seraphtrevs | Writing process

The Good - the baby's taking a nap early and I've got the opportunity to make a dent in my fic! Hooray.

The Bad - ...and I just realized that the last 800 words or so completely don't work, so I have to start that section over. Woe.

Anyway, while I'm working, I thought I'd throw this question out there for the writers on my flist - what does your writing process look like?

Generally, I'll think of an idea for a fic, and it will sit in my brain for a couple of months (yes, months - I am that slow). After I've thought about it enough for it to take shape, I start writing. For longer fics, I usually try to write a rough outline. I don't end up following exactly, but it's useful as a map of things I need to get to - it helps me estimate about how far apart those "destinations" should be, and how long it's going to take me to get to those points. (And God, "What We Are" has been especially challenging because it's completely altered from what I originally thought it was going to be. It turns out I've been holding the map upside down.)

I write sequentially. (I've tried writing scenes out of order, but it just ends up confusing me; no matter how well I think I've thought something out, it invariably changes as it goes along, and then I end up having to rewrite those scenes anyway, and it's just an enormous headache.) Every time I sit down to write, I save the file under a new name - so, for example, I'll start "What We Are Chapter 7.1", and then save it as 7.2 the next time, etc. That way, I can always change my mind and retrieve what I've discarded previously. I generally go through about six to eight "drafts" per chapter (although they're not really complete drafts since I usually don't get to the end of the chapter until the last two or three times I sit down with it). After it's completed, I send it off to one of my fabulous betas, make the necessary changes, and post.

So what's your style? I'm really interested to see how other people go about it. I've taken writing classes and read a ton of books on writing, but in the end, my writing process wasn't something I learned first and applied to what I did - it developed organically once I started to write. I imagine it's similar for a lot of people.

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I get an idea, write it straight away and make no plan whatsoever, I just start writing. Sometimes I will get stuck and go back but generally I just power on to the end and then go back once I've finished. I also did this when I wrote my first screenplay last year because I knew otherwise I would never finish it.

That's so interesting - I think a lot of people do the discovering-while-writing thing and I'm sort of envious of that. Unless I have at least a rough plan, I get paralyzed!

I'm the opposite, if I try to plan I never end up writing, just refining the plan!

Your first paragraph is word for word what I do. The whole mulling over in my head for weeks before actually writing anything. Sometimes I'll mull, then outline, then go back to mulling. Whole conversations need to be thought out, and then I mull and outline around them.

I can't do the draft thing (which sounds very smart), because my biggest problem is a tendency to blather. Once I've cut something, I need to cut it irrevocably, lest it creep back in. It's hard enough for me to be ruthless about cutting. My only saving grace is that I can't remember it once it's cut (which just goes to show what blather it was), so keeping old drafts would be a nightmare. I mostly write sequentially, but sometimes I get a little bored during transitions, so I'll leave a few blank lines to remind myself that I need to come back to patch up something.

Your first paragraph is word for word what I do.

Hee, I'm glad I'm not alone! Maybe that's why we mesh so well.

Once I've cut something, I need to cut it irrevocably, lest it creep back in. It's hard enough for me to be ruthless about cutting.

Ha, I have the same problem (as you probably know. :P) I find that the draft system is good for me because I spend such a long time trying to word something properly that even when I cut, there's always a sentence or turn of phrase that's still useful. Or something cool that happened with my last DS9 fic - I was able to incorporate something I loved but had to cut from one of my other fics, which I fortunately still had thanks to my handy drafting!

(PS - I love your icon. :D)

It depends... a lot of the time I just sit down and start writing, especially if it's for an H_E contest or something. If it's a relatively short fic, I'll toss the idea around in my head for maybe a day then start on it and just roll with the rest ASAP so I don't lose enthusiasm.

The one multi-chaptered original story I wrote, I did an outline. I had pages and pages of handwritten notes on the characters, knew their birthdays and everything.

Sometimes I like writing at least part of the story by hand, then typing it up later. It's slow going but when I type it up I also edit it, take out things that don't work, add in more descriptives, etc.

Aw, H_E contests! I miss those - they did get me to be more spontaneous with my writing since you have to push them out so quickly. I wish I had time for H_E again since half my flist is there. :(

Sometimes I like writing at least part of the story by hand, then typing it up later. It's slow going but when I type it up I also edit it, take out things that don't work, add in more descriptives, etc.

I used to do that when I worked, since I'd write on my breaks, and yeah, it does help with the editing process since it forces you to go over what you've written again. I should try taking that up again.

My writing style is pretty scattered. Sometimes I have a vague idea that just floats to my head once in a while and I think about where it could go, other times I get a more concrete idea and scribble/type the scene real quick. I have lots of files that are just one or two scenes that never got any further.

For a short story, I just keep writing scenes and filling in the spots in between until it's done, then I go back and edit for flow and wordiness. I try not to do multi-chapter stories because I feel like I can go on too long sometimes, but at some point in a file the number of scenes makes it obvious I have a multi-parter on my hands. And the scenes are most definitely up and down the story's time line, so I'll write a rough outline that connects the dots. Then each chapter basically gets done the same way I'd write a one-parter, though of course some of the bits I started out with will get thrown out if they no longer make sense. I don't save different versions; I'm too indecisive. I have to just cut bits out and move on!

I also tend to print out a chapter and edit it by hand instead of on screen. It uses up paper, but I get distracted too often if I'm on the computer.

I don't have a beta. I used to in a different fandom, though, and I do miss arguing with him. ;)

I have lots of files that are just one or two scenes that never got any further.

Sometimes I think I should start doing this, because even though I think I remember all the ideas I have, I probably don't; even if it doesn't go anywhere, I've found that otherwise abandoned ideas can be recycled into the fics that I do end up writing.

I try not to do multi-chapter stories

Lol, I bet "How You Sleep" through you for a loop, then. :P (Still looking forward to the next chapter! *nudge nudge*)

And the scenes are most definitely up and down the story's time line

That's exactly what's happening to me right now - scenes are switching places all over the place and it's giving me a headache.

I also tend to print out a chapter and edit it by hand instead of on screen. It uses up paper, but I get distracted too often if I'm on the computer.

I think that might be something I should start doing, since I also have a distraction problem.

How You Sleep threw me for multiple loops, another one being that I never thought I'd write mpreg. haha (And speaking of writing out of order, the first scene I wrote for HYS is in, like, the second to last chapter. I'm kind of impatient to get to it, which is a drawback of writing that way. "I wanna write the dramatic scenes!! Not the not-as-cool in-between stuff. :(") Chapter 7 is nearly done, actually! I'm hoping it'll be up by the weekend.

Editing by hand is also more satisfying with how you get to definitively cross stuff out! "BAH to this line! AWAY WITH YOU."

Speaking as one of your betas, I have to say that I'm so grateful that you write sequentially. Not only does it make a beta's job easier, but it's really fun getting to see the story unfold as a reader would... except, you know, well in advance. :D

I never really thought about it, but yeah, betaing non-sequential work would be kind of a nightmare. Good thing I don't write that way!

(OMG your icon! Oh Julian - yes, you are made of awesome. :D)

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