I turned in my book 10 days ago, and after a couple of days of mental vagueness while I recovered, I now have several worlds and stories competing for my attention. It's getting loud inside my head. ;-)
First, there's the Light Warrior world. The book I just finished fits here, so naturally it's on my mind, but I also have an idea for another story in the series. Kel and Logan's little sister, Tris. Kel and his heroine are still around--they have to be until their book is revised, edited, and in galley format--but now I also have Tris, and in the background, her hero. That's three characters talking and one loitering.
The second world is for my Polynesian couple. I've had them dance in and out for like a year and a half or so, but this time the hero's friends are talking, too. It's now grown into a three book idea with the three men being the hinge point. My first hero and heroine are talking and the hero from the third story while the guy from the second is around. The funny thing is that while he isn't talking, he's passing along more information than hero #3 who is talking, but lying to me and playing games. Grrr. Again, three characters are talking and one loitering.
Finally, I have this other idea. I do have some characters--three heroines, a hero and a potential hero--but only the heroine from what I envision to be book 1 is talking. Kind of. Right now, I'm world building, trying to see what this universe looks like and learn what the rules are. One talking, three loitering here.
Believe it or not, I've actually gotten used to juggling all these people. Not that long ago, I couldn't think about multiple projects at the same time, but now I'm hopping between them in my head. A little world building and some notes for #3. Getting chapter one for book #2. Learning more about the characters for project #1. It's busy, but it's also fun! Sort of.
The problem comes with how much time I have available to work on each one. Not a lot. It's a creative buzz to project hop mentally, but it's also frustrating since I like to see tangible results. I really need to focus on one and pound away at it for a while--either to world build, or to write story, or to learn characters.
For right now, I'm going to keep flitting, but come this weekend, it'll be time to make a commitment. I think I know which way it's going to go since there's one project that has characters talking loudly, but I won't know for sure until I have to make the decision.
