I started this blog as a way to keep myself motivated to keep creating. I have a new idea for a clever novel waiting to come to life. Sadly, the beginning of a novel is always the toughest part for me to write. It might be wise to consider jumping ahead to write the bigger points then go back to fill in the gaps. Then I would know what needs to be covered to reach the conclusions for the different problems this novel will hold. The tough part is I have never written a story this way. How do I do it?
Usually, the story builds in my mind as I’m typing. What feels like a logical progression of the story stumbles onto the keyboard. This method has worked in the past, so I figured there was never any reason to change this plan. But I’m already doing things differently compared to before. I could try a few new things. This may be a new way for me to keep my creativity flowing without hitting as many pauses as before.
But the title of this post is “Multiple Stories”. That is hardly what I was talking about in those previous paragraphs. All those words were explaining my leading up to a new idea. When I step away from a novel because I’ve hit a creative wall, I sometimes allow my creativity to merge into a new creation. Usually, I turn to painting to clear out my mind of anything having to do with writing. This time however, things went a slightly different path.
I was in bed late one night thinking about my writing. Just letting my ideas sort themselves out. If I came up with a clever solution, then I could write my ideas in my note app on my phone. But as I started thinking about magic and mysteries a whole new idea popped into my brain. I didn’t want to put too much thought into it because I could feel sleep only a few minutes away if I was lucky. In a rush of gibberish, I typed up my idea into my notes to think about the new idea in the morning. Getting some coffee and daylight would no doubt clear my head.
The next morning, I thought for sure the idea would appear as nothing but gibberish and I could delete the note. I would read through it and chuckle at my middle of the night schemes. Then delete the confusion on the page. Amazingly, the note was surprisingly clear. I loved the idea I typed up. It would need some work because it was only a few paragraphs long. Hardly a great outline for a novel. But an idea was brewing for yet another novel.
I began to debate what this meant for my other story. I know my mind likes to push ideas together. The problem is these two ideas would be tough to merge into one. I did my best to avoid thinking about the new idea any further. But it seems like such a fun story for me to write. The solution to this problem seems pretty obvious. I can write more than one book at a time.
I cannot say for sure how this all works. But I assume many authors are sketching out ideas and working on said ideas all at once. Maybe one day they want to dive into the mystery story they’re thinking about. Then the very next day a solution to a different novel’s problem appears in their mind. I mean, why not? Taking the time to get all the ideas for my novels out of my head and onto paper seems like a great idea. Maybe this new idea will come to life faster than my original plan anyway. All the more reason to let my ideas soar.
I have never done this before. Usually, I put all my focus into one story, so it gets my full dedication. I think there is no reason why I can’t have multiple stories going at once. Then when an idea is coming to life for one story, I can dive right into it rather than attempting to shut the idea down. The more I think on it the more I’m coming to realize this is probably how so many authors release so many novels.
I’m not too sure I will be able to focus on writing both stories at the same time. I am uncertain if my mind will be able to keep the ideas from one story from merging into the other story. But that is why I will have some people read through my drafts as they come to life. An easy solution.
I’m excited to think I might be ready to finally putt words on a page!
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