Novel What's Your Writing Process?

Discussion in 'Genre Discussions' started by ACCERBYSS, May 26, 2008.

  1. Scribe Rewan

    Scribe Rewan New Member

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    I somehow manage to add set ups for plot twists and minor sub plots into my story without realising it and then get six chapters down the line and go 'hang on, that guy could be a traitor and do this and then this happens'! It's very weird, but i could never sit down and plan every detail of a book out first before i wrote it, not even a really breif plot outline.
     
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  2. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    Al's comment pretty much sums it up for me. I think about a story for weeks, sometimes months, before I actually sit down to write. During the "mulling" period, I do research, building a formidable collection of quotes and links. I seem to know intuitively when the story has evolved to the point where I am ready to start typing. Then, the story flows out so fast, my biggest problem is marital stress as I hear lots of complaints about spending too much time in my study at the computer.

    Sometimes the long incubation period for a story bites me in the ***. I started a spy story back during the height of the "cold war". The story brings the world's superpowers to the brink of nuclear holocaust in an unstoppable spiral before the brilliant young protagonist catches the attention of top level decision makers with an innovative solution. This story is STILL in its original manuscript form because the damned Cold War ended abruptly with the fall of the Berlin Wall. I'm now waiting for a substutute world nuclear threat which seems to be growing in the middle east...hmmmm...maybe there's still hope? (Calm down, I'm just kidding!)

    .....NaCl
     
  3. clockwise

    clockwise New Member

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    Hopefully there haven't been too many of these kinds of threads out there, don't want to be boring anyone~

    So, what's your writing process?

    For me, I don't really have one, since everything I try to start with a process in mind seems to fizzle out and die... which might be a sign that I should stop "processing" and just start "writing", but hey, can't fault me for trying.
     
  4. Elgaisma

    Elgaisma Contributor Contributor

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    1) Work on the beginning and get that right
    2) Write a sloppy first draft
    3) Rewrite from the beginning
    4) Possibly rewrite again.
    5) Read my story as if I was the reader
    6) Edit going over each page thousands of times, basically i start from the beginning until I have swept that page three times without finding anything then I start from page 2 etc.
    7) Write synopsis and query letter.
     
  5. Yoshiko

    Yoshiko Contributor Contributor

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    When I have an idea in mind I simply let it play out in my head for a while. If I'm still interested in writing it after a couple of weeks/months then I make a few notes. I outline key scenes -- these come to me in (day)dreams or are inspired by something I read/see/hear -- no matter how disconnected they feel and then spend some time trying to link them together, inserting any sub-plots that come to mind, fleshing out characters, etc. My outlines tend to end up anywhere between 10-35k in length. After that I leave the idea to sit again for a little while before reading the outline in full. If I'm still keen on the idea then I set a start date for the project (usually the first day of a holiday/month [/WriMo-er]).

    When it comes to the actual writing process it's a case of just sitting down and writing the damn thing. I pick an action or a piece of dialogue and go for it - there's a good chance I'll completely alter the introduction later anyway. When I'm writing I have two documents open side by side: the outline on the left and the story on the right (example). I go for a mix of quality and quantity when I write: every sentence must help progress the story but I'm not going to sit and deliberate for too long over whether to use a comma or a period and less than perfect word choice - I'll fix it in the second draft. But I'm not just going to sit and write utter garbage either (okay, so it doesn't seem too bad at the point of writing). When I stop writing for a few days I talk to two of my online friends in the US and Australia who normally guilt me into getting back to work.

    Once finished I toss it aside for a month or so then come back and read it through and decide whether or not I like it. If I think the characters and plot are still worth continuing with then I start making notes on what needs to be changed in the redraft.
     
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  6. Gnarls

    Gnarls New Member

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    I start out with a vague idea or concept.
    Then I watch some films to try and find a voice similar to the way I'd imagine my main character to speak. I mimic that voice over in my head until it sounds natural.
    I don't plan anything. I just free write.
    All my redrafting is done whilst writing the first draft. I re-read what I've written over and over, ever couple of sentences or paragraph and work on it until it sounds right, before I can move on in the story.

    I do sometimes wish I could just write an entire piece and worry about the editing later, but I can't stop myself from playing lines over in my head as I'm writing. They just niggle away until I get them to sound right.

    That's probably why it takes me so long to write anything, but I guess it works for me :)
     
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  7. Taylee91

    Taylee91 Carpe Diem Contributor

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    I have a very similar process as Yoshiko. All my scenes come to me before I even really begin to find out who my characters are and what conflicts they have or what subplots I want to insert into my story. Also, most of my ideas have been in my head for a while as well and have, interestingly, been salvaged and used again in a better way than the first.

    When it comes to actually writing my stories out, I don't like writing crap on account of not knowing where I want my next scene to go. I plan them and also try to find a way to link them together too. This is after I've fleshed out my characters more, figured out my settings and the details that go along with them, and have my big plot points settled in my mind along with the ending :)

    So here's my process in a nutshell:

    1. I start out with a character and try to find something about them that I can sympathize with. This sympathizer can be a goal, a feeling, or a past even that really effected them.

    2. In the meantime, I begin working on what kind of story I want to write. Do I want to write fantasy? Science fiction? It's either one or the other for me :)

    3. Somewhere in these two strands of work, I get around to trying to find out how I want my story to end. This will keep me grounded from the start and let me know how I should let my story progress.

    4. During 1, 2, and 3, I also work out my settings.

    4. I then start asking myself every question that comes to mind and recording my answers down in a regular composition book. This is how I plan :)
     
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  8. spklvr

    spklvr Contributor Contributor

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    - Take some notes in my notepad. Sometimes an idea can seem great in my head, but silly on paper.
    - If it seems like it can work, I write down a short plot outline as far as I've gotten, just to give it some direction.
    - I then make a character quick list. A list with the full names and ages of all the character, and a sentence about who they are and how they are connected to the others.
    - I then start writing.
    - After a few chapters, if I'm running out of ideas and I don't know where it's going, I put it on hold until I do. If it seems good and I'm getting ideas, I make a full and detailed plot outline to get a better overview of everything.
    - I then make a more detailed list of characters, mainly appearance and history, so that I know who they are at the start of the story. Then some notes about my plans for them.
    - When all that is in order, I continue with the first draft.
    - When the first draft is done, I leave it for a month.
    - Then I work on it more until it's done.
     
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  9. ProwerGirl

    ProwerGirl New Member

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    1-Think over the idea as much as possible
    2-Run it by my editors
    3-Start writing first draft
    4-Type it up
    5-Revise
    6-Let is sit there for about half a month
    7-Revise
    8-Run it by my editors again
    9-Publish
     
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  10. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    there are many threads on the subject... you can probably find them with a key word search...

    i don't have any 'process'... i get an idea and i start writing... for short works, i keep writing till i get to the end...

    if, at some point, i need to keep time lines and subplots or complicated content straight when working on a book-length whatever, i'll take a break and do up a rough skeleton outline...

    that's it... no complicated or formulaic process...
     
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  11. Rowley

    Rowley New Member

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    I've started to develop a bit of a method, though it changes pending on the length of what I want to write.

    For short stories (what I'm doing more of, mainly as practice and to perhaps get something published in a magazine) I do it this way;

    1 - Get idea, hold onto idea, think about idea and decide if I like the idea.
    2 - Write down the idea, write down relevant information (ie: Things I may have to research beforehand), and then start the planning of the actual story.
    3 - Create an outline, try to work out the various personalities of characters while doing the outline, so that situations can be created to reinforce or question the personality of characters. Work in a theme -- I like having themes in my head -- and then set up the setting and any loose ends, really.
    4 - Write it. This is the longest step most of the time, taking a number of drafts, a number of slow days, a number of complaints, but it's the most rewarding part, IMO.

    When it comes to working on something like a novel (which I am), I tend to work out characters in greater detail, plan out their histories and backstories to make sure I don't mistakenly punch a hole through the story. I'll spend longer on themes and the like, and research a lot more into it. (I remember looking up the individual parts of a zeppelin).

    Other than that, I just do whatever works.
     
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  12. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    1. an idea forms in my head, either from something I've read, heard or something that came out of the blue as an interesting ida that could turn into a story.
    2. think it through, develop the characters, the plot and basic outline as far as I can in my head before
    3. starting to write the first chapter and establishing the feeling that will run through the entire story, the voice and POV.
    4. when first draft finished ( I'm usually quite fast in getting it done) i put it aside for enough time to get some distance from it.
    5. rewriting until satisfied.
    6. editing.
    7. asking someone to read it and give their opinions.
    8. print it
    9. send it to the publishers
    10. turning into an emotional wreck while waiting for the responses. ;)
     
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  13. clockwise

    clockwise New Member

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    Wow, thanks for all of the responses this has gotten already :D. I love hearing about everyone's creative processes.

    I think my problem must be that maybe I'm trying to over-structure my book, rather than getting out a beginning and letting it flow from there... Next time I'll try structuring after I write the first draft, which might be kind of weird, but maybe it'd work around the over-structuring problem.
     
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  14. JeffS65

    JeffS65 New Member

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    I don't detail too much before I write it. I have a general structural sense of what I am going to write. Where I start, where a need to end and a few key points along the way. Then I just write. It's not a quick process and I don't force it. Last weekend I sat down to write thinking it would be nice to bang out a chapter. In the end, I wrote five words. A sentence and for that matter, it was a re-write of something I used to start a chapter. However, it was a key statement that took a little while to get right. Then I realized that at that moment, that's all I had.

    So, not a process so much as I write when it's there for me.
     
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  15. Leatherworth Featherfist

    Leatherworth Featherfist New Member

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    Writing Process of The Every Day Writer

    As a writer I find myself working on multiple pieces at a time. Every once in a while I can mold one piece of writing into another. I don't do this forcefully, like trying to fit the wrong puzzle piece, I just see an opportunity to enhance one of my stories. I am beginning to realize that this is part of my writing process. It's something that I've never really noticed before until recently. When I do multiple works at a time, they all seem to be themed somewhat the same, so I end up mixing them to get a surprising end product. Even if two different pieces of mine aren't themed the same, I still see if I can manipulate them to work together. It's part of my process, but maybe I'm being lazy.

    Is there anything that you guys do in your writing process that you view as different, or surprising?
    Maybe you've recently discovered that before you finish a story you have to re-write it in the first, second, and third person.
    Maybe you have different rituals.


    The main reason for this posts, is to help willing writers look at aspects of there writing that they might otherwise overlook or not think about.

    I understand that some people don't like to analyze there own process for whatever reason, so those people don't have to post.
    If you're going to say something like, "I don't think about it I just write," then don't post it here. I understand that mentality, but this is just for fun.
     
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  16. Sang Hee

    Sang Hee New Member

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    I only rewrite parts that are not in harmony with what comes later. Sometimes the story evolves during the process. Also, when it comes to slang I normally write the words in proper language and then change them after the whole part is finished.
     
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  17. Deleth

    Deleth New Member

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    Heh, I just posted something in the "writing a novel" post that applies to this too, I guess just reference that. Has to do with how many revisions I hve done before landing on the idea I currently have which I know I will finish.

    (by the way, the number of revisions I've done is 24)
    \slashies
     
  18. Drew78

    Drew78 New Member

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    What Is Your Writing Process?

    I’ve found it’s essential to have a writing process if I’m ever to put out any reasonable amount of material. I’ll share mine, but I would also like to know what others’ processes are.

    For short stories:

    1. Planning
    This is essential to my success. I write down what I want the story to be about, and some information on how I see it going. I write down the ending as well, and anything that I need to add in the middle or at the beginning to foreshadow the ending. I’ve found that a story writes itself if it’s well planned. I do the planning in long hand and I just write some stream of consciousness thoughts until a story idea comes to mind. It can be a bit scary how reliable this technique is for generating story ideas.

    2. Writing
    Once I have planned, I just sit down and write the thing, ugly and imperfect as it ends up being. Often when I’m writing, it’s like pulling teeth it’s so painful. I write and then say to myself, “My God, how awful this is!” But after 1-3 hours of writing a short story, I have something down. At least the thing is written at that point and has gone reasonably how I wanted it to go.

    3. Revision
    Once it’s written, I usually put it away for a while and then pull it out. I revise the first few times just to see if it makes sense, if there is anything I need to add, if there is anything superfluous in the story, if any of the characters do things or say things that don’t make sense, etc. Then I revise it for its “poetic” nature. Did I string the words together well enough? Could I have said something better? Could I have used a metaphor that would make the work more interesting? Finally, I revise for grammar, spelling, and just general Standard English issues. This whole process takes about a week, and I’m usually working on multiple stories at the same time.

    4. Publish
    I’m not one of these literary snobs that thinks he’s too good to publish or that publishing is a sellout, cop out, or anything else. I don’t consider a story finished until it’s published. I use duotrope.com to find a place to publish my work. I often send to multiple places and then once a work is finished, I let the other places know I’m withdrawing my submission because it’s already been accepted elsewhere.

    So far this process has been very successful, though I’m far from able to quit my day job at this point. I’d love to know what your processes are.

    Drew
     
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  19. iamnotaweed

    iamnotaweed New Member

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    I will let you know when I master step one. Unfortunately for me, I have problems planning. :p I seem to be doing alright writing, but I am having problems plotting it out. Not sure how it will turn out without a master plan... I will try your stream of consciousness idea.
     
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  20. Jethelin

    Jethelin Member

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    I usually start with some imaginary story in my head. Most of the time created when I'm bored at work or driving or something. Ill create characters and send them through a sort of story being created minute by minute with imagination, and if it seems like a decent story I might put it on paper later. I never really plan or make outlines, but I do leave notes for myself so I don't forget parts. Then if I'm lucky the story just keeps coming and I never really have to stop and think until it comes to grammar type stuff. I then go back later and fix my mistakes and improve upon my ideas.
     
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  21. Midnight_Adventurer

    Midnight_Adventurer Active Member

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    I do a heap of planning. Once I get an idea I sit down and flesh out the plot, although details can change many times before I'm 100% happy. For my current WIP I've done a number of character profiles, which some people frown upon, and a lot of location research. I then focused on some chapter outlines which currently go up to chapter 9. After sorting all that out I went back and fleshed out my characters by doing some dialogue exercises. These are now being incorporated into the correct chapters and have really helped me understand the differences and personalities of my MC's. They were also incredibly fun to write :p
    I like to keep soft copies and hard copies of my research, developments and chapters. This allows me to continue with my WIP when I'm not near a computer and have backups if anything should happen to my laptop.
    When it comes to writing I can't stand not being organised.
     
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  22. TheSecretKeeper

    TheSecretKeeper New Member

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    I'm still a little new to writing. I realy got into it when, about a year ago, I just said to myself this: "You know what? Ima write me a book!" I had a half formed idea, but that was pretty much it. Since then, I've gotten about three chapters done and now have a good idea of where it's going.

    That first book realy got slowed down when an amazing new idea came. I'm still planing this newish one, and what I am doing for that is just thinking about where I want the story to go, then seeing if I can make it work. I've got most of the basic plot down and am now filling in the major holes in either the plot or the logic of the actual story and story elements.

    I am realy good at free verse poety, but my process for that is pretty much just when a good line pops into my head and then I build around it. So far only once have I sat down and just want to write a poem about a specific thing. My process for that was a little diffrent: I thought about it until the lines started flowing, then just wrote them down. Then I went through and picked at everything until I was satisfied with it. That's my entire process for poetry.

    I guess overall this will be my process for writing long stories:

    Plan - Plan and plan and plan. Plan untill every single thing makes sense; coordinates with the other ideas;
    feels natural in those situations; and you know EXACTLY what will happen EVERYWHERE.

    Write - Then just actually start writing until you finish the story.

    Revise - Revise the crap out of it! There was a quote by sombody that said something like this: "Be a perfectionist. No matter how good the story is, do not rest. Perfect it to the very limits of writing. IT CAN BE BETTER." That sums up my revising process pretty well.
     
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  23. Ixloriana

    Ixloriana New Member

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    Ixloriana's super-awesome process in 10 easy steps!
    Step 1: Come up with an awesome idea. Mull over ideas for plot and characters.
    Step 2: Work out the main characters. Fill pages of notebook paper with doodles and notes.
    Step 3: Build the world. Fill pages of notebook paper with maps, notes, and more doodles. Do research to fill in the gaps in my worldbuilding knowledge.
    Step 4: Finally write down that plot that's been gathering bits and bobs in my head since Step 1. Fill more notebook pages with notes and doodles. Optional: Get sick of various parts of the plot and revise them endlessly.
    Step 5: Reread notes, be completely disgusted with how awful the ideas were. Revise and rewrite them.
    Step 6: Get sick of looking at it and play video games.
    Step 7: Find old notebook, wonder why I ever gave up on THIS MASTERPIECE. Return to Step 5.
    Step 8: Write a treatment to avoid editing as I go, making notes of points that need to be researched or embellished.
    Step 9: Edit and embellish, changing things and researching where necessary.
    Step 10: Repeat Step 9 until it looks less like a treatment and more like a manuscript/story/whatever. Rewrite.​


    I don't write a real first draft. I get stuck on... uh... everything, so I write a treatment with technical details in present tense, which evolves into a sort of first draft as I go. When I'm done, I print it, mark it up, and re-type it into a proper draft in the right tense and point of view.

    Most of this is just the natural process of evolving the idea that most writers go through in their head, just with 100% more OCD and about a bajillion sketchbooks full of doodles. I usually spend more time planning than writing, but the ideas I scribble in notebooks up until about Step 4 are absorbed into other stories if I don't end up wanting to write it, so none of it ever really goes to waste.
     
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  24. Jethelin

    Jethelin Member

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    Sounds exactly like what I used to do before I found one I wanted to stick with haha. I still find school notebooks with random stories in them that I have no recollection of. Most of them are kind of worthless but fun to read. The book I'm writing now is from an idea I had around four years ago.
     
  25. Prolixitasty

    Prolixitasty New Member

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    This is all interesting. It has never been so cut and dry to me, or so formulaic. I think about what I want to write, and then I write it. I have yet to take it a step further, that's one of the reasons I joined this site.
     

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