Handling multiple Stories/Universes

[kanshu]

How do you keep track if you write different stories at the same time?
Do you get confused?
Do you loose interest in one or several stories?
Does characterization or story quality suffer?
And what about writing stories for different universes?
Do you have problems with switching universe and characters?
Share you experiences! Do you have a 'working solution'?

[KarotsaMused]

I, at one point, had three stories going at once. So I know how this one goes!

Honestly, I write a story depending on the mood I'm in, so I'm not often subject to losing tone. However, I do spend a lot a lot a lot of time rereading, as much for pleasure as to remember characterisation and minor plot points that would cause continuity errors should they be forgotten.

Writing by my mood poses a problem, though, because some moods are easier to enter than others. Every story, for me, has a different feeling driving it, and I can more easily tap into, say, what I need for "The Breakroom" than what I'd need for something like "Cornerstone". I guess you could call that 'losing interest' ^^;

Writing in a different universe can be tough, because there are a ton of complexities you have to deal with. Unlike 'canon' stories, nothing is a given and everything must be introduced on its own right. So I do what I tell the kids I tutor - Write like your reader knows nil. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Goose-freakin-egg. And because of that, I try to keep the characters' backstories pretty darn close to canon so I have one less thing to keep track of ^^;

I guess, if any, the 'working solution' would be to reread as much and as often as possible. When one starts a story, one knows the feeling they want, the message they're going for, and how the characters are going to be. Revisit that first page or pages, and you can more easily recapture the first feeling you had when you started.

[iamzuul]

Notes! Good god, the notes! Not necessarily plot outlines, but just a brief scribble about the idea - like telling a friend, "Hey, this is a story I thought of," and then write the little explanation down. That way, if I get caught up with something else, all I have to do is look at my (incredibly large) notebook of ideas and say, "Oh, so THAT'S how it goes."

I've lost interest in so many stories that it's not funny, and in the past I used to find something that I had written and go, "I wanna write this again!" but can't remember for the life of me where I was going. Hence, the need for notes, because at least that way I get a vague idea of what I wanted at the time. Right now I've got four stories going on in the back of my mind, all in the process of being written at basically the same time, but I don't really find any difficulty in switching back and forth because they're still the same characters... they're still going to react in a certain way to certain stimulous. o.0

What I think would be difficult is the people who are writing several different animes/mangas/whatevers at the same time. I can only concentrate on a specific set of characters at the same time, and the idea of working with multiple universes (of that nature) at the same time is mind-boggling...

[kanshu]

Notes are definately a plus!
I have most of my story plots written down to a more or less specific degree.
What usually throws me off is if I write for two different universes (meaning, two shows). I tend to have problems with characterization then, or the characters will mess around with my thoughts fighting for 'supremacy', because they all want to be written, and they all want to stay 'in character'.
I can write two different universes efficiently for a very limited amount of time, though. After that, the characters inevitably start to start a "character exchange program" of sorts.
Is this how a newbie actor feels who has to do too many different roles in a short time? *sigh*

Alternate universes are not that tough, because I try to stay as close to the original as possible with the characterization. So, it's just the details I need to keep track of, and that is easily to do by keeping aforementioned notes.

[BakaBokken]

Heh, I'm currently keeping up with 3 stories, plus parodies (as remedies for writer's block). It's pretty easy for me to avoid crossing my storylines, since all 3 come from 3 different series, and I feel like I understand the characters I'm writing about well enough to keep in character. In fact, I find it easier to write about 3 different series at once rather than working on multiple stories in a single series. (Yeah, I guess I think differently than you do, iamzuul, lol...) The main reason I find it hard to write several stories in the same series is because I develop the characters in a different way in each story, and I'd get more confused and start crossing story lines... not a good thing. So, instead, I work with different series to avoid that blunder ^^;

Now... on to why I update one over the other... It depends on which story I am most motivated to write at the moment. If I have a good feel for my plot line, and if I'm excited about it, I'll probably work on it the most. When I get stuck, I start writing something else, whether it's original, fanwork, or just something silly, like a journal entry detailing my day.

And I totally agree with the notes thing! I've had SOO many story lines (mostly for original works) that I've forgotten about since I didn't write them down. I've since learned how to get around it, and now I'm finding oodles of ideas for writing.

[kitsuneoni]

At one point I was writing 6 different stories at the same time.

I didn't get confused at all because I had them all sorted out in my head, but I'm that kind of person. Like at the moment I'm reading over 30 different fanfics from 4 different fandoms and when a new chapter is posted on one I skim through the previous chappie and remember everything.

However, the problem is that you tend to forget about the stories you're not as inspired on and finish those you like best, starting then on others.

Now I try to finish stories before I start posting them, and I try to work equally on all the stories I have.

They never seem to leak over to each other because... after all they're all different stories, even though they might have the same characters.

Maybe I'm just weird... ^^;;

[kellen]

I write in three different fandoms (was four, but I'm not active in Xmen any longer, thought I still harbor love for my Nightcrawler.) My problem is that, sometimes, because I write mostly Lord of the Rings with some Pirates of the Caribbean interspersed sporadically, is that my Legolas and Will Turner start being the same person... *grimaces* I'm writing a good bit of Inuyasha fic lately, too (haven't posted any yet), and find myself sometimes looking at some I've written for Inuyasha and Kagome and, if you just read the dialogue, you'd swear it was Aragorn and Arwen speaking. *shakes head* I have a good grip on Lord of the Rings characterization, but that works against me when I'm trying to write outside that fandom. (At least, I've been told many times that I've a good understanding of the characters...)

Inuyasha, though... he's usually pretty easy for me to write (as long as I haven't seen anything LotR influenced beforehand) because I've found that his dialogue can be a LOT like my own inner, running commentary I dare not speak aloud. *grins* So, for Inuyasha, all I have to do is let myself loose and then tweak it until it sounds a little less like me and more like him. Not a hard thing to do, though.

So, yeah, I've problems with keeping it all straight sometimes. As long as I go back reread what I've written and take a look at my notes, I'm usually set to go though.

cheers,Kellen

[Salmastryon]

Kellen: Nightcrwler is one of my favorite xmen ! ;D

As blending of character voice between fics, I've got two pieces of advice.

Try to have a different enviroment for each universe/story you are writing in. For those of you who can listen to music and write at the same time. Pick some music that reminds youof those characters. Memory is a funny thing and external queues make it easier to bring back the same mind set. If you can't listen to music and need silence perhaps a different scent candle or pot of tea. Even a different room.

The other thing that helps is good betas or friends. Having one beta who just reads your Poc stories and another one who reads your LoTR willhelp. Have them look at the characters and tell you if they sound off.

My friend who was writing a tenchi fanfic was having a terrible time with a scene, until I pointed out to him that his characterization of Ayeka was off and why. With a few minor changes his scene came out smoothly after that.

BTW, Welcome to the board!!!

[iapetus]

I have the large "problem" of always getting a ton of ideas. I have so many that I wish to work on, but never seem to have enough time to do them all.

One of the biggest mistakes (if you could call it that), was having multiple epics going at once. I currently have four incomplete epics on ff.net, three of which are crossovers. Writing for the fandoms in question is not the issue, it's trying to find the TIME. But, I do not regret posting them - for they have led me to meet a LOT of interesting people (especially the one story that isn't a crossover).

Due to my experience in multiple fandoms (both reading and writing), I have developed an ability to keep track of many different storylines simutaneously. Of course, I would be completely lost without my notes (which I sometimes think I have more of then story *sweatdrop*), and I refrence them ALL the time. I also find talking to people about my stories helpful, and since I usually do so through an instant messenger, I just save the conversation in question for future refrence.

As for the question about charaterization, I actually think that it has helped me out a lot. For example, Kindred Spirits happens to be one of my epics in question, and it is a crossover between Inu Yasha and Saiyuki. That story was my first attempt at Saiyuki fan fiction EVER. Along the way while writing it, I got the idea for my other Saiyuki epic (this time not a crossover), Somewhere I Belong. I REALLY think that writing for KS helped me understand the Saiyuki cast better, so when I started SiB I had a better grasp on pretty much everyone's characterization.

Writing is very much 'trial and error.' Luckily (for me) most of my attempts have been successes (I like to think that I didn't post any of the failures on the web ^^; ), but they have all still been very good learning experiences for me.

-Iapetus

[Terra Fire]

I'm currently writing 3 to 5 (on and off anyway) for four different anime titles, and I don't really find it that confusing. Maybe because all my fic are so different. Though, I do have to say that Salmastryon has a good idea. Perhaps I'll try that while writing my original stories.

;}

[slizziechan]

No I've never gotten confused, at the moment I writing a series, and three other novels, and two one shotish looking things.

FYI: I'm also used to reading 14 different books at a time.