How to commit to a single (or select few) WIPs - told primarily from my experience with my own writing
This is based on a question I saw floating around a week or so ago, but I wanted to preface the rest of the post by saying there is absolutely nothing wrong with starting lots and lots of WIPs. I spent the first three years or so of my creative writing journey doing this and loving the shit out of writing. (And maaaanny years before if we’re counting the crappy juvenile starwars fanfic I wrote when I was seven and the “underwater” stories I wrote before I knew how to actually spell the word shrack shark).
(tips and my experiences below the cut)
The main thing that started my transition was that I was drawn to the same story over and over and over. Each new WIP had new characters and world, but the overall themes, tropes, and stories remained somewhat the same. By the time I had done all of the volume work (which is really important for newer writers - it helps you discover your voice and grow skills), I was ready to hone in on the story I clearly wanted to tell.
I think one of the things that made the transition from starting a new WIP every 1-2k words to sticking to a single project for the long haul was that I only ever had a single project at a time. As soon as I got bored, I was done. That project was abandoned and I started a new one. This was the case with 47 WIPs from when I started multi-chapter (or intended multi-chapter) WIP’s - up to my current WIP.
What started happening is I began to focus on the stories that seemed to well up the most - those were the ones that were just dying to be told and the ones I wouldn’t be able to ignore if I started a new project. They also ended up being the ones I was most excited about. Because I was already so excited with the concept, it made it easier to stick with, and the amount I got on each WIP before I moved on grew. My longest abandoned WIP (a fantasy war story version of the story I’m writing now) ended up being 28k. The thing is, the longer a story gets, the harder it is to part with it - you just get more and more attached to the characters and the story. When I quit the 28k story, I had learned a lot about character, narrative voice, and structure, and it was looking at these components and how they applied to my story that caused me to realize it was enough of a wreck that it was time to move on. But even though the WIP ended up being a no-go, I was able to take those lessons and run with them.
It took a couple tries to really feel out the world and core conflict I wanted to use for my new WIP (a war story was just too advanced for me), but because I had developed my skills so much with previous WIPs, I was able to write the story I had intended to tell, and now, for the first time, I’ve completed a whole first draft!
So I guess to sum up the main points that can apply to you:
When you’re just starting out, you’re learning a lot about storytelling and characters and your writer voice all at once, and you’re really exploring. It is very natural to jump between WIP’s very fast
It’s also how you experiment with what appeals to you and what... doesn’t
Jumping between WIPs is part of how you get the volume work in as a newbie writer, which is very, very important.
The more you write, the more you’re going to find your style and the story you want to tell.
If you listen to what stories crop up most often, you’re likely to hone in the story you’re dying to tell
As you grow, you’re going to be able to stick with projects for longer and longer amounts of time - first because you have the writing craft skills you didn’t when you started, and second because you’re going to have a much better idea of what interests you.
If you keep abandoning and starting WIP’s, it’s likely because you have more exploring to do. If you really really want to be able to stick with a single WIP though, pay attention to what stories you’re drawn to writing and really focus on those. Also, try to only have one story at a time in any given stage (one story in drafting, another in editing, is fine). This means you’re going to be able to devote more energy to a single project.
