Secondary Projects

[BewareTheChain]

Has anyone ever found themselves writing smaller, quote-unquote "less important" stories in between entries in their main projects? For example, I've been working on a series of most self-contained stories involving encounters with fantasy creatures on and off while I work on my next major project, and I've found it's helped alleviate some of the burnout.

I am worried, however, that diverting my attention like this could turn it from a light diversion to refresh my interest in writing into something more akin to a distraction that will detract from what I'm supposed to be working on. If anyone else has any advice or experience regarding maintaining side projects alongside their main works, I would love to hear about them, and whether they ultimately helped or took away from their output. Thank you.

 

[RejectReality]

If you're getting burned out, whatever assists you in getting back to the original project is perfectly legitimate.

You're the only one who determines what you're "supposed" to be working on. If you're staring at a blank page on something, but words are flowing on something else, I would say the something else is what you're supposed to be working on.

You try to lock your muse in a cage, and trust me, she's going to turn into the most evil fucker you've ever met and tell you to eat a bag of dicks while you stare at blank pages on everything.

 

[MrPixel]

Frequently. An inspiration hits, is fleshed-out, done. Some make it to uploading, many do not.

 

[Rob_Royale]

Not lately for ... reasons, but such things are back on the menu as of today.

 

[Writer61]

Has anyone ever found themselves writing smaller, quote-unquote "less important" stories in between entries in their main projects? For example,

Many times, and I think it's a good thing

 

[ClintonBrooks]

Has anyone ever found themselves writing smaller, quote-unquote "less important" stories in between entries in their main projects? For example, I've been working on a series of most self-contained stories involving encounters with fantasy creatures on and off while I work on my next major project, and I've found it's helped alleviate some of the burnout.

I am worried, however, that diverting my attention like this could turn it from a light diversion to refresh my interest in writing into something more akin to a distraction that will detract from what I'm supposed to be working on. If anyone else has any advice or experience regarding maintaining side projects alongside their main works, I would love to hear about them, and whether they ultimately helped or took away from their output. Thank you.

I sometimes do this.

Sometimes, when I am either actively seeking distraction or my mind is on it's own subconscious mission, I watch random sex gifs (anywhere from 5 seconds to 60 seconds long) on another site. Sometimes, I find one that intrigues me, so I open a new document and write a short scene (around 500-ish words) that usually describes a possible lead up to the short gif I am watching.

Sometimes, I end up with something worth saving for a possible (future) WIP. Then I go back to the story I was working on. The thing is to know the end you are working for, which is the action in the gif, then stop when you get there.

 

[IWroteThis]

Has anyone ever found themselves writing smaller, quote-unquote "less important" stories in between entries in their main projects?

To a certain extent, that's everything I post here. While I have some longer works that are intended for Literotica, my main projects are mainstream novels I can put my name on and let my mother brag about her son.

I am worried, however, that diverting my attention like this could turn it from a light diversion to refresh my interest in writing into something more akin to a distraction that will detract from what I'm supposed to be working on.

Since I've started writing stories specifically for Literotica, I've also been adding more words to my mainstream projects than I was before. Perhaps, if I was to stop, that progress would grow even faster, but I think that I'm still benefiting greatly from the experience and feedback publishing here gives me.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Has anyone ever found themselves writing smaller, quote-unquote "less important" stories in between entries in their main projects? For example, I've been working on a series of most self-contained stories involving encounters with fantasy creatures on and off while I work on my next major project, and I've found it's helped alleviate some of the burnout.

Not for my ADHD brain. I tried that, and eventually it led me to get a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth... and have a folder bigger than @StillStunned 's full with unfinished projects, added decision paralysis and also forgetting everything about the main project. Working on one thing at a time is better for me, no matter if it's something long or short.

"But how are you writing two different projects for NaNoWriMo, you dumb cat?" I hear you asking.

Well... I did have, and succeeded, at writing 85K on my phone through somewhat daily sessions of 10 minutes. That was my secondary project. And my current secondary project I'm both taking it slow, and recognizing that it's also an anthology, compared to the main NaNo project which will take me 85K for sure. Or maybe even less. I won't know until I have the draft finished. The secondary project I'm working on started, and still remains, as a hobby project because this isn't meant to be published as prose. It's just a learning exercise.

I am worried, however, that diverting my attention like this could turn it from a light diversion to refresh my interest in writing into something more akin to a distraction that will detract from what I'm supposed to be working on. If anyone else has any advice or experience regarding maintaining side projects alongside their main works, I would love to hear about them, and whether they ultimately helped or took away from their output. Thank you.

Treat it the same way you'd treat trying out hats at a hat store. Give it a shot for a week, and if you find it that it distracted you from your main project, return to your main project and don't do this again. It's not wrong to have a secondary project, but in my personal case, it's one piece of advice that it doesn't work for me with the caveat I've explained above. You'll never know until you try it.

 

[deathlynx]

I jump around on projects a lot. I'm not sure I really have a single "main" project at this point, given that the closest thing I have (a meta-plot in the Dhaseverse) actually consists of two parallel series of novels that don't intertwine until book eight or so. And that doesn't count the short stories that pop out of nowhere for things like contests and challenges.