[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Ostriches.jpg” alt=”Enjoy life” title_text=”Ostriches” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”47%||||false|false”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”original” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ text_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”rgba(237,155,40,0.74)” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-10%|||-70%|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”0%|||0%|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”5%|5%|5%|5%|true|true” box_shadow_style=”preset2″]<\/p>\n
A couple of years ago<\/strong>, I hit a wall with my debut novel, <\/span>142 Ostriches<\/a><\/em><\/span>.<\/em> <\/span>I was so frustrated working on it that I litera<\/strong>lly felt nauseous when I opened the file to work on it. I needed a break, badly.<\/span><\/p>\n So I jumped ship and started working on my second novel. It was an idea that had been percolating in my mind for a while. In truth, this second novel was the story I had always wanted to write. But in a surprisingly insightful moment that I don\u2019t remember, I decided that it couldn\u2019t be my first novel. It was too challenging. It jumps around in time, it has multiple POVs, it plays with magic in parts.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-11%||||false|false” custom_padding=”15%|||5%|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”3%||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone”]<\/p>\n But getting started on it turned out to be the perfect distraction when I just couldn\u2019t muster the energy to keep working on the first novel any longer. It was a fun, shiny new idea and I jumped at it. I did research, I made a ton of notes, I even took a few trips to explore the places where it takes place. I wrote a couple of chapters, then added 50,000 words to the draft during NaNoWriMo <\/a>. I was having fun with it.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n Eventually, a friend of mine encouraged me not to give up on the first novel. Reluctantly, I read through the draft I had abandoned and was pleasantly surprised. It actually wasn\u2019t so bad. So I tucked the second novel safely away, <\/span>whispered a little promise that I would be back soon<\/span><\/a>, and continued to work on the first novel with renewed energy.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ background_color=”rgba(17,143,221,0.62)” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”2%|2%|2%|2%|true|true” hover_enabled=”0″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″ sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||5%||false|false”]<\/p>\n I share this story because I\u2019ve often heard writers talk about how it\u2019s a bad idea to have more than one novel going at any given time. I simply must disagree.<\/span><\/p>\n Having two novels to work on saved me as a writer. If I hadn\u2019t had something else to pour my efforts into, I don\u2019t know what I would have done. I dread to think how many writers have simply given up on writing because they hit a wall and thought they couldn\u2019t start another project until they finished the first.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#dbdbdb” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_3_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”#000a21″ custom_margin=”-10%|8%|||false|false” custom_padding=”5%|5%|5%|5%|true|true”]<\/p>\n That said, I resisted starting novel three until I finished novel one. For me, three novels at a time is too many, and I worried that starting another project would just be a way to avoid finishing the first.<\/span><\/p>\n THAT is the trap. That is the thing that each of us must determine for ourselves: what is productive work, and what is just avoiding the hard work of finishing?<\/span><\/p>\n Now that my debut is out in the world, I\u2019ve shifted my efforts. I spend most of my time on that second novel and when I need a break, I turn to novel number three. I can see this system working for me far into the future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”190px” custom_margin=”-12px|||23px|false|false” custom_padding=”|||5px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(0,186,31,0.56)” min_height=”194px” custom_margin=”-15%|8%||5%|false|false” custom_padding=”15%|2%|2%|2%|false|true” hover_enabled=”0″ box_shadow_style=”preset2″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n So go ahead. Start another project. Don\u2019t listen to anyone who tells you what you should or shouldn\u2019t do when it comes to your writing. Not even me. Especially me. If starting your third novel is right for you, you damn well better start novel three.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A couple of years ago, I hit a wall with my debut novel, 142 Ostriches. I was so frustrated working on it that I literally felt nauseous when I opened the file to work on it. I needed a break, badly. So I jumped ship and started working on my second novel. It was an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":52689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"A couple of years ago, I hit a wall with my debut novel, <\/span>142 Ostriches<\/span><\/a>. I was so frustrated working on it that I literally felt nauseous when I opened the file to work on it. I needed a break, badly.<\/span>\r\n\r\nSo I jumped ship and started working on my second novel. It was an idea that had been percolating in my mind for a while. In truth, this second novel was the story I had always wanted to write. But in a surprisingly insightful moment that I don\u2019t remember, I decided that it couldn\u2019t be my first novel. It was too challenging. It jumps around in time, it has multiple POVs, it plays with magic in parts.<\/span>\r\n\r\nBut getting started on it turned out to be the perfect distraction when I just couldn\u2019t muster the energy to keep working on the first novel any longer. It was a fun, shiny new idea and I jumped at it. I did research, I made a ton of notes, I even took a few trips to explore the places where it takes place. I wrote a couple of chapters, then added 50,000 words to the draft during <\/span>NaNoWriMo<\/span><\/a>. I was having fun with it.<\/span>\r\n\r\nEventually, a friend of mine encouraged me not to give up on the first novel. Reluctantly, I read through the draft I had abandoned and was pleasantly surprised. It actually wasn\u2019t so bad. So I tucked the second novel safely away, <\/span>whispered a little promise that I would be back soon<\/span><\/a>, and continued to work on the first novel with renewed energy.<\/span>\r\nGo Ahead, Write Two Novels<\/span><\/h3>\n
There are No Rules, People.<\/span><\/h3>\n
Keep Writing<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/h4>\n
<\/h4>\n
<\/h4>\n
Figure out what works for you, and just keep writing.<\/h4>\n
Go Ahead, Write Two Novels<\/span><\/h2>\r\nI share this story because I\u2019ve often heard writers talk about how it\u2019s a bad idea to have more than one novel going at any given time. I simply must disagree.<\/span>\r\n\r\nHaving two novels to work on saved me as a writer. If I hadn\u2019t had something else to pour my efforts into, I don\u2019t know what I would have done. I dread to think how many writers have simply given up on writing because they hit a wall and thought they couldn\u2019t start another project until they finished the first.<\/span>\r\n
There are No Rules, People.<\/span><\/h2>\r\nThat said, I resisted starting novel three until I finished novel one. For me, three novels at a time is too many, and I worried that starting another project would just be a way to avoid finishing the first.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTHAT is the trap. That is the thing that each of us must determine for ourselves: what is productive work, and what is just avoiding the hard work of finishing?<\/span>\r\n\r\nNow that my debut is out in the world, I\u2019ve shifted my efforts. I spend most of my time on that second novel and when I need a break, I turn to novel number three. I can see this system working for me far into the future.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
Keep Writing<\/span><\/h2>\r\nSo go ahead. Start another project. Don\u2019t listen to anyone who tells you what you should or shouldn\u2019t do when it comes to your writing. Not even me. Especially me. If starting your third novel is right for you, you damn well better start novel three.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nFigure out what works for you, and just keep writing.<\/span>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[38,204,84],"class_list":["post-50166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walk-the-talk","tag-creative-writing","tag-novelist","tag-writer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}