I lurked on the NaNoWriMo forums and Scribophile a lot last year and plenty of writers talked about having multiple writing projects going at once. I hadn’t really tried that before. I finished writing and editing the Archimedean Heart before starting on Sand and Bones. I worked on Sand and Bones during the 2016 NaNoWriMo challenge and then took 9 months to finish it.
I then wrote a novella for an anthology (The Clockwork Oracle).
The revisions to Sand and Bones sat waiting.
I hadn’t planned to do the 2017 NaNoWriMo challenge but this idea just niggled at me so I wrote 51,000 words about Idonny in her flooded tower block.
The revisions to Sand and Bones sat waiting.
November ended and now I had three active projects. I hadn’t finished Idonny’s story (The Hollowness), I had a deadline for revising the novella and yes, the revisions to S&B sat waiting. And did I mention life?
Some people say they like having multiple projects going. It helps to switch when one isn’t going well. Me, I just feel guilty. I have abandoned poor Idonny in the middle of a scene, with her boyfriend bleeding to death on the floor of her flat in favor of revising and deepening Elsie, Clara, and Nne-Ala’s stories. I’ll be back, Idonny, I promise. I’ll get you out of there. Eventually.
BJ Sikes, author 