A Tale of Two Stories

I have a bad habit of confusing my friends when I talk about my writing. Part of it is that I talk in terms of drafts and parts. I might say, “I’m almost done with the first part of the second draft of the third book!” They just nod encouragingly and say, “That’s great, congratulations!” They have no idea what the hell I’m talking about. I need more crazy friends who understand me.

The other reason why this is insanely confusing for them is because I write two series. Why? Because I’m an idiot. No, actually it’s because I get bored with writing one thing, and it helps me to have a different project to jump to if I need a break. I also like having one traditionally published, and self publishing one.

These are two completely different animals. Woven is a series about a world full of magic and dragons. Enemies are faced, people find themselves during adventures. Love abounds. It’s a true swords and sorcery kind of epic fantasy novel that is being traditionally published.

Station 86 is about a police officer and a cook in space. It’s full of mystery and murderers. It’s got aliens and awesome new technology. I had to start reading Wired to write this. It’s a space opera, novella that I’m self publishing.

I’m eclectic. I’m also a Gemini, so maybe that’s it.

Writing two series can be confusing, though. Here’s what I do to juggle them.

Play lists

I have talked about the magic of playlists before, and I hold this to be true. I have a morning play list, and an inspirational play list. But I lean heavily on Pandora, too. I’ve got a custom channel for both of my series. In case you’re interested, Woven is heavy on Lindsay Sterling and TSO. Anything heavy metal, but also classic. Instrumentals are a must. There’s nothing better when writing about a cold, frigid land to hear a kick ass violinist. Station 86 seems to benefit from Orgy and Limp Bizkit.

The real magic in this, for me, is to not play that station unless I’m working on Woven or Station 86. It’s a way to trick my brain, or tell it that it’s time to write.

Fonts

This doesn’t require a lot of explanation. I write in Times New Roman for Woven, and Calibri for Station 86. It looks different, and it makes me feel different. These aren’t even the fonts they’ll end up as, they’re just what I write them in.

Chapter headings

Again, this is just a stylistic difference that reminds me that I’m writing two very different things. Again, its nothing that anyone’s ever going to see unless they’re snooping on my notes. But I write the chapter headings different.

I highly advise writing two series. It helps keep things fresh. Hopefully these tips will help keep things organized in your mind.