Writing 2 Books at a Time – Can it Really Be Done?

I remember the days of having a “lunch break” well. Though I don’t miss much about the corporate life, one of the perks was having a designated lunch break, one in which I was actually paid to take a break and eat a meal. Unfortunately, in most jobs I worked, it was never that simple and in fact, break time was quite a challenge. Lunch had to be purchased at hiked-up prices, or prepared the night before. I needed to take my coworkers lunch times into consideration. Some places where I worked only offered employees a 30 minute break, which I found particularly challenging as a slow eater. But there was one job which stood apart from the others, one in which no one was keeping track of when I left for my break or returned, one in which I dragged my lunch break out for as long as possible so as not to draw attention to the fact that I had so little to do throughout the rest of the day, one during which I found myself reading three books at a time, and ultimately, reading more books than I’d ever read before in my life.

This wasn’t the first time I’d read 3 books at once. At an earlier point in time, one during which I didn’t have a 9 – 5, I’d also attempted this trick, with the idea that I wanted to keep multiple sub-genres of romance flowing through my head at all times. I was writing both contemporary romance and romantic suspense and throwing in the occasional paranormal element. I was highly inspired by the historical romances I read. I wanted to hear romantic dialogue in my head as I drifted off to sleep. I wanted to improve my craft and oh yeah, reading was fun! But, most importantly, I wasn’t content reading only one story at a time. What was happening in the next book in my to-be-read pile while I was reading the one in my hands which, oftentimes, wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea? Reading 3 books at a time in multiple subgenres, I had the pleasure of indulging in 3 different stories at a time. And typically, I really loved at least one or two. Recently, I got stuck on a story I was reading that really wasn’t doing it for me. I don’t believe in not finishing a story I’ve started so I kept at it for way longer than I should have. And then it dawned on me. I may not have as much time on my hands as I did back in the day but if I’m making the time to read in the first place, why not up the ante? I added another 2 stories into the mix and, voila! The one I’d been struggling to finish for almost 2 years was yesterday’s news!

I’ve heard many a writer make the argument that a writer shouldn’t attempt to write more than one book at a time. Your head must be entirely in the story you’re writing, naysayers say, or you risk mixing up your thoughts and getting into a whole slew of trouble. For a long time, I took these words to heart. Until I started getting restless. Just like with my reading, I kept thinking about what lay ahead for me, all of the ideas I wasn’t taking the time to develop, about what had inspired those ideas and how, when I sit down to write these stories 5 years from now, the initial spark just won’t be the same.

This wouldn’t be the first time I’d attempted to write more than one story at a time. While I was learning to write, I jumped back and forth between several stories I intended to turn into the series I eventually called The Pinnacles of Power. Still plugging away at the final story in my Rabourn Theater Series, An Enchanting Song, I’m working constantly to keep the first 4 stories fresh in my mind. So the way I saw it was, if I already have as many as five stories in my head, why not add a few more to the mix?

Always the plotter, I like to develop a plan for both how my stories will play themselves out and how I’ll make it happen. The plan, in this case, was that I’d begin outlining a future series, while, at the same time continuing to edit my current work in progress, which I do consider to be the grunt-work aspect of the writing job – editing, that is. Dividing my writing time in half, I began outlining the first story in a new 5 book series, meaning that I would now have as many as ten stories in my head. Editing progressed. “New Series Book 1” outline got completed. I went on to write the 2nd book’s outline and the 3rd. I then developed a bit of writer’s block and, half-way through my new series, decided I’d put the breaks on the 2 books at a time thing, at least for the time being.

The “time being” didn’t last long. A new idea struck my imagination hard. I needed a place for my new idea to go and I needed to get it out of my head quickly or else the inspiration I was feeling was liable to disappear forever. At least, it wouldn’t be the same the second time around. Discontented writer that I am, I have many working ideas that I’ve yet to develop and I decided my new idea would work well in a 3 book series I had sitting on reserve. For this series, I previously had only a vague idea of what I wanted to do with book 1 and ultimately, the series. With my new idea, that changed quickly and I found myself throwing a big paranormal twist into what I’d initially intended to be a strictly contemporary series. The idea I was dying to develop would actually become book 2. I got a working idea of what I wanted books 1 and 3 to be about, and got an even better idea of where they’re headed as I jumped into the middle of this new series and outlined what will be book 2.

My initial work in progress has been neglected. For me, editing is something I need a kick in the butt to get done because nothing new is happening to my characters and I’m simply taking the time to make the details of the story shine. But editing is what separates a mediocre story from a great one. So, edit I must. And though this experiment has slowed up my timetable a bit, it also taught me that I CAN write two books at once and with practice and, bearing a few things in mind, I know I can make this my practice going forward.

So, what should you keep in mind when writing two stories at a time? Our stories are small worlds made up of a number of different characters. If you can differentiate between all of the different characters in your story, their internal and external motivations then surely, you can do the same for the characters in 2 stories or more. Same goes for plot and details. Many authors suggest creating a storyboard or bible to keep the details of your stories straight, particularly when you’re writing a series. Though I’ve never tried this myself, I think this is an excellent suggestion which could definitely help when trying to remember the details of a story no matter how many stories you’re writing. If you write in multiple genres, you may consider making the “second story” you’re working on one of a different genre or subgenre, as a way of adding an additional layer of differentiation between the two. Just a thought. Bottom line, anything you can do to differentiate between your works in progress is fair game. And if you can keep your 2 (or more) stories straight, and you aren’t writing the same thing twice, and instead are creating 2 great masterpieces you’re truly proud of, you’re so there!

Writing 2 stories at a time isn’t easy. Though I know I’m not the first author who’s done it, it takes a bit of practice getting a formula down. But if you can learn to do this well, this puts you in a powerful position as a writer. You can write your stories when you’re inspired to, instead of when it’s “time to write them.” You can keep more of your skills fresh – outlining, drafting, editing – as you’ll likely be working with more than one of them at a time. You’ll make it easier for yourself to keep going if one or more of your stories is giving you writers’ block, and you need to take a breather and jump into something else. In short, your life as a writer can become freer and more fun. And if you can write 2 (or 3 or 4 or more) great books as fast as you can write 1, all power to you!