Writer's Block: Does writing a novel on the side allow you to refresh your mind?

[MakBow]

So, I've been reading that people sometimes write two novels because it allows them to refresh their minds to go back to their main novel or whatever.

Should I try to do that?
Of course, I won't post it, but should I try it to see if it helps me?

 

[Grizzly18]

Sometimes taking a break from writing to do something else can recharge the batteries and build up creative juices for a project. If ideas for another novel are running thru your head then by all means write another story. However remember not to neglect your first story. If it’s burnout or lethargy hitting you take a break from all writing then come back fresh. Don’t make the new novel an excuse not to write the first one.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Not EXACTLY. What it does do is give you something else to work on when just not in the mood to focus on that story, but to keep writing.

In the essay at the end of one of his Xanth novels, writer Piers Anthony once stated that he keeps several open stories on his word processor.
If he hasn't got at least a tentative contract, the stories remain nothing more than a few paragraphs. Once he has a likely or definite sale, he begins working on them seriously, but he works on whichever one catches his interest at the moment and usually starts by re-reading the last ten pages before he writes anything. He also said that he had only ever met one other author who worked this way - and that was the only other author he had never heard complain about 'writer's block' - Isaac Asimov.

 

[Shamiko]

sure! i feel like it depends on the person, but it could work. personally, i do this to improve my writting skills, so hopefully my main story has better quality in the long run.

 

[Corty]

For me, it works. Can't explain why. Its just... a brain thing.

 

[WhimsicalLantern]

Yeah, it helps if the stories are pretty different. That way if my brain isn't in the mood to write one character, it has a better chance of being in the mood to write a character for another story, so I can still be productive.

 

[CinnaSloth]

With writer's block, no.
with keeping productive, and to continue writing, yes.

If you are looking elsewhere to fix your story while you have writers block, then it's not writer's block. Because being able to write another story zero problems, means you can and are able to write, and have those creative feels thrown down onto paper.
If you can't continue with the current story and ONLY the current story, its a problem with that story.
Either
you wrote yourself into a corner
you don't know where you want to head with the plot
you dont know your characters enough
maybe you just don't care for the genre but enjoy the characters and the scene?
something is wrong with that story that is stopping you from continuing. you need to figure out what that reason is.
starting another story is a distraction from that story. You're either trying to fix it, or pausing only to forget the problem exists. deciding if you want to have that story in your library, or not, comes with writing. authors drop books, drop stories, and that's fine. but if you really like this story, then you have to figure out why you don't like it.
talk it out.

Writer's Block: Does writing a novel on the side allow you to refresh your mind?​

So, I've been reading that people sometimes write two novels because it allows them to refresh their minds to go back to their main novel or whatever.

Should I try to do that?
Of course, I won't post it, but should I try it to see if it helps me?

in this small block of text. you didn't even mention why you would want to bother writing something else or the reason for your block.
I think reasoning is important.
if you dump the book, and turn to another, without understanding why, you'll repeat this process more often than you realize until 20 books down the road you start figuring these things out about yourself.

food for thought

 

[Fang_Yuan]

So, I've been reading that people sometimes write two novels because it allows them to refresh their minds to go back to their main novel or whatever.

Should I try to do that?
Of course, I won't post it, but should I try it to see if it helps me?

I write 3 novels at the same time. It's been a while since I had a writer's block. If I don't know what to write, I just write and scrap it if it's trash. The act of revision allows me to find the right direction. As they said: The obstacle is the way. Plus, I write via cause-and-effect.

 

[Jerynboe]

I agree it’s more about mood management and keeping the habit than it is about fixing the writer’s block. Personally I have my main story that is patreon backed and thus I MUST finish a chapter every week. It’s not a super successful patreon but I still have 50$ I need to earn per month and promises to keep. That’s what allows me to power through writer’s block.

My B stories? Those are for fun and long term. When I am not behind on obligations and just don’t want to write about Emrys, I write about Gil or Kavros instead. Gil is my horny nonsense story MC where I’m as self indulgent as I ever was in my first story. Kavros is the MC of my first actual original IP story and he will not see the light of day until I’ve finished an actual book worth of content, and when he does it’ll initially be as premium content on my patreon.

 

[tantrayaan]

So, I've been reading that people sometimes write two novels because it allows them to refresh their minds to go back to their main novel or whatever.

Should I try to do that?
Of course, I won't post it, but should I try it to see if it helps me?

Writer's block IMO is more like lack of motivation of falling out of love with your creation for a bit. It's always good to do something else until you find the motivation to get back to it.

That said, it is always good to finish more than expected when you are in the mood to write. That helps during lean times or when you don't feel like writing.

 

[venomoussilence]

It helps me, especially when I wrote a very difficult chapter in one novel. To then recalibrate with the other novel helps me very.
Very unfortunate if you just went from one difficult chapter and realize the other novel next chapter isn't better...

 

[KritCandywrites]

So it's my first rime writing a novel and man, it's tiring. I mean for the first time I wrote a chapter over 3000 words and after reading it again and again, I fell sick, It’s funny because the reason I started writing in the first place was to relieve stress! ?

 

[expentio]

I'm writing currently on five (or four, as one is inactive). It helps me going along with my moods. One is an adventure story, so like if I feel like playing RPGs, that one's my go. One is a pretty much OP fantasy, through the dimensions, so I get in the mood when I imagine OP-fights or am annoyed with another story and want to immerse my OP-dimension hopper in there. One is more socially-kingdom building. One is more about military, army logistics.
I've got one for each of my moods, and it helps me avoid it feeling like a slop. I think if I'd force myself to write just on the one, whenever I get into a blockade, and force myself to write something I'm not into, the result isn't going to be all that great. At least, I doubt I would always like something I didn't feel like writing.
Giving oneself the time to let the mind wander may serve to get yourself a great "Heureka!" moment. At least, I sometimes suddenly realize how I want something to play out. I get a new idea that makes the whole thing far more enticing. That's something one cannot force.

 

[Daeron]

For me, writing stories is like "venting", creating music for "expressing" and other visual arts for "capturing".

But i saw some works done here, I think many of you guys writing stories for "expressing". And i'm genuinely curious about it. Is it the reason why many of your stories are well made?

 

[FRWriter]

It has risks... the greatest risk is that you fall in love with your new story and lose any interest in finishing your old story.
You'll run the risk of constantly abandoning/creating new stories. Which is not a problem if you are solely writing for your own entertainment, but it is a problem if you have the goal of creating a long-running series and trying to keep readers engaged. Some readers are only interested in one of my stories and are thus annoyed when I focus on my second story. However, since it's ultimately about what I want to do, it's fine, but there is a limit where it becomes silly in my opinion.

I'd say limit it to two, maybe three active stories (if you are VERY active).
The most important thing is honesty.

 

[MakBow]

With writer's block, no.
with keeping productive, and to continue writing, yes.

If you are looking elsewhere to fix your story while you have writers block, then it's not writer's block. Because being able to write another story zero problems, means you can and are able to write, and have those creative feels thrown down onto paper.
If you can't continue with the current story and ONLY the current story, its a problem with that story.
Either
you wrote yourself into a corner
you don't know where you want to head with the plot
you dont know your characters enough
maybe you just don't care for the genre but enjoy the characters and the scene?
something is wrong with that story that is stopping you from continuing. you need to figure out what that reason is.
starting another story is a distraction from that story. You're either trying to fix it, or pausing only to forget the problem exists. deciding if you want to have that story in your library, or not, comes with writing. authors drop books, drop stories, and that's fine. but if you really like this story, then you have to figure out why you don't like it.
talk it out.



in this small block of text. you didn't even mention why you would want to bother writing something else or the reason for your block.
I think reasoning is important.
if you dump the book, and turn to another, without understanding why, you'll repeat this process more often than you realize until 20 books down the road you start figuring these things out about yourself.

food for thought

Thank you for the warning.

Although, thankfully, it worked for me. I guess it's just because I was writing that stuff, at least 2 to three chapters every day that I burned myself out on the novel with the expectation of posting daily.

I got all my energy back for the main novel thankfully by making an announcement I wouldn't post until Monday, which really helps alleviate the stress of posting daily and I'm also changing the schedule to make it easier for myself.

 

[CinnaSloth]

burned myself out posting daily.

yea. i can see why you'd burn out. that's a lot of effort if you're doing nothing but that each day.
at the same time, it wasn't writers block. glad you caught onto what the issue was. taking a break and then jumping back on that daily grind only to burn out again would have been bad. that said, don't over do it with 1 story, or 2 if you're really going to write 2 at the same time. glad you found a schedule that works. anyway, goodluck with your novels. have fun writing, don't turn it into a workload.

 

[SouthernMaiden]

So, I've been reading that people sometimes write two novels because it allows them to refresh their minds to go back to their main novel or whatever.

Should I try to do that?
Of course, I won't post it, but should I try it to see if it helps me?

I've been thinking about writing a themed anthology side project, with no set schedule. You should try something like that! Very low pressure, just for fun

 

[sodaliteskull]

I do find that having a side story to work on is helpful for me, especially when I get stuck on something in my main project. Sometimes I get too caught up trying to solve a problem that I don't see the solution staring me in the face, but if I focus my energies on something else for a bit and chill out about whatever's got me blocked, it puts me in a receptive enough headspace to actually sort out the thing that has me snarled.

 

[MFontana]

So, I've been reading that people sometimes write two novels because it allows them to refresh their minds to go back to their main novel or whatever.

Should I try to do that?
Of course, I won't post it, but should I try it to see if it helps me?

As someone writing multiple novels in parallel, yes. It definitely helps me personally; but at the same time, it also increases the workload exponentially and can quickly, and easily, get to be too much to handle; which can also cause burnout that much quicker.

The only advice I can offer, is to try it if you want, but maintain your focus on a primary project first and foremost. If you're releasing both in parallel, you should also (probably) let your readers know which is your primary focus, and which is not so they know what to expect.