And, I'm back! The draft is done, I've written lots of letters to my bro, and I haven't finished the huge work project (darn). The fun summery adventure is taking place next weekend in the form of a zoo trip, and I'm ready to jump into edits for TUGL.
I mentioned in my last post that I got a shiny new idea for a story I'm calling Perception. I used to just write down SNIs and leave them alone until I was done with my current project. This time, though, I've let it simmer in my brain during this last week when I took a short break from TUGL. That means I'm currently querying one book, editing another, and planning a third. I never thought I'd be able to handle three stories in my head at once, but it's amazing what you can get used to. In fact, I'm finding that I kinda like having stories in different stages.
I've discovered a lot of benefits of working on more than one project. For one, it helped get my mind off TUGL this week as I worked on Perception. I always try to take small (and sometimes large) breaks from my WIPs between different stages, and having something else to work on really lets my brain clear of the story so I can go back to it with fresh eyes.
Another thing I've figured out is how much it helps to let new ideas simmer for a few months at least. With Devs, which I'm querying now, I got the idea and immediately jumped into the planning and writing. Then, at 30,000 words, I realized I was writing the wrong story and started completely over. When I got the idea for TUGL, I was still in the middle of rewriting Devs, so it percolated in my brain for months. I considered and rejected multiple ideas-- before I ever put them on the page. I got all that figuring out of the story done before I started writing, making the writing so much easier.
Percpetion will go back to simmer mode for the next few months as I dive into rewrites for TUGL. In dull moments, my brain will play with it, think of new ideas, throw them away, and find better ones. Then, when I'm ready to send TUGL to beta readers and take a break from it, Perception will be waiting for some action.
So, my friends, how do you handle shiny new ideas when they come at an inconvenient time? Are you working on multiple stories, or do you prefer to handle one at a time?
