Starting a second story, a good idea? Or a response to cold-writers feet?

[Wiggles2021]

So the reason that i started writing in the first place is that im staring down the barrel of a military deployment that looks like its going to involve a) high stress and b) alot of down time. Now that i started writing my story, i just had like, a semi truck of an idea hit me, and im debating between changing the fundementals of my story compleatly, or just putting it up for now, and starting a second story, hopefully so that while im gone i can bounce back between the two, so when i get bored with one i can change gears. Is this a good idea? Im worried about confusing characters, spreading myself to thin, or developing a love child and turning the other story into a love child im ashamed to admit is mine.

 

[Queshire]

I often have this same problem. I'm not sure how good my advice will be but...

First, write whatever you want to right now, there's no point in writing something you're not interested in.

Second, don't just destroy your original idea, you never know when you'll suddenly come back to it.

Thirdly, Canabalyzing one story idea for parts to use in another isn't bad, it can save you a lot of effort, just make sure the parts fit and you're not just putting an element in there just 'cause you had it in the other story, and if you do canabalyze one story that just means that much more work you'll have to put into it when you come back to it.

Ultimately, I think it's -possible- to write two stories at the same time, but you risk neglecting one in favour of the other or not putting all your effort in either one. I suggest just letting your writing to flow naturally, if you want to write one story then write it, if you want to write a different one later then do that, but don't think that you HAVE to work on one story just because you worked on the other one yesterday.

 

[Wiggles2021]

If it helps, heres what im thinking for my second story.

Guy gets banished from kingdom for years. Comes back to meet his best freind (da prince)'s son. Was a legendary warrior before he got banished (some snaffue with a female, im thinking) but swears he has put that all behind him. While hes at the capital, gets reluctantly drawn into a war he wants no part in, and is called to resume his bad assery, while unearthing some diabolical plot..yada yada. for those of you that are fans of A Song of Ice and Fire, i want this guy to be similar to Ned stark, but built like Robert, But for you david eddings fans, i definatly picture a big ol Sparkhawk when i think of this guy.

Does this sound to cliche? or like blatent plagurism, i dunno, im still very new at this whole writing thing....

 

[Queshire]

I never read A Song of Ice and Fire so I wouldn't know!

Hmm... yeah, that has a good chance of sliding into cliche territory so I suggest being careful. Still, with work it could work.

first off, getting banished from someplace isn't something you can just get rid of, especially for a legendary warrior with connections to the royalty of a kingdom on the brink of war, it's not like he could just waltz in to the capital. I suggest having him in a type of self-imposed exile out of penance for his crime. However if it's self imposed then whatever sends him out of it has to be big enough, and personal enough, as whatever sent it into exile in the first place. A generic war might not be enough, especially if he wants no part in it in the first place. I suggest either having the prince's son, having grown up with stories of this legendary warrior, looking for him but being disapointed with what he finds, maybe the legendary warrior looks like a normal monk in a monastary, or a simple peasant on a farm, the prince's son have to convince him to return to his homeland and finds along the way not to judge a book by it's cover. Alternitively, he could just be wandering in his self-imposed exile when he comes across a group of refugees, he learns from them just how much his home kingdom has changed. Maybe the prince has turned into a dictator? And it's up to the legendary warrior to break his exile, head back home, and restore the right and proper.

Whelp, those are my ideas, take 'em as you will.

 

[JCFarnham]

Oh its definitely possible to write more than one story at a time. More than possible!

I'd be interested in meeting the original person who got people thinking they need to be faithful to their stories.

This is the way I see it:

When ever you get stuck on a particular story, whats the point in staring at it for weeks on end wracking your brain? Often times I find it better to file the whole thing away somewhere and not look at it for a month, or however long you can stand of course. By the end of it, I'm overflowing with inspiration again

Having multiple stories on the go is much the same kind of thing for. 1) if I didn't do it I'd be bored, 2) if ones not playing ball today I can switch tack to another story and give that a go for a while. That way I'm never wasting time and always writing, even if my "main story" is giving me grief.

That said I know some people have trouble switching as readily as I do. At the end of the day though you'll need to figure out what you can cope with. You may be like me, able to juggle two or three different stories with little problem, or you might find doing this does over stretch you.

Yet in my experience which ever kind of writer you are it is always worth leaving a story to ferment for a bit. You may be missing a vital plot point that you wont come up with for another month, and to plow through the story heedless would mean saving up head ache inducing plot holes for later.

 

[grahamguitarman]

I have three novels on the go at the moment, I like to switch between them as the inspiration leads me. I'm the same with paintings, I like to have several in progress at once, and swap from one to another depending on my mood.

 

[Graham Irwin]

If you are stuck, try writing "set-pieces". A "set piece" is something like a big action scene or a battle, or an entrance into a city or introduction to a world, etc. For instance, I had a great idea for a scene involving a hijacking by horse, but nowhere to put it in my first book, so I wrote the scene out anyway, and held onto it. When it came time for my MC to travel through the dark woods on horse, BAM, I had a reason to use the scene.

Also, don't ever throw anything away! Sometimes you can read more into your own work when you go back to it.

 

[Wiggles2021]

I never read A Song of Ice and Fire so I wouldn't know!

Hmm... yeah, that has a good chance of sliding into cliche territory so I suggest being careful. Still, with work it could work.

first off, getting banished from someplace isn't something you can just get rid of, especially for a legendary warrior with connections to the royalty of a kingdom on the brink of war, it's not like he could just waltz in to the capital. I suggest having him in a type of self-imposed exile out of penance for his crime. However if it's self imposed then whatever sends him out of it has to be big enough, and personal enough, as whatever sent it into exile in the first place. A generic war might not be enough, especially if he wants no part in it in the first place. I suggest either having the prince's son, having grown up with stories of this legendary warrior, looking for him but being disapointed with what he finds, maybe the legendary warrior looks like a normal monk in a monastary, or a simple peasant on a farm, the prince's son have to convince him to return to his homeland and finds along the way not to judge a book by it's cover. Alternitively, he could just be wandering in his self-imposed exile when he comes across a group of refugees, he learns from them just how much his home kingdom has changed. Maybe the prince has turned into a dictator? And it's up to the legendary warrior to break his exile, head back home, and restore the right and proper.

Whelp, those are my ideas, take 'em as you will.

Well, revisiting this idea, i was thinking about having someone haul him out at night, with no one knowing what happened, he ends up in slavery, then ends up a soldier for the army he was a slave for kicks ass, becomes awesome. army loses, gets disbanded, then he comes back (for a funeral, or a birth, or something) and everybody just assumed he left to go join the bad-guy army so they dont like him, and he thinks he was sent into slavery cause the prince was mad at him, and then.....something i dont know yet happens, and he ends up traveling with the prince, and all of the sorid history comes out.

Also, another point, is it plaigerism if the author hasnt actually written the story yet, but 99.999 percent of people who are reading the books see it coming? Another george RR martin refrence, but im thinking of a very similar R+L=J story line; and i will make a GIF image of me tipping my hat and send it to whoever gets what i just said.

 

[Helen]

Everyone has their own answer to this. I think you should stick to the one script and finish it before embarking on the next. The problem I have is that ideas are easy to come by and they're just an excuse to jump from one script to the next without closure.