Writing Advice

Writing Advice

Why I Like Writing 2 Stories At Once

By on Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Hello, Readers!

I’m one of those writers who find it a good idea to work on more than one story at a time. Others would disagree with me and think you should just stick to one project. They’re definitely not wrong, but I’ve found that method doesn’t work for me.

For me, writing a story can take anywhere from a few months to a year (depending on how much I procrastinate), so naturally during that process I am going to have new ideas for other stories. I try to ignore them, but there always seems to be that one idea that is just begging me to develop it more. It’s always in the back of my head pleading to be explored and yearning to be brought to life. I try to ignore it as much as possible, but then finally those pleas grow so loud that I have to set my project aside and give this new story seed some water, sunlight, and a little tender care. By the time I’m done, I’ve got a fully blossomed book idea and I have to write it.

But oh, what about my other project? I’ve already neglected it this whole time and it’s withered quite a bit. How am I supposed to work on both?

If you’re like me, here’s a few reasons why you should have two stories going at once:

First of all, it’s important to know which of the two stories is going to be your main project and which will be your side project. If they’re both thought of as a main project, you’re going to find it difficult to switch off between them. But having that one project which you spend most of your time on is important as a writer.
Your side project will be the one that probably isn’t outlined quite as much – the one that you just work on once in a while to give yourself a break.

You know how when you’re working on a single story for a long time, pouring all your creativity and mental energy into it… you just really start to burn out? Maybe even get a little bored? And let’s not even mention the stress…

Having another project to bounce to makes it so much easier to prevent burnout and it keeps your creativity flowing. You get to dig into your well of inspiration and pour it into something different for a bit – which I love having the freedom to do! It’s nice being able to work on something entirely different without the stress and just…let your characters lead. 😉

Now, if you bounce to your side project and find it hard to work on that, too – don’t worry! You may really just need a break. Writing is tough work, after all and it’s natural to need a break from time to time. (I’ll probably address this in another post soon.)

Obviously this won’t work for every writer because not every writer is the same. We’re all on the same pursuit, but we have different ways of reaching our destination.

So if this sounds like it will work for you, give it a try! Don’t be afraid to try something different, just make sure you do what works best for you. 🙂 

Let's Talk!

Do you work on more than one story at once? Why or why not? 

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Writing Advice

The Pros and Cons of Switching POV’s

By on Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Hello, readers!

I haven’t always been one for switching point of views (POV’s) in my stories, but when writing the second draft of True Colors, I knew that I really needed to do it. I needed to be able to step into Connor and Astrid’s minds and really be able to feel what they were feeling and see what they were seeing. 

It was hard at times because most of the time I wanted to stay in one mind through the book, but I know that overall it was good that I chose this route. Here’s why:

Switching POV’s allowed me to delve deeper into my character’s feelings and helped me understand each of them better. 

In my original draft I only wrote from Connor’s POV because he is the main character, but coming into the second draft made me realize how important it is to understand Astrid’s side, too. This story isn’t just about Connor – it’s also about the relationship he and Astrid share and in order for me to better develop that it just made more sense for me to write from both of their POV’s. That way I’m not only understanding Connor’s perspective and feelings, but Astrid’s as well. 

Without doing this, I didn’t know Astrid’s overall feelings toward him. I had an idea, but I didn’t understand her thoughts and feelings half as well as I did when I wrote from her POV.

Switching up POV’s also aided in adding more to my story. I was not only able to delve into their backstories a little more freely, but I was also able to write scenes that didn’t exist before.

For example, in my first draft there is a scene where Astrid learns a great secret and she won’t share it with Connor and he goes off, angry that she won’t share what she’s learned. This scene is more bent on Astrid’s perspective, so you don’t get to follow Connor and see where he ends up. 

But in my second draft I wrote the scene entirely from Connor’s POV and I felt like it was so much more powerful and beneficial to the story to be able to fully grasp his emotions and follow him when he walks away and see what he does. It’s such a huge part of the story that is the beginning of the end, so seeing Connor’s POV is way more beneficial. 

 

Switching POV’s definitely has it’s downside, though. I found myself (though completely unaware at the time) not switching POV’s enough or maybe even doing it too often because I wanted to see the other’s perspective.

I think in this draft I ended up making Astrid too big of a character because I was having too much fun with her. I don’t want to make Astrid bigger than Connor because overall this is Connor’s story. 

It’s so easy to get caught up in learning more about your characters through this method, so just be careful to keep the POV’s organized – like every other chapter or something like that. This makes it clean and your reader won’t be like – hey, it’s been stuck on __’s POV for four chapters now, what happened to ___?

So it definitely has it’s cons (and obviously I still need to work some things out in my book), but overall I think switching POV’s is great as long as it benefits the story. 

RECAP




  • Switching POV's can help you better understand your character



  • Switching POV's can aid in adding more depth and new scenes to your story



  • Switching POV's can assist in telling your character's backstory

Talk to me!

Do you switch POV’s in your stories? Do you like reading books with different POV’s? Why or why not? 

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Psst! Writers, be sure to check out this awesome giveaway at Story Embers! You could win five books to help you master your craft and also a free writing course! Check it out by clicking here!

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