Novel What's Your Writing Process?

That suggests to me that perhaps you shouldn't rely on inspiration quite so much.

 

LOL that might be something I have to look into!

 

I plan to a T. I have all the chapter names written down first. Then I begin from chapter one and do a complete summary of what happens in each chapter. From there I can see where storylines are heading and how they unfold naturally. By knowing what is coming when, I can naturally start writing and build towards it. So I just write and write, I take my time, I don't become a powerhouse on the keyboard even though I can type really fast. I think about it all as I write, try to imagine it in my head and make sure it translates well to the page. If I feel like I'm stuck, I pull out one of my favourite books and read a chapter to get into another writer's mind and feel a little burst of inspiration.

 

I usually play with an idea for a long time before it really begins to develop. I just write scenes for fun to get my brain flowing in the creative direction. Then I make a vague outline of the beginning, middle, end. Then I go into the intro, rising action and conflict, climax, resolution. I just go deeper with each outline until it is a detailed chapter, scene by scene outline. Then I just write and fill in the blanks that my outline leaves. Then, boom, it's all written before I know it. But then comes the fun part of rewriting the entire thing instead of correcting grammar. I just repeat, edit, repeat, repeat until I am happy with it. Before my rewriting, I always rethink ideas, maybe dive deeper into characters, add development, add what is missing from the story. I'm a neurotic perfectionist so this is never a short process. The shortest part is when I actually write the first draft. I typically can finish an 80,000 word novel in about a month. But then I have to repeat this thousands of times. So...I don't know if my input makes any sense heh.

 

You are the fastest writer on Earth by far! Either that, or your words are really, really small ...

 

I think and type rapidly. I have severe ADHD, I think my brain just is the way it is. I see everything in flashes. My brain is always working much too fast for my body...I dunno. And my words aren't small.

Not to mention I have a lot of free time to write, since, my whole life has been built upon writing.

Also, I completely isolate myself when I am writing. It is basically all I do when I am working on a novel or project. Not on purpose, I just love what I do! And I'd write an average of 3,000-8,000 words per day. It would be easy because I would already have every chapter and every scene outlined! The writing, I feel, is the most fun part of a novel. I hate the revision and rewriting process.

 

The "Science of Muddling Through" is an Urban Planning methodology (aka Incremental Planning). The upshot is you have a general idea or "goal" you want to achieve but you stay open-minded as to the outcome. You move towards your or idea or goal in bite sized increments. At logical junctures you reassess your expected outcome. The key is to stay flexible and open-minded to the infinite potential for opportunity as you "muddle". By remaining flexible you are able to capitalize on opportunities as they present themselves. The end result often far exceeds the initial idea or goal.

So that is how I write. I muddle. Probably as clear a mud to the rest of you but it works for me

 

I want to be a writer. I don’t know what to write about. I know a lot of things but am I a Jack of all trades and master of none? The first half of my life I traveled all over the world learning about other cultures and tasting new food and drinks. I survived addictions and heartache beyond what many people experience. Managing businesses has been my career but I have never had a high paying position. I obtained an education and even received a degree in Computer Information Systems with honors but I never knew what to do when I finished. Now I am about to embark upon a writing career and I don’t know what to write about or for whom I would write. I consider myself to be well versed in many subjects and to have a relatively good command of the English language. Poetry comes easily to me and I have been complimented on my writing many times. Does any of that make me a writer? I don’t really have a process yet but I can see how a good idea that sounds really exciting can quickly and easily fall by the wayside and never get completed.

 

1. Creating the story/coming up with a storyline
2. Getting in the right mood and creating the style of the new reality I'm creating
3. Writing, writing, writing and writing
4. Editing with a rather rough hand
5. Starting to write all over again
6. Leaving the story aside for a while
7. Reading and asking myself; is this interesting? If the answer is yes, I either rewrite the whole story or just brush it up a little.
8. Et voila... it's done.

 

My process is pure chaos. I can't tell you how I write because, honestly, even I'm not completely sure. What I do know is this:

A. Something sets off a spark -- a word, a phrase, even a quick incident -- and bam! an idea is born. Now this idea is usually just a sentence or summary. I don't know the details, the characters, or the world. All I do know is that I want to write about it. Everything else comes later.
B. World-building. Fantasy is my lifeblood and world-building my passion. So, no matter what happens during the transfer from A to B, this is the next step. I take this to the extreme: complex mythologies paralleling real ones, new ideas being born from the research, characters begin forming in my head. The who the story is about is beginning to form.
C. More research. More world-building. More ideas. (EX. Reading the Epic of Gilgamesh brought about the creation of homunculus in my urban fantasy, who are now a cornerstone of the intricate politics played in the world.)
D. I finally get a grasp of the people. Characters have always been less important to me than plot, a weakness I really need to ditch. These characters remain hollow husks -- completely lifeless -- until when I start writing.
E. Snippets of writing appear. Throwaway scenes between a couple I just conceived, a debate of philosophies, etc.
F. I start the first draft months, sometimes years (I'm not kidding), after A. While I have a general understanding of the world and plot, the main reason I started the first draft is because I threw up my hands, said "screw this" and just started writing. Now, I can't write on the computer. I get distracted very, very easily and try to edit myself as I go along. Which gets me no where in the long run; it's gotten so bad that I once started at a paragraph for four hours doing nothing but revising it over and over and over again. Then by the time I'm ready to move on, my inspiration is gone. So I write in a notebook and just go.
G. Things get written?
H-Z. Hopefully it gets done?

I start off over-planning things and just end up with a mess. My computer is full of folders of junk, small snippets I like that get lost in the gibberish I label it as. You could say my writing is "organic".

 

A writer writes ....

 

My process is lengthy and methodic, at least for the longer pieces like chapters and stuff. Short stories or passages just come to me and I write the first thing that enters my funny little mind.

But the the longer process:
1) A vauge outline of the plot, the background, a bit of info on the main characters. Very general.
2) A more deatiled in depth description of the plot.
3) I then write long passages about every detail of my characters, thier idiosynchrocies, fears, passions, etc.
4) I then bullet point what will happen, event by event, one by one in sequence so I can get a good feeling of what will
happen in this piece.
5) I then write it
6) Then I reread it over and over for improvements, spelling etc.

It seems to be little more tedious than most but it works for me because I like to organize and prepare everything beforehand.

 

When I am writing a short story, I just go straight into the first draft. I don't spend to much time editing, because I feel like they are just a way for me to learn how to write, to eventually reach the stage that I am ready for a novel.

 

Usually, an idea will come to me, usually accompanied by a certain image. I'll try and develop this first image into a scene. From there, I think of other scenes that I'd like to write (the funnest part!). It's very unorganized, I suppose, but I go scene-by-scene, not necessarily in chronological order. In fact, I usually do the ending first and work backwards. But my main focus is on the scenes, rather than character/plot/imagery. All those things will come out of the scenes, I think. For the most part, anyways! Obviously more detailed pieces/longer works will need a bit more planning.

 

I'm a total pantser which is why I only write short pieces of fiction. I get an idea for a story and just go with the flow. If ever I did write a novella or a novel I would need to do a rough outline which I have been trying to do for the past year but keep getting sidetracked because it's out of my comfort zone. I want to participate in a nanowrimo to see if I can expand my comfort zone.

 

My process follows a pretty rigid order that I've only ever broken one time... Anyhow, here it is.

1. I will see something, hear something, etc. Then a video would began playing in my mind. The video will be about the plot, characters, the storyline, sequence of events, etc. But bascially like a movie it will flow through my mind.
2. Try to forget about it and go on with my life. Lep, thats what I do. I will read another book, watch T.V., call friends, Play some Call of duty, and work on my car. After about a week or more goes by and the idea is still lodged in my head pretty tight. Then comes stage 3.

3. Try to debunk it, I will thrash it to bits. Tear at every loose plot hole and character I can find like a tornado trying to rip them from the foundation of my brain. If they somehow managed to hold on we move to stage 4.

4. Now that I know they aren't going to go away no matter how hard I thrash them. It's time to put the ideas to the test. I begin with an outline of novel 1. This outline will be revised, reworked, rebuilt, and trashed for days until I'm tired and satisfied.

5. If the plot ideas are lucky enough to receive an outline; thats pretty much it. From here on out it's getting written regardless of weather, pain, exhaustion, time, etc.

6. Then the dreaded revision. Yeah... This is the number one killer of my novels because of my unobtainable standards. It's one of the reasons I have many manuscripts that I would rather leave unseen. However recently I am finishing revising a novel of mine, but I'll give it another month or so before it's finish.

7. Art work gotta find artist, work out payment, time, etc.

8. Then complete, and time for book two!

 

When I'm inspired, it's hard to stay organised, but still. First of all, I should put down the main idea, how it will develop, and, consequently, the structure of a book. Fortunately, I never have deadlines. Thus, here I have nothing to worry about.

 

I can see from the posts that writing is different for everyone..

I normally have coffee first, at my local Spar.
Then I just sit and watch people. Normally I have my little black
notebook with me and a pencil.

When I see something different or quirky I write down the title first
and then 'tree-branch' of that title, outlining the story and the ending.

Then, when I get home, I work out names and places and do some
research about a specific topic.

Right now I'm writing a story called : A Billion to One. Which came to me
when I was flying from Durban to Cape Town last year.
Funny enough I had to do some research about cigars, which was quite
an eye opener.

My advice?
Get a little notebook and pencil, write down anything you see, and then weave
it all together...works for me !!

 

during my prewriting stage, I make an outline of the story's plot in a marble notebook. Then I write out dialogue or certain details in there as well that will make their way to the first draft. Once the outline is done, I go right into typing the first draft on my computer. When I finish it, I reread, see what's good or not, then polish it. Afterward, I send it to one of my friends to read and tell me what they think

 

This is the process I use for writing novels. Hope it helps folk as much as it helped me!

10-Step Novel Writing Guide

 

I'm lucky to write with my wife because when, say, I get a story idea, I can first bounce it off her and we can exchange ideas and opinions on the basic premise before we start to plan the details.

Since our writing is more or less character-driven, it often starts with a specific type of character I'd like to write. That, or I have something to say e.g. about our society, human behavior, what have you, and then the story becomes a medium through which I can discuss whatever it is that I want to say. I find that as long as I have something to say, things will somehow work out. When I lose perspective of that, it's like wandering about a dark forest on a cloudy night with no flashlight.

After we've agreed on the basic premise (the basic plot outline, the milieu etc) and crafted the main characters, we start writing. We don't really edit while we write. I read about it somewhere and agree with the notion that when you wear your "writer's hat," you put aside your editor's hat because trying to wear them both at the same time can seriously jam the writing process. Then when we reach a suitable spot (say, the end of a chapter or part or even an entire book), we go back and edit the heck out of it. Then we reread and edit, reread and edit, reread and edit. Then we do it some more until we're sick of the story. And then do it some more. Usually when the very notion of the story makes me wanna puke, I know it's about halfway done.

We also shamelessly exploit the kind hearts of our friends who beta our early drafts and offer their critique/advice. More often than not, a friend has spotted some major flaws and thus helped us avoid embarrassment. The help of our friends has been invaluable because, let's face it, nobody can be an expert in everything so we consult physicists, doctors, soldiers, police officers etc. when our own very limited knowledge isn't enough. We've even consulted Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority when we were writing on a post-apocalyptic story where the world was riddled with radiation. Oddly enough, every single person we've ever asked, even those who are just random people (like the good folks at RNSA) have been very enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge.

 

I wrote the whole story out over a month in a fast draft that had some outline sections and some more complete chapter drafts. It's a two book series, (trilogies have been over done ).

Now I take my dogs for a walk (about an hour) in the woods once a day and work a chapter/scene out in more detail or revise it, either in my head and/or talking to myself. Then I come back and re-write that scene/chapter. Then I take some of the chapters to the writers critique group and when I have time I revise the piece again based on their feedback.

And sometimes if I get a particular idea for a scene, I might write it up in an outline if I don't have time to fill in the details.

The whole book will need one more re-write, top to bottom when I'm done with this phase. I plan to do that one book at a time so the first one will be polished up before I start on re-writing the second book.

 

There are so many interesting posts in this thread. As I read them I began to feel less crazy.

Story ideas are everywhere. I see no shortage there. Generally I imagine a twisted situation and try to give it an explanation. Sometimes I need to map it all out, sometimes I go from start to finish.

The problem I always had was organizational in nature. Once I hit about 30,000 words I couldn't keep a whole story idea in my head. I found a software I like called Scrivener and it keeps things organized real well, enough so that I don't have to keep the whole thing in my limited sized cranium. It keeps all my names and places handy and I can split screen to refer to a chapter I am writing about. It has become part of my process.

 

I use Scrivener as well.

 

Too much cappuccino and too little sleep have a lot to do with it. That's usually where the ideas come from.

From then on, it's all organized chaos. Which is probably why I don't finish things. I have no consistent paradigm.