distractions. They allow me time between stages of a major undertaking where I can improve as a writer and challenge myself. I hope that will yield dividends when novel completion time nears.

In short... No time writing in earnest is wasted.

 

[acapes]

I'm a fan of splitting time between projects too - especially in between drafts/revisions.

I'll work on one novel/project, finish a draft of it and then set that one aside to work on another. By the time I've finished with the second piece, I've got some useful critical distance from the first project and my revision of that one is then much better, I've found.

Been doing this for a few years now and quite happy with the results, I reckon go for it

 

[Lace]

I currently have one big WIP, but tend to write short stories, or flash fiction if the inspiration strikes. It seems to work good for me, it allows be to take a break but not get side tracked.

 

[Penpilot]

If it works for you. It works for you. I remember a hearing a story about an author, who's name escapes me right now, who use to have three type writers. Each type writer had a different story on the go in it. He would write on one story until they ran out of steam, then he would move on to the next and do the same. Rinse and repeat.

For myself, I like writing one project while planning another. I do on occasion write two projects at once, but one or both must be a short story. Not sure if I can work on two novels at once, but maybe I'll try that some time just to see if I can.

 

[Philip Overby]

I'm a fan of juggling two projects and no more. If I get too ambitious, things get muddy and then I can't stay focused. For me, I like to have one major project and then a side one. The major project gets work every single day without fail. The side project gets work when I feel like it. Whenever the major project is finished, the side project becomes the new main project. Rinse and repeat. This is going to be my method from here on out because it allows me to stay focused on one project until completion, but also lets me dally with something else when I get bit by the creative bug. I find that editing isn't very creative for me, so I get bored and want to move on to something else. This method permits me to have my cake and eat it too.

 

[Terry Greer]

Multiple projects = (for me) less chance to get blocked.
The downside is that some projects can languish for years without being finished - but that's probably better than being blocked for years.

 

[The Blue Lotus]

I have 7, no wait, make that 8 WIP's ATM. All in various stages of first drafty goodness.
Some I will prolly never finish; others I set aside to work on something that would not leave me alone.
I give the voices in my head too much room to run sometimes.
Luck,
~BL~

 

[sjlinton]

I currently have two WIP's. One is in the editing stage and the other I'm still writing. I don't think I could write two novels at the same time, but, so far, I don't have a problem when one is being editing and I'm actively writing another. It keeps me sharp and focused.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I think two first draft novels might be problematic? I've never done that, really. Okay, well I HAVE, but I firmly put one down and worked on another until finished, before returning to the first. Wait... Come to think of it, I never finished the first one. But I edited the first half.

I like multiple projects. I find editing one or more at a time is no sweat. Editing one, writing one, writing shorts? Yep, fine with that, too. However, when I get stuck (and by stuck I don't mean I lost steam, I mean I HATE a particular point I've reached and am either too terrified or too confused to get past it right then), I find moving on is a way to stop beating myself up. However, that happened a month ago in my almost complete WIP I began in 2011 and have already delayed while I began two other things... and it's three chapters away from going to an editor, but I HATED the ending I was writing so much, I couldn't write it. After a nice heart-to-heart with a writer friend, I got back on track with a much more satisfying ending. But I still have to MAKE MYSELF write it, because for me, finishing certain stories is JUST SO HARD. I don't know what's wrong with me.

So, I think taking a break from your novel you've seen every day for a year is a good thing. I mean, if it was your friend, you'd have already punched it in the face for being such a bitch, right? A little time apart will do you both some good. (Sorry, I was talking to myself there, not anyone directly.)

 

[skip.knox]

I'd say multiple WIPs is valid if and only if you have previously finished a novel. Once you have written all the way to completion -- and by that I mean writing until you submit it for publication, so we're talking several drafts worth of done -- then you know what's involved. So when you say you have multiple works in progress, you have some idea of what "progress" means.

But if multiple WIPs merely means you keep starting new projects without ever finishing the previous ones, then I'd say it's a detriment and a distraction. Whether it's writing books, painting pictures, composing songs, if you haven't submitted it, shown it, performed it, then you haven't actually done it yet. It's the difference between writing words and writing books.

 

[Caged Maiden]

yeah, I agree with that. I've got ten novels finished in first draft (admittedly, they need revamping), but when I take on more now, I know what I'm getting into and I'm still struggling. I actually find it refreshing to jump from one world to the other for a bit of "alone time" from my big project, but I have to admit I cannot equally focus on two lovers novels at once. One must take precedence. However, that need not be a bad thing. Each project gives me what I need at the time. When my mind refuses to create anymore, I can go back to editing and know I've given myself a minute to breathe and back away from the creative. When I tire of editing and want to stab my eyes out with pens, I can go back to being a creative artist again rather than a nit-picky, hard-ass, grammar nazi, perfectionist who sometimes feels like a flagellate.

 

[Fyle]

I have considered this, having a Sci-Fi WIP along side with my fantasy WIP but...

For me, since my fantasy story is so far along, I wanna make sure i finish it (storywise at least) before I start another.

I think it depends on how well you know yourself, and if you can admit to a history of leaving works unfinished, I know I have so, to play it safe I have been sticking to one so this doesn't get lost it the WIP back burner so much of my life's work music, art or otherwise has gone to.