Writing advice?

[ratherastory]

I posted this elsewhere, so apologies to people seeing it twice.

Okay, so ratherastory has probably bitten off more than she can chew. No one is surprised. At least I'm aiming high, right?

So I have several large projects, all of which are due in the next six to eight weeks, in rough form. These range from a couple of 10k+ commitments to 15k+ commitments to three 20k+ commitments. Yeah, I know.

I've done a couple of balancing acts in the past, but never so many at once.

So here's my question. Has anyone here done this kind of thing before? How do you manage multiple large simultaneous projects? Do you have a system? Do you allocate specific amounts of time/whatever to each project every day? Work on whichever project strikes your fancy on a given day?

In short, what's your strategy? Do you have tips? Advice? Giant heaps of mockery because I have no self-control? ;)

Comments

[si-star-x.livejournal.com]

Hey emo princess. I hope somebody can help you on this one. *hugs*

[zortified.livejournal.com]

I do this to myself ALL THE TIME. I never notice until I realise I'm freaking out and then I make out a to do list and go "...Oh."

Actually, making a To Do List helps a lot. Sometimes I realise I have a manageable amount of stuff to do and I relax. And sometimes I realise I need to stop signing up for stuff. ;-) But what I do is make a to do list and divide it up by due date. (Including rough draft due dates and final dates, if applicable.) I include any minimum word count criteria as well.

Then I work on one at a time, in order. I can't work on multiple projects very well, unless they are in completely different fandoms and completely different genres (otherwise people start to sound alike - or I get paranoid about them sounding alike.) But generally I have to take them in order.

The key for me is that I can write very, very fast. But in order to do this I have to spend most of my non-typing-words-down time thinking through the story. I daydream whole scenes, work out key plot details, go over and over the moneyshot scene and make sure I can get there the way I'm going. Then, when I sit down to type, it pours out pretty fast. I can write a 10k word story in about two days if I have the whole thing worked out in my head this way.

Then I take a day off, go over the draft, then send it off to a beta and start the next one. Fixing a draft after it comes back from the beta usually never involves huge rewrites, so I can work on that while also writing another story.

Also - and this is very important: give yourself permission to drop out of something. Look hard at what you're obligated to do and ask yourself honestly if it will help you with everything else if you drop one of the projects. You won't tarnish your reputation and you won't make anyone mad at you, and people will be so thrilled with what you *do* write that they won't hate you for what you don't, as long as what you do share is something you're proud of. (If you scribble out garbage and post it, that's another thing entirely. ;-) ) Be honest and firm about whether or not you really have to fulfill all of these obligations and if you can drop out of one - do so as early as you can, in case other people need to make adjustments.

But if you can't drop any of them, I suggest just take them one at a time, and just focus on the one you've put in front of yourself.

Oh, and don't goof off too much reading LJ. ;-) (Get back to writing!)

[dante-s-hell.livejournal.com]

I've wanted to sign up for lots of stuff. Everything looks so shiny and pretty, but I've had to reign myself in. Still, I've committed to stuff this year, doing a lot more challenges and things than I normally do. Usually, I give myself "homework" and assign a particular fic for the day/weekend and try to get it done in the time I've allotted myself.

Good luck with your projects!

[phx69.livejournal.com]

Ooh poor you. When I first started writing fan fiction, I ended up writing three multi-chapter angsty Hardy Boys fics at the same time. What worked for me was to writing a piece for each story in order. I'd write as much as I could on the first. Then when I got to a natural stopping point or I had a plot point I needed to think about, I'd stop and switch to the second, do the same thing and then go to the third. That way I was making progress on all three and found it less overwhelming. Although once I got all of them done, I promised myself I'd never do that again. It is a lot of pressure, unless you are truly having fun with each of the stories. Or... you could pound through them one at a time, if you find it hard to switch stories like that :)

Good luck!

[primrose-1.livejournal.com]

I'm not that kind of a writer. My writing is SLOW, and I nitpick, and doubt myself, and might sign up for one thing a year.

BUT, I'm also involved in a LOT of other projects that aren't writing related. Right now, I'm in the middle of working on a reading night presentation at the elementary school here for Monday, a church presentation for Tuesday, am trying to learn The Elephant's Child for a job in a week, researching a story for the guild CD, and researching Victorian Ghost stories for next Halloween, sewing costumes for the Ren Faire in May, and Victorian costumes for said Victorian Ghost stories. I work on things a little at a time, focus on the thing that needs to be done first, and start early so that I can backburner things as needed without feeling too bad about it. I set goals for the day, the week, and sometimes the hour if need be. I also use my timer. I'll set my timer. I'll clean my house for 15 minutes, then go work on a project for awhile. When my timer goes off, it's time to go work on something else.

Good luck, ambitious lady! I'm sure you will come through with amazing results!

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

My only advice is to NOT wait for a project to strike your fancy before you work on it. I find having a schedule and a weekly word-count you have to achieve helps. So, if you say "I'm only working on this project on Saturday, and I have to write at least 2,000 words" then you're more likely to actually get it done.

Or at least, that's what works for me. But then, I usually limit my commitments, because I know I can only hand one or two projects at a time.

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

What I do when I have huge amounts of fics like that due is that I sit and write out, in short script, what's coming up next. Doesn't even have to be in order. I'll have the beginning already written in story form and I'll think, oh yeah, there's that scene where: "S (for Sam) goes to circus, runs into polka dancing possessed clown, freaks out, D (for Dean) has to come protect him and use seltzer bottle with holy water." Bam, scene kept so I don't lose it. I might actually get writing, real writing, beyond that, and I'll do that before I lose it. If the skeleton's there, then it's MUCH easier to fill in the muscles and skin afterwards. Hard to hang all that tissue without bones.

I have no mockery because I've so done this before and I SO don't envy you. *pets*

Hi, by the way. I know, I've been awful about being on LiveJournal. Apparently four jobs takes up time: who knew? *headdesk*

~Nebula

[faithburke.livejournal.com]

I'm really bad about doing this too. I'm currently signed up for five big bangs, two of them 20K and the other three 15K, and I'm considering signing up for another. What I find that works so that I don't get sick of the story and still get them all done is that I usually only plan to work on one in a day (Mondays are for spn_j2_bigbang, Tuesdays are cross_bigbang, etc.) and I set myself a daily goal. I write at least 1000 words on that story that particular day, and then if I want to write anything else I do. Since writing is my stress relief during my lunch break at work and I plot out stories on my drive in and out, this works for me.

[musicofyourname.livejournal.com]

Definitely great advice here -- I'll just pop in to say that nobody knows your style like you do, so plan for what works when you need to get $h!t done. For me, that's shutting off distractions, kicking myself in the posterior and settling down for a grunt session. I can usually get a sold 5-6K out of a sitting on one of those. It also helps to have your goals for the day in mind. Setting a target for yourself is a great motivator, as is a treat at the end for accomplishing what you set out to do. :) Good luck and keep us posted!

And yes, writing is hard. :P

[quickreaver.livejournal.com]

I usually fail miserably...not to rain on your parade. BUT! On those rare occasions I succeed, I make lists, use ye olde willpower and stick to said lists, lose sleep and weight, but make it just under the wire. Then I sleep for two days. I'm totally normal, I swear. (I'm no help at all. My bad.)

[bellatemple]

HOLY CRAP, WOMAN.

That's kind of all I got. Other than feeling silly for being a little whacked out by my two writing projects totalling a required 35,000 words.

[annie200.livejournal.com]

Not a writer, just an avid reader, but if you need someone to help you with basic betaing for grammar/sense give me a shout.
Good luck!