Can you write two books at once? – Graeme Ing, Author

Can you write two books at once?

Can you write more than one book at a time? I asked myself this recently.

I have a bundle of outlines for books that I want to write, and not surprisingly when writing on my current book slows down, I start dreaming about the neat ideas I have for my next one. Oooh, I want to write that! Years ago, I learned the discipline of completing a project, whereas I had spent most of my youth stuffing filing cabinets with half-finished novels, always lusting over my next “awesome” idea. Heh. So awesome that I didn't finish it, ay?

What if I didn't abandon my current book, but worked on two at once? Can you do this? I tried, and found that I couldn't. Like most writers, I get absorbed in my characters, but just couldn't hold two sets of unique characters in my head, and feel like I could do them all justice. Even with totally different genres.

I know of authors that very successfully work on multiple books with incredible results. Obviously, their brain is wired differently. I've heard them say that it is helpful to flip to another book when ideas dry up on the first, or they need a change of pace, or that what they write depends on their mood each day.

Another of my concerns was would I end up slowing both books down. If I could write a book a year (I can't… yet) and if I wrote two simultaneously, would I have them both done after two years or longer? Does time-to-market matter if I could have fun and be more creative?

Let's say I had two books completed after two years. Is it an advantage to unleash two books on the world? Two books spaced a couple of months apart would maximize my marketing efforts. A kind of two-fer. But would two years between releases, rather one year, allow my audience to forget about me? Oh, the dilemma.

Less than a month from NaNoWriMo, I find myself wondering if I should start a new project while continuing on my current. Ironically, I asked the same question last year. The answer was No. NaNoWriMo sounds like a ton of fun, but I believe that my inner voice knows best.

Like many things in life: know thy self. No matter what others do, or I would wish to do, I can only do justice to one book at a time. So be it.

What about you? Can you multitask more than one book? How do you do that? Do you write a bit to both books each day, or alternate, or…?

 

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5 comments
Gray Sharpling says October 7, 2012

Hi Graeme,
1 tiny thing – how about making “NaNoWriMo” a hyperlink to the web site? I had to open a new tab to find out what it was… 🙂
I’m no author, but I am a model kit builder, and UNLIKE most of fellow modelling-club members, I can’t even built more than one kit at a time! They (mostly) all seem to be able to work on multiple kits simultaneously, but I’ve got to finish one before I feel like I can start a new one. Maybe that’s just me…..???
🙂
Gray

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Mark Landen says October 7, 2012

Hi Graeme,

Interesting post! Two things here… I believe when a creative moment strikes, the artist needs to do everything they can to seize the moment as it happens; life itself restricts creativity enough on its own, so as creatives we shouldn’t self-inflict.

The second thing is I fully believe multitasking is a movement pushed by business to get more work out of people, it was born shortly after the WindowsXP OS was marketed as “multitasking”, but it only results in increased stress levels in people–killing Creativity as its first victim. The brain adapts as a matter of survival, so most people aren’t aware there is even a problem.

Regardless, genius arrives from deep thought, and if we never give ourselves the chance for it (multitasking) then how can we expect it to happen to us? History has revered the deep thinker for thousands of years, so it baffles me why the last 10-15 years advocates against it…

So for me, being able to deeply concentrate on one project, not forced multitasking, melds with my temperament and feels natural. However, when ideas for other stories come in, I let the power of creativity take its course, and that gets satisfied by updating an outline or researching.

–mark

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    Graeme Ing says October 9, 2012

    I think it makes sense to be continuing taking notes, researching, journaling, updating outlines etc., because the last thing you want is to lose that inspiration. I think it’s quite another thing to actually write 2 books at once. I’d love to hear from someone who does.

    I realized the irony in my post when I constantly READ two books at once, though usually it’s one fiction and one non-fiction. This probably means that I could write two books in this same way.

    Reply
Victoria Limbert says October 19, 2012

I am very guilty of constantly having thoughts, ideas, new creations and wanting to start new projects…2 books at a time, how about, so far, 4 books? lol As you know I am writing my second book in the Twin Soul Novels series (Main priority) and you know I am working on a fantasy trilogy that keeps calling me but I am also putting together one called Arabelle and a post apocalypse story which is mainly a bit of fun between me and my friends as they wanted me to write a story with them in it. What better way then to force them to survive a dying world full of maniacs? my friends would love it! they are all so cooky!! anyway yeh, I can work on multiple projects.

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    Graeme says October 22, 2012

    Wow, 4 at once? No way could I do that. Don’t you find it takes forever to get any of them written? I can’t remember if you told me how long it took to write LILITH? I’ll stick to one for now, maybe I could write a short story at the same time.

    Reply
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