how do y’all stick with one project at a time…? :/

[ella]

I know I’m not the only one out there, and I know that this is a valid question:  How do y’all stay on track with one novel at a time?  I’m a brainstormer and daydreamer, so I’m always coming up with new ideas. 😉  A lot of it might be stick-to-itiveness and self-control , but do y’all have any ways to stay on track?  I’d love to hear some thoughts.

@gracie-j @devastate-lasting @nanisnook @issawriter7 @kathleenramm @mkfairygirl @abigail-m @writerlexi1216 @e-k-seaver @lewilliams @anyone-else

what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000

[Linyang Zhang]

@nova21 Write down your new ideas in like a notebook or a doc or something. Make a plan for finishing the current novel as well as a daily schedule. For example, for me with March of Wrath, I’m doing 5 pages a day for a total of 40 days. Sometimes I get left behind and as a result, this week I’ve been doing 11 pages, which has been considerably more painful. If I’m writing on the computer, though, that’s a hit or miss. I wanted to write a chapter every day for Those Who Were Given Another Yesterday this month but I only did like two and a half. So that’s that. But I do push myself a lot less for PC-based work.

So basically, write down new ideas, make schedule, force yourself to do it.

Hope this helps!

Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days

[R.M. Archer]

(It’s so frustrating when I make a tiny edit to a post and then it vanishes.)

@nova21

One of the things that helps me the most is having a plan for managing plot bunnies. What I’ve found to work best for myself is allowing myself to explore an idea for a few days or maybe even a week and write down everything I know about it, all the questions I have, all the character ideas, etc. I often make Pinterest boards. Anything that’s in my head right away or within a couple of days. Then I have the notes for later when I have time to come back to the idea, but it doesn’t take too much time away from my main project. Often, I’ll run out of steam around the time I’ve gotten everything else down, so it’s not too difficult for me to go back to the project that I’ve decided (for a particular reason) that I’m working on for a while. Having a place for those initial notes also allows me to go back and add notes quickly and easily if I come up with things later, again without taking too much time and attention away from my main project.

Like I hinted at earlier, it’s super helpful to know why you’re focusing on this specific project. What about it are you excited about? Why is it important to you? What makes it stand out to you? You might even want to write these down somewhere you can get to them easily when you’re hitting a slump, to encourage you or to help you re-focus. Knowing why you write (beyond just enjoying it) will help you keep going when it gets tricky.

Having a plan will also help, so setting a specific goal for the project and/or smaller goals for getting to the end can be a great idea, and so can building a writing habit.

But it’s also important to ask why you want to focus on just one project. If you do write just because you enjoy it, it might work better to choose a few projects that you can cycle through, so that when you get bored with one you can move on to the next one. If you want to focus on a project so that you have something finished, you might work your way up from a short piece to a slightly longer piece to a slightly longer piece to a novel. If you want to focus on a project so that you finish this project, then you probably have a good starting point for focusing on this project, specifically.

I hope that helps! 🙂

Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Singer. Worldbuilding enthusiast.

[Kads]

@nova21 Pfft, what are you talking about? I don’t focus!

XD I will do all the development I want for a new plot/novel idea, but I will force myself NOT to write it. I’m currently trying my hand at a crime novel set in Japan (you might’ve heard me talk about it before), but I’m forcing myself to save it for NaNo. I’ve literally only written one sentence in it, and that is as far as I’ll let myself go until July. Self-restraint is the thing that works best for me. Which reminds me… I might not be able to make it to July :,)

staring at the fields
if nothing's really real
i'll make the winter now my home

[ella]

@devastate-lasting

that’s a good idea with the pages and stuff.  i’ll definitely try that out!

@r-m-archer

ooo, i love that idea of cycling through projects–i should definitely try that out! haha

@scripter-of-kingdoms

ooo, i’ll do nana july w you!  and if you want, you can give yourself a base for nano july, which will be nice once you start.

 

thanks for your advice gals!!!!!  super helpful 🙂

what we do in life echoes in eternity
-gladiator, 2000

[Anonymous]

@r-m-archer (Yes. Drives me bananas.)

@nova21 So, I am a stickler. But I’m also a wanderer, which is why I am a stickler. Let me rewind…

I come up with about one new idea every day, so out of seven a week, one or two really capture my attention and are just BEGGING to be written, right? But I’m working on Bound and Determined, which I simply must finish sometime this century, so therefore, I have to set all of those wonderful ideas aside and focus on BAD.

Not that I focus very hard. Today was the first time I’d written in BAD in over two weeks, so…

But when I am focused and staying on track with just one or two projects? Well, I do pretty much what Linyang and Kadotake said. I write down all of my ideas (some are just a sentence in a doc titled “Story Ideas”, while others I completely outline), so that way I get them out of my system, and then I just crack down on my main WIP.

I have a few projects right now, so my focus has been all over the place, but back when I wrote my first two novels, I was pretty consistent, and that was mainly because I reminded myself of (1) how much I loved this story, (2) all of the amazingness that I have yet to write, and (3) why I really shouldn’t start writing yet another novel I’ll probably never finish.

Anyway, yeah. Hope that helps!

[Jenna Terese]

@nova21 Honestly I’m a huge dreamer too so I have the same problem. XD

I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com

[Katherine]

@nova21
Oof, I’m in the same boat! XDXD I’m currently trying to write two novels at once.😂 Honestly, I could use some advice myself. Thank you for posting this forum topic!!!!!!!😀

"It looks like a fairy world"~Meg from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Fall in love with Jesus

[Katherine]

@r-m-archer Wow, that’s great advice!!! I often explore my new ideas for a couple of days too before I continue on my main projects. Thank you for sharing!!! 🙂 🙂

"It looks like a fairy world"~Meg from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Fall in love with Jesus

[Anonymous]

@nova21

I’m ALWAYS tempted to switch over to other projects, but I always find that I just can’t. I’m having a very difficult time with The Apostle’s Sister right now, but every time I think of giving it up and starting something else, I just can’t.

I think the key to staying on track is choosing a project that you’re really truly passionate about. I have never been passionate about any story as I’m passionate about TAS, and that’s why I haven’t given it up even though lots of times I feel like quitting. If you try to work on a novel you’re not passionate about deep down – no matter what compelling characters or exciting plot it may have – you’ll get bored very quickly and hop from project to project.

Though sometimes you are passionate about what you’re working on but still struggle to stick to it. I think this is because novels are obviously very difficult to write, no matter how much you love your story! So it’s easy to chase after a sparkling, golden new idea. I’ve found that it’s very effective to remind yourself that this new idea will be only sparkling and golden for so long. Then when you actually dive into writing it, it will quickly become just as difficult as your original project.

Don’t toss away new ideas, though. Write them down. Maybe even write a chapter or two of a new idea, put the chapter away, get it out of your mind, and continue with the project you should be working on. In your free time, you can work some more on the new idea if you want, but be sure it doesn’t cut into the time you should be working on your original project.

Hope this helped! 😊

[Author]

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