Comments on: Two or more at a time http://pcwrede.com/blog/two-or-more-at-a-time/ Patricia C. Wrede talks about writing Sat, 18 May 2013 06:13:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: Elizabeth http://pcwrede.com/blog/two-or-more-at-a-time/comment-page-1/#comment-4420 Elizabeth Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:15:17 +0000 http://pcwrede.com/blog/?p=1336#comment-4420 My brain is not big enough to hold more than one book at a time. (Or even one book.) So I don't think I could do two first drafts at a time. I'm not all that great at doing a first draft and a later draft at the same time. Short stories seem to use a different part of my brain, because I can work on them while I'm writing a book, which is nice because it keeps me from getting too frustrated. My brain is not big enough to hold more than one book at a time. (Or even one book.) So I don’t think I could do two first drafts at a time. I’m not all that great at doing a first draft and a later draft at the same time.

Short stories seem to use a different part of my brain, because I can work on them while I’m writing a book, which is nice because it keeps me from getting too frustrated.

]]> By: ABeth http://pcwrede.com/blog/two-or-more-at-a-time/comment-page-1/#comment-4393 ABeth Thu, 13 Oct 2011 23:37:28 +0000 http://pcwrede.com/blog/?p=1336#comment-4393 The part that most drives *me* a bit nuts is that not only can't I write on anything else when my Brain Has Been Taken Over By The Fully Uncompressed Character Emulations... I can't *read* anything else, much of the time, either! I grab a book that I want to read and all my characters and world go, "What, you want to use your imagination to run someone else's program? NO WAY! We forbid it!" (Small things, like short stories and web-serials, often get past the gateway more easily. Thank goodness.) The part that most drives *me* a bit nuts is that not only can’t I write on anything else when my Brain Has Been Taken Over By The Fully Uncompressed Character Emulations… I can’t *read* anything else, much of the time, either! I grab a book that I want to read and all my characters and world go, “What, you want to use your imagination to run someone else’s program? NO WAY! We forbid it!”

(Small things, like short stories and web-serials, often get past the gateway more easily. Thank goodness.)

]]> By: LizV http://pcwrede.com/blog/two-or-more-at-a-time/comment-page-1/#comment-4392 LizV Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:06:15 +0000 http://pcwrede.com/blog/?p=1336#comment-4392 I used to keep three projects on the front burners at any given time -- ideally including one short thing, so I could get the egoboo of finishing a story on a semi-regular basis. It worked fairly well, or at least a whole lot better than randomly rambling through the whole collection of half-formed ideas and poking at whatever caught my eye that day. I found the variety helpful, as if I wasn't in the mood to work on one thing I could usually persuade myself to work on another. That changed with the first novel I completed. I don't know if it was a change to my personal process or something intrinsic to the writing of novels, but once I got a few chapters in, it took over my brain to the exclusion of all else. I kind of miss the short/medium stories that got left in the dust when that happened, but given that this was the first time I managed to *finish* something as long as a novel, I can't regret it. And with a few digressions, the pattern seems to be holding true with the second novel now in progress. As for getting into a character's head, I've gone so far as to drink my coffee in-character. Which was fine with the MC who took hers the same way I do, but when for various reasons I switched to a major secondary character, I found myself drinking coffee unsweetened -- which I'd normally hate! But I was far enough into his head that coffee with sugar just tasted *wrong*. My friends assure me that this was highly amusing to watch. I used to keep three projects on the front burners at any given time — ideally including one short thing, so I could get the egoboo of finishing a story on a semi-regular basis. It worked fairly well, or at least a whole lot better than randomly rambling through the whole collection of half-formed ideas and poking at whatever caught my eye that day. I found the variety helpful, as if I wasn’t in the mood to work on one thing I could usually persuade myself to work on another.

That changed with the first novel I completed. I don’t know if it was a change to my personal process or something intrinsic to the writing of novels, but once I got a few chapters in, it took over my brain to the exclusion of all else. I kind of miss the short/medium stories that got left in the dust when that happened, but given that this was the first time I managed to *finish* something as long as a novel, I can’t regret it. And with a few digressions, the pattern seems to be holding true with the second novel now in progress.

As for getting into a character’s head, I’ve gone so far as to drink my coffee in-character. Which was fine with the MC who took hers the same way I do, but when for various reasons I switched to a major secondary character, I found myself drinking coffee unsweetened — which I’d normally hate! But I was far enough into his head that coffee with sugar just tasted *wrong*. My friends assure me that this was highly amusing to watch.

]]> By: Mary http://pcwrede.com/blog/two-or-more-at-a-time/comment-page-1/#comment-4390 Mary Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:39:44 +0000 http://pcwrede.com/blog/?p=1336#comment-4390 Some writers need to put a story on the backburner and let it bubble for a bit between revisions. We like working on other stories in the interim, because switching gears helps us return to the first story fresh. Some writers need to put a story on the backburner and let it bubble for a bit between revisions.

We like working on other stories in the interim, because switching gears helps us return to the first story fresh.

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