Is it normal to write 2 or 3 books simultaneously..

[clintonlover]

I am working a mystery/suspense novel, a children story book, as well as an inspirational/spiritual novel.

[Benhurst]

1. Different strokes for different folks. If it works for you, why not? NT

[brainshrub]

2. That's what Steven King does.

Writers, as a group, are abnormal. Whatever gets the job done is fine.

[Wetzelbill]

6. he also makes up stories and develops them in his mind

as he's lying in bed at night. Over the course of time, he starts morphing different stories together and they all become one idea. It's interesting how he does it. I sort of do the same thing but not on such an in depth level. I often will think up ideas and develop them in my head for quite awhile, start to write several pages, then stop. Then I do the same thing over again with another idea. Then I'll start thinking about combining them and correlating their stories and somehow it works out. That's weird, huh?

But, King is a wild genius how he goes about it. His mind is remarkable.

[Wetzelbill]

3. yeah

I'm working on several short stories at once. Researching some other articles and essays I'm looking to write for a few magazines, I just wrote an op-ed for a paper last week, I'm half-ass working on a screenplay and I write for my blog. So basically, I'm writing a book and a screenplay at once, plus all sorts of smaller projects. I have enough for a poetry book, I guess, but I'm not interested in publishing one. So I think it's normal to write all sorts of stuff at once, be it two or three books or some other writing projects.

Creative people tend to get so many ideas that we all just start putting everything down in all sorts of different ways. If it means we're writing two books then so be it. Just make sure you are focused enough to get it all done. That's my problem. I only get about a quarter of it done. I need to work on quality and quantity.

[merwin]

4. Just don't get them mixed up.

Wouldn't want the main character in the children's book to get axe murdered by anyone. That would leave scars on a child I think.

[alkaline9]

5. i think it's healthy to...

...have an outlet for all your creativity... and doing so with 3 totally seperate genres might help that creativity grow in a healthy way. Good luck to you.

[Wetzelbill]

7. Welcome to DU!

[BamaGirl]

8. I have several projects going on right now

I'm spending the majority of my time on just one of them right now, with an hour throw here and there at the others. ::shrug:: It works for me.

[Codeblue]

9. What happened...

to me was I was working on a fantasy novel but I thought of a great idea for a sci-fi/political novel. I wanted to start writing it right away, and thus I became bored with my fantasy novel. But I am working on both at the moment.

[sybylla]

10. I have on the order of 7 stories in the works now

I've really been focusing on one in particular because my goal is to finish a novel by the end of the year. I have so many because as I researched this story or work on my hobby (genealogy) story ideas some to me and so I start working on them casually.

I have read A Guide to Fiction Writing by Phyllis Whitney. In it, she says she has at least three writing projects going at all times - a working draft, the next plot or outline to polish and a third story usually at the research stage.

She claims having multiple projects combats writer's block. When she finds she is having trouble with one scene, chapter or character, she moves on to a different part of the story or to a different story entirely. I've done the same thing in the past and it seemed to help to focus on something else from a few hours to a few days to even a month or two. Plus, you're still being productive.

[DavidDvorkin]

11. In writing, everything's normal

Nothing is abnormal.

[petgoat]

12. I tend to find excuses to avoid finishing

So as I'm getting near completion, suddenly I get ideas for
ever-so-much-more interesting projects. I just take notes on the new
project, outlines, sketches. I'm afraid to work on more than one thing
or I'd never finish anything.

Except... come to think of it, there was a time when I was between jobs
and writing full time. I'd get up in the morning, ride with my wife to
her job, jog back home, edit my novel 'til lunch. Then work on whatever
I wanted after lunch. That worked very well.

Whatever works for you is normal for you.