Novel What's Your Writing Process?

I think the variety of responses tells it like it is; different for everybody. I run two writing groups and it is fantastic to see how enthusiastically new members tackle the exercises we do, how quickly they go from, 'I'll read mine out first to get it over with,' or 'I don´t want to read mine out, it's rubbish.' to genuine enjoyment of sharing their work, enjoying the evidence that they can do it, as they respond to the stimulus provided. Once they see that the same stimulus provides a different result from everyone, that there is no one 'right' way they lose their inhibitions and get into the spirit of it. If they want to write, if they have a story to tell, just convincing them that practice and trying different ways of tackling it will increase their skills as a story-teller they fly. I think joining a writing group is a great way to learn together, whatever level you are at, and we have had published authors and complete beginners in the same group,to gain confidence and enjoy the company of other writers. Have a look at writersend.com if you would like to see what we do.

 

First draft is 30,000 words done. A few chapters are looking at COMPLETE re-writes, a few of the chapters are good chapters (still looking at massive editing though). I'm more concerned with finishing plots. I want the story to end, I don't want to leave it open for a sequel. Though, I'm 30k words in and I'm nowhere near finished. Two of my POV characters look to be heading down the path I had planned but the other two POV characters... -shrug-.

I just fear that I have to rip out huge parts just for it to make sense.

 

I've never finished a short story or a book for that matter. What gets me usually is the in between. I have the book figured out in the beginning and so on, but eventually I lose idea. So my trouble is the prewriting. But I would suggest taking a note book with you where ever you go because then you can write down an inspirations you see or get from something in the outside world. And once you have a few strong ideas, take it to the next level with brainstorming your story. Then once that's figured out, begin writing. And when you go to revise check over any spelling mistakes and if your story makes sense and is what you intended it to be. That's what I always start with before I get lost..

 

I tend to start my story not knowing what's going to happen next. I spend time getting to know my characters, and as they develop, let their decisions guide the story.

 

I will usually start just by writing. If I can get to 2000 words and still be excited about the story line then I know I've got a keeper. BUT then I step back. I do full work ups for each major character in a separate file. I put in as much information as I can think of. who they are, what they look like, what foods they like to eat, what sports they enjoy, what their dreams entail, their favorite childhood memory... I write until I know these people as well as I know my own friends and family. Once I've made them real to me, I can make them real to my readers. the characters will drive the story line. I know what happens 'next' because I know how the characters will react to each other and to certain situations.

 

A: Prewriting--I do a plot outline for the story and I use character description sheets to flesh out my characters.

B: Writing--If I have an idea that I'm passionate about, I'll begin working out the story almost instantly. This usually leads to my motivation being drained by the time I'm into the first couple of chapters. I make sure that the characters come first and are nicely fleshed out before approaching the story, using them as my guide to how the story should play out and whatnot.

C: Revision--I revise any grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors as I write. I'm something of a perfectionist when it comes to my writing.

 

I follow a process I picked from painting. First there's the initial idea that comes into my head. Then I do several "thumbnails": short descriptions of the plot(1 page max). I do 5 of them, as my first idea will probably not be the best one. When I settle on one of the descriptions, I do a longer one that better explains the important things (who, where, when, why). Then I do all the necessary research, character description, and other supplementary things that might make my writing easier and better. And finally, I sit down to write the first draft.

 

I am also new to writing, but I just get a basic idea (sometimes very vague) and start writing. I don't really plan myself, probably just for the reason that I don't enjoy planning. I feel that it takes the imagination out of the writing. Although, I do write down important things that happen so that I keep it consistent - I think that it is also habit because at my school they want me to plan first. Since I don't like doing this, I plan as I go along so it looks like a did it beforehand I also re-read my piece of writing and will add and take things away all of the time, as I am writing. I find this easier and more enjoyable that making a first draft and then writing a final piece (something my teachers also insist on).

I think that if you are not sure what method to use, you should do what you enjoy, the most, because it will show in your writing - it will sound more enthusiastic, absorbing ect.

 

1) Investigate
2) Main Ideas
3) Write
4) Publish

 

Personally I don't do any prewriting. Once my imagination or thought process has gone on its own tangent after being inspired by something I let the idea ferment for an hour or two in my thought process.

What is my character a part of?
Is he more often part of a group or by himself?
What is the point behind the inspired idea? i.e. save the world, rescue a princess, solve a mystery.

And many other questions that form the foundation for the idea. If the idea is still kicking and I'm getting excited and giving it more of my thought process and actively thinking about the characters past, friends etc then I sit down and just start writing. It may be only a paragraph, or up to two pages. Once the idea is written down I'll come back to it the next day, or whenever I get myself hyped about the story.

 

For poetry:

1. If an interesting idea pops into my head I'll jot it down in my notebook
2. When I'm up for it, I'll scan through my notes and develop a topic to write about
3. I begin to write the poem in the very same notebook once until I get the feeling of completion
4. I transfer it onto a word document (This is where I do all my revisions as well)
5. All done!

 

Everyone writes different. Some use the snowflake method and meticulously plan out each and every detail before they write the first chapter. Others, sit and write as it comes to mind. And many people are in between those two. The most important thing is to simply forget what anyone else says and find what works for YOU. I prefer to use the snowflake method, I write much faster when I know where I'm going. Then I start adding things and I become one of those "in betweeners".

For me. I jam through the first draft, it's bad and I know it. I do a lot of telling just to get the ideas out of my head. Then later I go back and revise and I work much faster because I dont sit and stew over what word to use on the first draft. It's the first draft it's going to change.

Basically. Don't sit in front of your screen on the first draft and get stuck on a sentence just because it doesn't sound right. Jam through it, get it done, when you look at it later you will think of something that you wouldn't have thought of the first time and you will be happier with it.

 

One thing I've found useful is during the review process to go through and change the font colour for each character. This makes it easier to see if the person is sticking to the character you've set for them. It also helps you notice anomalies in balance and also if they keep repeating the same words over and over.

 

There's this great set of music called 'Immediate Music' they use it for trailers etc...what I like to do is lye in bed with my headphones on and just listen to the music. The ideas flow right to me!

 

once I get an idea for a possible story first thing I do is figure out the MC, usually just a name at start then from that I piece together everything else about them eventually writing out a "greatest hits" background for them could be from a few paragraphs to a few pages depending on how detailed I would like to be. for my character in the High Fantasy book I am working on I went into extreme detail writing out 10 pages about them so I would not forget any details about them. that is the extent of my pre-writing from there I start writing I make a point to keep typing til the words begin to start making sense to me and I see a story begin to develop what I write for the beginning almost never stays for long. I remember one time I was trying to start out a story with a solid idea that would not leave me alone but could not decide how I wanted to write it or how I wanted it to start so I started typing out the Gettysburg address from memory til I finally noticed I was no longer typing the address and the story had taken over but this is my process and I have had other writers tell me I was crazy doing it this way. I usually rewrite a lot on one book I was over 200 pages in rewrote over 30 times already did not like where it was heading so deleted the entire thing and started over with the same characters. In my experience though once I know my characters inside and out writing them becomes that much easier to me it becomes like if I were writing about a family member that I know better than they know themselves. the plot usually fills in itself from the basic idea as I write I have never outlined anything for a story cause to me it would seem forced to try and stick to it.

but yes I do a background for all of my characters I think of it like this in my fantasy world even a lowly barkeep would act differently towards another of the same race than lets say an Elf or Half Elf if perchance a band of renegade elves were responsible of killing their parents or other acts, so to me knowing their background is important in knowing how they will react to others. or even knowing why they became a detective, a FBI agent, or even a hairstylist is important cause to me it leads into what their motivation is for acting the way they do.

I also read a lot of books on the craft of writing to help me improve my craft the Elements of Fiction Writing series by Orson Scott Card and the Write Great Fiction Series by James Scott Bell are excellent resources for fine tuning your craft currently I am reading Evan Marshall's The Marshall Plan® for Novel Writing which to me is helping some even if just as a distraction while I mull over my newest idea. My main issue is everyone I know that I allow to read my work only tells me how great it is (which I know to be a lie or I would be happy with it) praise imho is worthless to me I would rather prefer brutal honesty which would tell me what needs fixed. I hope this helps some.

I think I may have ran a bit off track and I do apologize my wife is always telling me I ramble too much

 

Think of a cool thing/scene/plot device/line of dialogue/twist and then...

Cogitate. Cogitate. Cogitate. Cogitate. Cogitate.

Extrapolate from there to a full story.

In the DVD extras of "Back To The Future" Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale talk about the genesis of that franchise which was "Would I be friends with my dad if we'd been in high school together?"

Well for that to happen you'd need a time machine.
But what if you thought your dad was a stooge?
What if he and mum never met?
Etc...

I found that to be an incredibly useful idea to my own story writing. Once the basic parts of story are written, then the rest writes itself.

 

Imagine plot, setting, character.

Write.

 

Heh, I've just written all my stories on Microsoft Word, I create separate Word documents for "plot", "the world", "background", "characters" and so on.

I have not written a single line yet but I do have plot ideas of how it will start, middle and the end, every now and then I will end the plot idea until I am satisfied and then I will start writing.

 

You would be surprised how much Excel helps organize those kinds of ideas. You can create separate sheets in the document for each character, plot, sub plot or whatever. I find Excel to be much more efficient in organizing anything except actual writing.

 

Awesome thread. Me: I write on the fly....to hell with too much planning. I imagine a picture/scene and I write what's in my head.

 

Whose.... Nah, too easy.

 

when i first posted on this thread i just "sat and write" i find now i actually need to sit and do a half plan to get even some idea of what i am going to do...
up until this point ive not actioned that, now i am, i shall see how it goes... and let you guys know

 

I'm not sure if this question fits in here---but I would like to know if reading a draft aloud for revision is a sound editing strategy. I am currently enmeshed in the final drafts of something (I think), but I have noticed that a 'silent edit' is often different from the one in which a draft is read aloud. Some people say that you should always read aloud to edit, but others have advised against it. This might be a ridiculous question, and the confusion I have experienced may simply be the result of chronic sleep deprivation (lol). Either way, I would love to know what the writers here do when approaching the end stages of a project that has to be as perfect as it can possibly be. Thank you!!

 

I always read my drafts aloud, and I recommend that practice to everybody. You can avoid an awful lot of clunkiness that way, and it also forces you to read very closely, catching unintentional rhymes, sing-song rhythms, alliterations, and so on - even typos. I've never heard any good argument against doing it.

Read your drafts aloud!

 

Great, Minstrel! Thank you!