One or the other?

[Yeoman]

I have 3 things I'm 'writing' at the moment, I put two of them on hold, and carried on with the third. But now my enthusiasm is lessening, and I feel like I want to pick up with one of the others. But should I or shouldn't I, because wouldn't it be awkward and confusing to keep changing stories every few thousand words? Plus I should probably actually finish one of my various scribblings.

I just wondered what other people do, do you carry on with one story or keep switching.

[Talysia]

At the moment, I do have two separate stories on the go at the moment, and I've had the same problem as you. I don't know whether it's the right thing to do, but I've found that by putting one down for the moment and concentrating on the other one helps, as I can go back to the other one when I get fresh inspiration. That said, though, I've got a pretty good memory, and I only need to read back a few pages to get back to writing from where I left off. Also, when I do switch between my stories, I prefer to finish the chapter and leave it at that, rather than in the middle of something.

Or at least, that's the way I do it. I'm only an amateur myself.

[Birol]

Different people do different things.

Some people are quite capable of switching back and forth between projects and do so with no problems. Other people use switching back and forth as a form of procrastination.

Only you know whether you are doing the latter or not.

[dustinzgirl]

As an extremely amatuer writer, I've noticed that a lot of times when I have 2 or 3 different stories going on, they become similar to each other and with some plot tie ins are really just one big story.

[Sapheron]

Personally it's a big no. Whenever another story distracts me for even a moment, I'll move to it and forget the last one.

[vintagefury]

I actually need multiple stories going on simultaneously - even if it's just writing little shorts alongside my main work. If I'm not switching around I'll get bored and my writing will get stale.

But that's me personally. You have to find what works for you.

[Tillane]

Hi, Yeoman.

I prefer to work through one project before moving onto another, for similar reasons to dustinzgirl. It's very tempting to go with whatever has the momentum on the day, though; there's nothing more disheartening than sitting in front of a blank screen/page, particularly when you feel you could be moving forward on something else.

As far as I can, I try to compromise; concentrate on writing one piece while editing or planning out another. That tends to work for me, but as others have said it's different for each person.

[Culhwch]

Originally Posted by Birol

Other people use switching back and forth as a form of procrastination.

Yeah, that'd be me...

[j. d. worthington]

Well, as noted, it depends on what works for you. However, many professional writers do go from one project to another. Asimov used to keep several baskets scattered around his work area. When he'd run dry on whatever he was working on, he'd grab whichever of the others seemed most interesting at that moment, and go to it, and so on. Never seemed to keep him from producing (to say the least!). Harlan Ellison has talked about doing this several times; Dickens, Le Fanu, Heinlein, Hemingway, Russ, Norton, James... the list of those who use (or used, in the case of the deceased) this practice is well-nigh endless. Point being: the practice itself is certainly not a bad one. The question is: does it work for you or not?

[Yeoman]

Thankyou for your replies, they helped loads!

I think I'm going to finish the chapter I'm on, then take a look at one of the other things I'm writing.

[lin robinson]

Other people use switching back and forth as a form of procrastination.
Yeah, that'd be me...

Me too, like switching from working to posting drivel on the internet.

[Anthony G Williams]

My first novel got shelved a couple of times when I ran out of enthusiasm/inspiration. The first gap lasted two years, the second one four - but it got finished eventually!

I did much better with my second novel; there was only one gap, and it only lasted a year...