Like many writer’s, I have many irons in the fire. I have several books plotted out, one in the final editing phase, one waiting for editing, and two in the midst of being written.
What types of things am I doing with each project?
With my books in editing, my editor goes through with her red pen and marks everything she feels needs or might need to be changed. I follow her, and I change things based on grammar or composition (I have a few things I like to call my style that need changed). She catches missing words, strange dialog (everyone speaks differently, after all!). In some cases, she asks for more details – and in other cases, she tells me I have too much detail!
When I’m writing a book, I’m working off a fairly loose plot. Some people need a detailed plot, some fly by the seat of their pants. I’m in the middle. While Warped was written by the seat of my pants, it shows in the multiple edits (by me!), whereas Seasong, Shattered and Verity are coming along much easier due to the plots that I’ve already figured out.
How do I handle writing multiple books?
I don’t. I have to focus on one book at a time, so even while I’m writing both Verity and Seasong, I’m only working on one at any current time. Due to the writing style, the audience and the characters, it’s difficult to jump back and forth, whereas it’s easier when I’m only editing and not having to come up with brand new dialog and ideas.
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