Chapter 12 - Too Much?

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So, if you are a fellow writer reading this, I know that you know the feeling when ideas are flowing and the world just seems rich and full of life and color. Everything is working, your story is just running out of your fingertips. Sure, it's going to need some editing down the road but it is like your brain sprung a leak and its splashing all over the page and filling my chapters up.

But then...a new idea comes into your head.

What do you do?

Well, I have decided to embrace it. My current WIP, or shall will say WIP #1, is moving along swimmingly. So, I'm going to step aside from it momentarily to poke this idea, let's call it WIP #2. I figure that I can get my ideas down, flesh it out, maybe even lay out an outline and some character descriptions.

When I was younger I used to participate in online RPs. For those of you that are not aware, online roleplaying is not as scandalous as you might imagine. It is more like writing a novel as a group. One person lays out the story and basic plot, sometimes giving some direction as to the kinds of characters that they are looking for. Then, other writers jump in, creating characters for the story. Taking turns, they all add an entry from their characters point of view (largely through 3rd person limited). It is wonderful and fun if you haven't done it. Especially if you find a group of like-minded writers. I have friendships of more than a decade with writers from around the country from writing like this.

That said, a negative side to the online RPs were the temptation to take on too many or too many characters. The thing that gets you is the waiting time for the other people to post. You have the itch to write but you need to get their response before you respond. So you create another character. Join another group. But then it is your turn again. You're tired, but people are waiting on your response. You have fallen out of sync with the character and writing is torture, but you need to get something on the page. Blah.

To bring this all full circle. I don't want to burnout. But I do think that having a few fires burning can be a good thing, as long as you keep it under control.

With that said, I am going to hold off on my chapter a week novel/blog idea for now. I don't have the same creative energy for that one, so it can stay on the back burner for now.

Do you ever write stories simultaneously? Am I about to shoot myself in the foot?

We'll see...

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