Thread: How do you best write?

I am a new writer, so excuse my greenness please. I have read several discussions with different schools of thought on how writers get their thoughts down on paper.
Some just do sort of a "dump" like they encourage you to in NaNoWriMo where you just write, not stopping to revise or change anything until your novel is written, and THEN going back and revising.
The other is more of a perfection technique where the writer agonizes over each word and paragraph, trying to get it as close to finished as possible going along.
Which are you? I think I'm the second, but I could probably get more done if I could just write and not obsess..

My first drafts involve writing and nothing else. Occasionally I'll change a word or sentence the day after writing a long piece, but it won't be much. That's what the editing phase is for. The only thing I worry about in a first draft is telling the story and getting it all on my screen.

I think I really need to do that..I spend so much time agonizing over every word, and going back adding and subtracting elements when I could be writing. Thanks!

I'm not advocating a stream of consciousness, anything-will-do technique that some people may use in the NaNo discipline. More, don't scrutinise every sentence to forensic detail when writing. Worry about that later. I know it's hard to break the habit, but if you have a string of thoughts going, don't break them up because you spelled a word wrong.

Originally Posted by bookmommy

I think I really need to do that..I spend so much time agonizing over every word, and going back adding and subtracting elements when I could be writing. Thanks!

I can spend twenty minutes agonising over whether to use a comma or a semi-colon, and then I'll decide I don't need either, and then I'll change my mind again. Then it's time for a coffee and when I sit down to write again it looks all wrong. Aaaaargh!!! I am such a slow writer. I think I might try the write now, tidy up later approach, though I know it won't be easy.

Originally Posted by Bilston Blue

I can spend twenty minutes agonising over whether to use a comma or a semi-colon, and then I'll decide I don't need either, and then I'll change my mind again. Then it's time for a coffee and when I sit down to write again it looks all wrong. Aaaaargh!!! I am such a slow writer. I think I might try the write now, tidy up later approach, though I know it won't be easy.

I find my grammar sense is off unless I read at maximum velocity. When I take in sentences individually, my grammar isn't as strong as when I take them in with reference to the whole paragraph or multiple paragraphs. Sentences flow faster this way and I omit commas I thought I needed. And notice other tweaks.

I find pausing to edit during the first draft isn't great, really bogs up the process. This doesn't stop me from trying, but I'm getting better at resisting the temptation.

i'm not on top of the game yet, but... i find that if i go back and re-edit and revise over and over again, i lose the focus of where i was going. Which usually makes me sad cause I knew where I wanted it to be. I think I'm a mix of the two. Write and write and write and when you can't anymore, revise and revise.

I have a pretty shoddy memory, so I usually re-read my writing every day when I pick up again, and often make edits there - more often than not because my crappy memory means that I wrote something I like better later on, but it contradicts something else I wrote... : P

But seriously, I don't really like splurging out words any more than agonising. I tend to write first in a notebook just 'cause I find it harder to concentrate at the computer. Writing in a notebook means you can't really edit just because it's more difficult to mess with a chunk of text, so I'll only make the most necessary changes of errors or deleting a few lines that were leading me into a dead end idea or something. Then I type it up while it's still reasonably hot - try not to leave it more than a day or so because then it becomes a chore, or I'll just start writing more and more and end up with, like, a full notebook and sore wrists from the typing... That's when I make edits just because things sound different flowing through your head a second time and I invariably don't describe enough anyway because I'm writing fast to get the basics out. And describing more means I look at things different, and suddenly the last half of the scene is almost all writing straight into the computer.

Usually I read through when I finish a scene as well to check it all works, and to make sure I got in everything I wanted to say, and again, while I'm doing that I edit grammar and change some of the writing I think's weak. And then, as I mentioned, it only takes a few scenes before I feel the need to re-read again to make sure I'm still on the right track and there's nothing I've forgotten. So all in all, I don't obsessively edit as I write, but I am always changing, and then the story in itself is in a constant state of editing before I ever get to the end. But I think it's more healthy than writing it all at once THEN editing, in case there's a massive change that needs to be made, or else editing all the time and never getting anything done. I need to write fast enough to keep interested and keep the story flowing. If it takes a month to get from one end of the scene to another, how can you possibly remember something 4 chapters ago? I guess this is where obsessive planners come in... and don't get me started on them.

I am terrible for agonizing, simply because when I have written loads I'll re read it and just hate it all. I have written a full novella before, liked it, given it to friends to have a browse though, they've liked it, then I've re read it weeks/months or even a year later and I just want to hit myself for even thinking about letting my friends read the drivel I've come out with! However I don't agonize over every word!

I usually write a paragraph, then edit that, then write another then edit that and so on.

Even after that I usually hate it all and start a new draft anyway.

I really can't give advice on which method to use though, i suppose its what ever works best for the individual writer. (Y)

Thought I'd share my techniques.. despite being fairly new in implementation.

I prefer a keyboard to notepad. I type much faster than I write (between 70 to 100 wpm, if I'm on a good roll). I switched to the Dvorak style layout to achieve this speed... from what I've read, the qwerty style layout was designed to slow typers down (from the mechanical typewriters that jammed when you typed too fast).

With a steady out pouring of details, my mind is more able to progress to further parts of the story rather than getting bogged down with too much attention paid to one part. My theory is to get as much of the story down as quickly as is comfortable. Less interruptions the better; this includes turning the spell and grammar checkers off (my choice in writing software doesn't have them active anyhow).

I use three phases to writing. And the first phase doesn't include any writing. It's mostly me spending time thinking about characters, events, conversations, plot holes, etc. Once I've got a decent idea/plan in mind for how things could work out, I start writing the draft relatively quickly. I do reread sections, and make sure that I'm getting my message across.. but I don't really tighten up the text until the first draft is finished.

The editing phase is fairly complicated. I utilise a range of writing techniques to produce specific effects, and I do this while editing. The draft is to get the story down. Editing is where I focus on how the reader interprets my words. Here's some dot points on what I do when editing:

• Improve on scenery descriptions, making sure actions/events meld with environment.
• Remove superfluous descriptions that can be inferred via speech; eg "Don't shoot, I'm putting the gun down" "Good, now kick it towards me!"
• Changing words for better effect; such as using harsh sounding words for tense situations, removing overused words, and at times using a thesaurus because (being a male) my vocabulary is somewhat limited.
• Grammar and sentence structure revisions; passive to active, removing overused commas (one of my problems), checking for tense and point of view, and other minor things.
• Once this is done, I'll spell check and grammar check. I'll do a search for problem words like 'was' and 'suddenly', and check over their uses.

Once I'm done, I'll wait a few days before giving the work a reread for a final overview. I'll usually do some minor changes during this, but on the whole, I mostly have things as I want them. It's a bit of a process, but it works for me.


My wife writes actively in some online communities, and is fairly popular. She calls her writing "brain vomit", mostly because she writes everything out in one go, not paying much attention to an overall plan. She just writes whatever comes to mind at the time. And she 'agonizes' over each sentence as she writes it. She really only makes one pass at a work.. something I'm quietly impressed with.

I took an Internet test and my fastest speed was 110wpm on a QWERTY keyboard.

I'll usually go back and revise when I'm done for the day, but I don't go too deep. I'll polish a sentence or two and check grammar and spelling a bit, but it's more of a ritual to finish off for the day when I need to go back to other activities. I currently make my living as a translator so I need it in order to concentrate when I'm forced to stop writing to go back to my day job, but it also lets me be sure that I'm content with what I've written.

The next time I sit down, I try not to go back and read what I've written previously. Not until I'm finished with the screenplay/novel/other story that I'm working on at the moment. This way the first draft is good, and the in-deep rewriting becomes more focused and with more direction.

I can chug along OK when I'm writing most of the time, the disaster of editing comes when like poster above, I go to reread and begin these monstrously long edits. And I know, I know I am going to have to go back and mess with them again when it's all done anyhow, I just can't seem to help myself.

Luckily, my spelling and grammar is near perfect. (Thank you for being so demanding, nun teachers.) So I write a pretty good first draft, just needs checking for typos, word repetition, etc. But, before I do that first draft, for stories, I've been thinking about it for days or weeks, while working on other projects or while driving around between jobs at the school system.

Novels are different. I have the basic idea and just go with that. The story grows and then I have to go back and revise, as I'm constantly coming up with new ideas, which means going back to correct the story line for future developments. It's hard to keep everything logical and in time-sequence. So, at the end, I set it aside and forget about it until I can go back and do a "new" read, editing accordingly. After that's done, I set it aside and go back a second time. After that, I hope the editor assigned to the novel picks up any errors I've missed.

Up until recently, I was in a writers' group, but it collapsed. Now my daughter, also a writer, is my alpha reader.

Take care,

JohnB

Hello. Normally I write first on the fly, just getting the idea out there without the roadblocks. Then I go through it again just as a story's pov, so making sure all the strings tie together and make sense, all the spelling/grammar is fixed. Then I go sentence by sentence to see if I can make them better. Sometimes wording removes extra words and fixes phrasing that the mind may think clear but upon reading I can see a better way. Then I'll ask for others to review, look at what they have to say(normally I go with a 'if one says something - that's a difference of opinion and something to consider but not necessarily so. 'if two notice the same thing, then I look at it, try to figure a way using their thoughts and mine. if three people or more mention the same thing wrong, then I will change it.

But if I change how I say something, I have to put that change through my whole writing, so that the changes are in my voice not those of the reviewer.

A lot of steps but I believe it helps me.

Good writing to you

Sync