Multi-project writing

That’s me. Well, that’s how I work in writing. There is always a lot of stuff going on. At the moment I am working on 4 naturist writing projects: the second Murphys book, the third Unsworth book, Naked Crow number 8 and a new fantasy that has the working title “Crazy Pictures”. I have to admit that Murphys 2 isn’t going fast because there is so much other stuff going on, but it will come out someday.

I often get asked how I can keep all those storylines apart. That’s a problem… because for me it’s easy, simple, normal. How do I explain that to others?

The best way to explain it, I think, is with this image:

Each story has its own spot, like a TV program selection screen. Each block runs its own show and you hold the remote control in hand to select what you want to see. That is how it works for me with writing. I switch to the “Naked Crow 8” channel and I’m in there, ready to roll with Sheila, Acaraho and all the others.

Next, I switch to the Murphys and spend some time with them. Or I press “the button” for Avery and Tracy and their new adventures.

Somehow my brain is so organised (or weird, take your pick) that I can hop from one story to the next without a problem. And it is as fast as you can zap past TV channels. I can add a few lines to Naked Crow, switch to Unsworth and add some lines there, back to Naked Crow and from there to Crazy Pictures. Each story grows that way, be it slowly. Which gives me the stupid situation that at some point I may have 2 or 3 books ready for publication at the same time. That is something I should work on because that’s just dumb.

But as long as there is someone who wants to read what I write, that’s all that counts!