Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a bloghop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Click here to find out more about this amazing group and see a full list of participating blogs.
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Is there such a thing as a reverse writer’s block? Is there a term for that? I feel like there should be.
This was my crisis this past month. I had too many ideas jockeying for my attention. Granted, my ideas all had some things in common. Space. Spaceships. Space battles. Strong female protagonists, specifically strong female protagonists in space.
But I couldn’t focus on just one idea. Basically, it felt like this:
I can almost pinpoint the moment when things officially got out of hand. On Friday, February 19th, at approximately 2 p.m., I threw down my pen in frustration and took the rest of the day off.
The next morning, after a generously large and delicious breakfast, I grabbed a notepad and started writing descriptions/plot summaries for all the projects I wanted to work on, starting with Tomorrow News Network (represented by the blonde woman above) and my blog (represented by the planet Venus wearing lipstick).
I ended up with seven projects (including my blog). Seven! It would have been eight, but one story idea turned out to be less interesting than I expected once it was on paper. Also, one of these projects is actually part of my personal diary, so it’s really six. Still, six projects seems like way too many. I need to pick and choose.
Or do I? When I had ideas coming at me from all directions, it was overwhelming. But now, all these ideas are organized. They’re manageable. I think—I don’t know, maybe this is crazy talk—but I think I can do this. And ever since the February 19th reverse writer’s block catastrophe, my confidence has only grown stronger.
So are six (or seven) writing projects too many? How many projects are you working on, and how do you keep multiple projects separate and organized?
Planet Pailly 
Go for it man! I’m currently working on about three stories, one worldbuilding project, and three coding projects in my freetime. As long as it doesn’t get out of hand and you don’t feel overwhelmed, I think its totally doable. I use it to fight droughts of motivation. When I run out of steam for one project, I can take a break and switch over to another while I let things mull over in my head regarding the other projects.
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Switching between projects definitely sounds like it has its advantages.
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One of the things I’ve recently found interesting is combining ideas in various ways. Each idea has to be changed slightly, but it can make the overall result richer.
But in doing so, I’ve struggled with which idea I want to be the main thread, which is a whole other problem. With one recent combination, I found myself mourning a character’s reduced role in the overall plot, to the extent that I’m thinking of breaking it up again.
I’m not sure I’d be able to work on multiple stories concurrently, although working on the prose of one while plotting others might be an option.
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Actually one of my characters went from having her own book to having only a small part in Tomorrow News Network. Now she gets to have her own book again as a spinoff of TNN. That project is in a very early stage of development. Several of these things are still in the world building phase.
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The technical term for “reverse writer’s block” is, I think, “Busy.” Gives you a chance to practice those multitasking skills!
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Thanks. I’m always happy to learn a new term! 😉
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That was my feeling when I looked at my To-Do list two weeks ago and realized what I’d bitten off (more than I could chew?) After noting each project and setting a schedule, everything still felt do-able. Striking while the iron is hot, so to speak, is good. You can flesh everything out as time permits, but if you totally lose an idea, it can be gone forever. Best of success with your goals.
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