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One at a time, or several stories going at once?

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Active Ink Slinger
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So, when you're writing, do you start a story and see it through to the end or do you have multiple pieces under construction at any one time? For the most part, I try to finish the thing I'm on before i start something, but sometimes I break that rule ... What about you? Which, and why?
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Usually several bits and pieces that I keep hopping around. I'm great at getting ideas but terrible at organizing the time to get them actually turned into stories. That said, I am finding that starting to do the contests is a great way of forcing myself to focus. I got one into the quickie contest and I am working on one for the current Seduction contest.
Mazztastic
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I'm afraid I have a ton of unfinished stuff... I start writing something and then I get dis...

Oh look, another idea!!

In fairness, I have a lot of things going on in the real world right now, but I really need to be a little more disciplined...
Head Nurse
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Quote by Mazza
I'm afraid I have a ton of unfinished stuff... I start writing something and then I get dis...

Oh look, another idea!!

In fairness, I have a lot of things going on in the real world right now, but I really need to be a little more disciplined...


this

oh look, a puppy....
The Right Rev of Lush
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I seldom work on more than two at a time, usually with one still nearly finished and the other in the early stages of procrastination. If an idea strikes, I save it in a quick notes file carefully tucked away in a 'story ideas' folder...which I then misplace or accidentally delete. Works for me.

;)
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Home of the Lush "IN" crowd: indecent, intoxicated, and insolvent
a place to gossip, share news, talk sports, pimp a story, piss & moan, or just grab a drink. Check it out.

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwords. -- ROBERT HEINLEIN
Devil's Advocate
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Not counting the half dozen mainstream novels I currently have in various states of completion, I tend to work on one thing at a time. I like to throw myself into it until it's done, have a bit of a rest, then crack on with the next one.

Although I did drop a werewolf romance I'm struggling with at the moment to get my entry in for the Quickie Competition. The problem is, I'm having a lot of trouble picking it up again. I guess that's why I like to do one at a time.
My latest story is a racy little piece about what happens when someone cute from work invites you over to watch Netflix and Chill.
The Right Rev of Lush
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Wilful, hate to be the one breaking the news, but the 'Quickie' has come and, dare I say it, quickly gone. However, you might ramp up the pre-sex part of your wip a bit and give it a whirl in the current 'Seduction' contest. ;)

RUMPLATIONS: AwesomeHonky Tonk and Cyber Bar
Home of the Lush "IN" crowd: indecent, intoxicated, and insolvent
a place to gossip, share news, talk sports, pimp a story, piss & moan, or just grab a drink. Check it out.

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwords. -- ROBERT HEINLEIN
Lurker
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Quote by RumpleForeskin
. However, you might ramp up the pre-sex part of your wip a bit and give it a whirl in the current 'Seduction' contest. ;)


when did this start?
Active Ink Slinger
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I usually have 2 or 3 stories in various stages of completion. Currently I am bouncing between two stories with notes and ideas jotted down for a couple more. It depends on what My mind wants to do at the time!
Lurker
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It used to be 1 at a time but it's gotten to the point I can work on 2 at a time.

I'm currently writing a collaboration story with a friend as well as my own story.

Tough juggling at times but I love it
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I currently have 3 that I am rotating around to see which I finish to my satisfaction first. I think I know which one will win at this point but it's a longer one so may take a while. May slip in a flash story or two in the meantime.
Story Verifier
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I always have a number of stories going in parallel, usually its two to three, but somehow all kinds of plot bunnies have been jumping me the last few months, and while I'm sitting here and trying to get the critters under control, I've got four story series that need completion as well as three half-way done standalone pieces. I may be slightly overdoing it...
Advanced Wordsmith
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I seem to be the dissenting voice here.

I don't think I've ever had more than one story in progress at a time. Sometimes while I'm in the process of writing one story an idea will occur for another. But in those cases I try to avoid doing much more than think about the details of character and plot and jot some notes until I'm done with the current project. It may be a failing, but I find trying to actively work on more than one piece at a time to be too distracting and confusing. The good part is that my writing process tends to be pretty rapid. When I envision a story I pretty much know the beginning and end right away. It's just how to navigate between the two that can be tricky. But usually I know fairly well where I want to go, and so the writing doesn't take overly long. I couldn't imaging trying to write a story piecemeal - a bit at a time without knowing the ending.

The long novel I've written (about 145k words) took just a few months of active writing, although the rewrite/revision process took a while. But once I'm past the initial active writing and am into revising I find I'm able to begin something new without too much difficulty.
Story Verifier
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Quote by bethalia
The long novel I've written (about 145k words) took just a few months of active writing, although the rewrite/revision process took a while. But once I'm past the initial active writing and am into revising I find I'm able to begin something new without too much difficulty.


I find it even makes revising easier to have something new going, because it takes my mind out of the existing story and makes it easier to look at it from a distance to spot errors and typos.
Advanced Wordsmith
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Quote by ChrissieLecker


I find it even makes revising easier to have something new going, because it takes my mind out of the existing story and makes it easier to look at it from a distance to spot errors and typos.


You're right that a bit of distance makes it easier to really see your story (as opposed to just seeing what you expect to see). Although I find in the revision process it's more a matter of tying things together, taking care of continuity issues, and making sure things make sense. That novel was the last (or most recent, anyway) story of a seven story series. I'd written the first story for something to do. A second story naturally suggested itself, and then a third, etc. The seven stories have a continuing premise and characters and plot. So after I finished the novel I went back and did a great deal of re-writing on the previous six stories (especially the earlier ones) to draw the seven stories into a more organic whole.
Active Ink Slinger
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Quote by seeker4
I currently have 3 that I am rotating around to see which I finish to my satisfaction first. I think I know which one will win at this point but it's a longer one so may take a while. May slip in a flash story or two in the meantime.


Even my finished ones aren't to my satisfaction yet.

I do have four in progress.
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Quote by marktreble


Even my finished ones aren't to my satisfaction yet.



Tell me about it. I can see changes that could be made in all of my published stories (save the two written as comp entries, which are basically perfect little horny gems ) but doing the work and then having to re-verify doesn't seem worth it. Better to pour my energy into new material.