- question to the writers

[erastes]

::Question::

When you've finished a piece of work (I'm talking mainly novel
length, because I know how I cope with short stories) how do you cope
with juggling?

What I'm trying to say is: I've finished Transgressions, but it's in
nowhere NEAR a good enough state to go out anywhere, and needs not
only editing and polishing but whole new chunks added in. However,
I've started Junction X. So how do you guys cope with the mechanical
needs of an older work, getting it reading for agent's queries or
publishers, whilst still keeping the creative juices working and
driving forward a new work?

Do you just work on the older one, or do you dabble with short stories
or do you do like me, and try and do it all at once?

Comments

[leatherdykeuk.livejournal.com]

I do it all at once and take headache tablets. That's why I never write after 7pm; my brain is fried!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

And that's the other problem, I have lunchtime and evenings and weekends!

*cries*

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

All at once

I have my schedule.
I open all the pieces I'm working on.
15 minutes each, unless inspiration strikes hard and hot.
Then I do another hour in the afternoon.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I'm very impressed! However I'm sure if I tried that, I'd have English Oxford schoolboys firing muskets and civil war boys listening to the Beatles and then where would I be?

ROFLS!

[rwday.livejournal.com]

I think you already know how I do it, but for the record, I can't work on more than one novel at a time. With novels, I'm living with those characters intimately. I dream about them, I play out scenes in my mind and out loud in the car and when I'm home alone. I couldn't manage that with two conflicting sets of characters.

So I use short stories, which require a lot less investment, as a way to keep writing while I'm editing and revising a novel. Or while I'm researching and worldbuilding the next novel, like now.

I envy people who can multitask enough to do it all, but I tend to be obsessive, so I just can't do it.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I'm finding I can't do it either. While I'm with Standish I can't think of anything else, so we must work similarly. Can do the short story though, so that's good.

[eroticjames.livejournal.com]

I set the old aside for a little bit and go work on the new. Then on days when I'm not inspired on the new peice I'll go back and do read throughs of the old one, rearranging, adding bits, going "what was I thinking putting that line in?"

[erastes.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea... a very good idea.

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

Since work and family severely limit my uninterrupted writing time (about 2 hours/day max), I force myself to use that time *only* for writing (no internet, turn off the phone, no TV or music, etc.)

Within these limits, I find that my brain has three settings for writing:

(1) Getting down new ideas (which means writing crap prose to get the ideas out, so usually this is when I'm feeling brain dead)
(2) Adding new dimensions to finished drafts/filling in holes
(3) Polishing and perfecting

I'm a perfectionist, and could piss around with the same opening sentence for 20 years, so I set deadlines--usually really unreasonable ones. "I will have a draft ready for my readers by suchandsuch a date." Or "By suchandsuch I will have a finished product to send to X."

If I hadn't done the deadlines, I'd never have finished the novel.






Sometimes I'm in the mood for creating, in which case, I work on new ideas or unfinished projects. Sometimes I just don't have the bra

[semioticwarrior.livejournal.com]

Oops. Hanging last line from previous draft of comment!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea and I need to start doing that, I have about the same amount of time too.

Yes, thank god for deadlines! I'd be the same without them!

"oh yes, it's on it's way......"

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

I've never written a novel length work before (attention span? WHAT attention span?) but Stephen King (in his book 'On Writing') suggests putting the work away for a few weeks until it is no longer consuming you then go back and look at it with a fresh perspective. I've done this with short stories and it is amazing what you pick up when you come back to the story.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Now there's the trouble, because after I put the finished one away for its rest, then I get started on the new one....

[nagasvoice.livejournal.com]

I tend to sit down, put some music on, figure out what mood I'm in and what's been tapping a tthe mental windows as far as any inspiration on new stuff, and work on that if I've got something to add. If not, if I'm feeling blah or stupid or impatient, I turn to editing. Impatient works for me for editing, I keep asking myself why I'm bothering with this or that bit, and if I can't give a good answer, it gets at least marked for possible deletion. I tend to write long anyway, so anythin that tightens it up is helpful for me.