What's your writing process? - Writers Forum

Mr Sci Fi · 11-27-2007, 04:18 PM

Just curious how everyone goes through their writing and revising process, and figured some advice might benefit new writers, such as myself.

As for me, I tend to concentrate on a rather strong opening, so I might spend a lot of time on it.

Once I've got the opening out of the way, I'm inspired to continue the story. From then on I write whatever useless crap flows from my mind, but it's mostly just a sentence of "ideas" so to speak. I worry little about flow or use of devices, I just need something to look on later so I can understand what the hell I was talking about.

When I'm finished I'll put it away for a week and start on something else. When I go to revise I'm usually pretty perturbed, but then I rewrite the entire story from scratch, using the rough draft as a guide, and spending a little more time on sentences that work.

I redo this process several times until I feel I have something of substance. That's when I go through it with a red pen and nail the problems that I need to spend time on.

workingauthor · 11-27-2007, 04:43 PM

I'm a pretty visual person so I imagine iconic scenes and then build the story around them. For creative non-fiction, the process is similar. I think of an important moment that would read great and then grab all of the necessary facts that make up the rest of the story.

Read my Dear John piece on my site. It's 50 pages but a good example of stringing together iconic scenes in creative non-fiction. Click my sig to get there.

Mr Sci Fi · 11-27-2007, 04:53 PM

Hey, nice site. Very useful information on workshops, too. You should post that up here.

BlueLucario · 11-27-2007, 05:19 PM

Before I start writing, I always edit.

lazerbeak · 11-27-2007, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Sci Fi

Just curious how everyone goes through their writing and revising process, and figured some advice might benefit new writers, such as myself.

As for me, I tend to concentrate on a rather strong opening, so I might spend a lot of time on it.

Once I've got the opening out of the way, I'm inspired to continue the story. From then on I write whatever useless crap flows from my mind, but it's mostly just a sentence of "ideas" so to speak. I worry little about flow or use of devices, I just need something to look on later so I can understand what the hell I was talking about.

When I'm finished I'll put it away for a week and start on something else. When I go to revise I'm usually pretty perturbed, but then I rewrite the entire story from scratch, using the rough draft as a guide, and spending a little more time on sentences that work.

I redo this process several times until I feel I have something of substance. That's when I go through it with a red pen and nail the problems that I need to spend time on.

I used to have a similar approach - trying to nail the opening, then ploughing through the rest, then coming back and rewriting many times - with the end product most likely being nothing like what I started with.

Which is fine, except I wasted a lot of time and ideas giving up on things right at the start when I could never get that first paragraph 'just right'.

Nowadays I just take a pencil and paper and spend twenty to thirty minutes writing whatever words come into my head. Then I go back over it, pick out things that interest me, and use that to start another burst of writing. Eventually, something consistant bubbles up to the surface. I spend a lot less time staring at blank screens this way, and the life expectancy of the 'delete' key on my keyboard has increased significantly.

Erik Buchanan · 11-27-2007, 09:12 PM

I usally get an idea at an inopportune moment in a place where it's difficult to write things down. Once I manage to do that, I generally mull the ideas over and write down random notes about them whenever it crosses my mind. Once I'm finished writing whatever piece of writing I'm working on at the moment, I start the new peice using those notes.

I try to go from beginning to end (and if it's a good idea, usually I'm able to) with as few steps back as possiible. If there's information I need to add, I put a note in BOLD ALL CAPS in the middle of the manuscript so I can come back to it later without disturbing the flow.

Once the project is done, I immediately go through it for spelling and punctuation, and do some minor editing.

After that, I leave it alone for a month, then come back to it and do a serious revision, including looking at and answering all those notes. Here I focus on characters, storyline, consistency, and world development. Once that is done, I send it to my reading group for opinions, gather all their manuscripts, and wait three months total.

After that, I reread the peice and all their ocmments, then being the next round of editing.

Usually after that, it's almost ready to start sending out to market.

Destroyer · 11-30-2007, 06:10 AM

I generally work on two at a time, just in case I lose the flow of one and need a break from it. I write the book out on paper (otherwise it'd never get done because of the distraction of solitaire) and then I edit while I'm typing it up. After that I just keep going through it and altering until I'm a little more satisfied with it. (Not completely; that would take forever and I don't have that kind of patience)
I prefer to work straightforward from beginning to end, though I plan a lot of events in advance and make a lot of notes so I don't forget what's going to happen.

Fantasia. · 11-30-2007, 06:17 AM

Well usually when I start my stories, nothing is planned out except for the characters. I just come up with stuff as I go along. And usually, I find it easy to picture a chapter in a sort of movie in my mind, then I can easily write all descriptions ect. down and then redo it on Microsoft Word or Publisher.

JohnN · 11-30-2007, 06:59 AM

Write, then edit, edit, edit an edit, until the cows come home.

RomanticRose · 11-30-2007, 07:08 AM

I start with a one or two word summary of the overall story arc. Next comes getting the character background work done. After that is done, I start chapter one.

When I begin each chapter, I list what scenes I need in that chapter -- just very basic descriptions of what information needs to come out, what happens, where it happens and who is the POV character. This turns eventually into a chapter by chapter outline, should someone require one.

When I am doing the raw, creative work, I write in a composition book. I do basic clean up as I am typing in. When each chapter is finished, I go back and do tweaking and polishing. Also at this point, I write a chapter synopsis. (Having a chapter by chapter synopsis really helps when it is time to sit down and write my synopses at the end. I can condense and expand for writng the one-page, the three-page and the six page versions. It also helps expose plot holes, before I write too far past them.)

Once all the chapter work is done, I re-read the whole thing and correct for grammar, spelling, awkward construction, and cut every superfluous word I can spot.

It goes out to my beta readers. I look over their comments and concerns and rework what needs it.

Now it goes off to who ever is up on the proofreading cooperative I belong to, and I fix whatever they find that I didn't.

Then, its bundling the whole thing up and sending it off to my agent, with outline, three different lengths of synopses, what pen name (if any) I want it sold under, and wait and start on the next brilliant idea that strikes me, usually right in the middle of leg waxing.

Ilasir Maroa · 11-30-2007, 07:06 PM

When I write, I start with an opening line, and keep scribbling 'til something coherent begins to emerge. After getting about a hundred long-hand pages in, I decide to start doing background, and never get back to the story 'cause the background is keeping me so busy.

In my current work, I got about two hundred long-hand pages in, and then I decided that my fantasy world (yes, I write fantasy), needed its own language. So for the past two months I have been working on grammar and word-building. I still have to finish the grammatical aspects. Of course, this is allowing me time to mull the story over and get the plot on-track for finishing the rough draft. If I finish the language soon, I may actually get back to writing actual stories.

winner · 11-30-2007, 10:12 PM

First I organize my notes and make up a rough chapter outline, giving me a direction. All of which is subject to change as I go along.

With each chapter title I list the things I want to put into that chapter.

Then I begin writing the part I have the most passion or desire to write about. That may be the middle chapter or the end chapter or part of a chapter.

But I think you have to have a direction to begin with. Nothing steadfast, just a rough outline and begin from there.

P.S. I write on a computer because it is easiest and quickest, but stay away from the games. Don't get too involved with playing on the computer or it will take you away from your writing.

lordofhats · 11-30-2007, 10:25 PM

I start with a general concept. I think "Alien space battles" or "knights in shining armor" that kind of stuff. When i ahve a scene in my head or a basic idea I write a short story. From that short story the primary concepts are imbeded in my head and developed as I think about it.

From there I brainstorm characters, events, scenes, and plot twists. Then I outline. Once outlining is complete I write a skeleton. its jsut a stripped down story with events dialogue and little detail. After the skeleton is complete I move on to the first draft. Add detail, refine events and presentation, and organized paragraphs. I have about three to four drafts beffore i declare the work complete.

Its probably not the most time efficient method but it works for me.

Wallmaker · 12-01-2007, 12:52 AM

My ideal writing process? Waking up from a drunken stuper and finding the pages alreay written. Sadly, it's never happened. But a girl can dream.
-Kay

Rumrunner · 12-01-2007, 02:03 AM

Hmm. Well, usually, I start with an image or mood that I want to capture in a particular scene. I'll take out my notebook, and just sort of zone out, staring at the blank page until a few key phrases or paragraphs pop into my mind, and I'll jot those down, in no particular order. If nothing's coming to me right away, I may "grease the wheels," as it were, with a little alcohol and some nice clove cigarettes.

Most of the time, still nothing comes to me, and I keep smoking and drinking until I pass out face down at my desk, ruining yet another notebook in a nice puddle of drool. On the rare occasions that something does come to me, however, I jot down the basic framework -- essentially crucial lines of dialogue or images that I'll build up the rest of the story from. Then I load up Word (or Final Draft, depending on what I'm writing) and type them in.

Having accomplished this much, I like to reward myself with a few drinks and some light perusal of the forum for a bit, to really "clear my mind." This usually continues for a few hours, until either I pass out face down at my desk or I decide to go to bed, at which point I save and close Word.

Come the morning, I've lost the crucial "momentum" I recall having the previous night, so I set that project aside until the muse strikes me again, and start something new.

Process repeats.