Writing process
Aug. 15th, 2011 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seraphtrevsThe 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.
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.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-16 12:39 am (UTC)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. ;)
no subject
Date: 2011-08-17 04:28 am (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-17 11:29 pm (UTC)Editing by hand is also more satisfying with how you get to definitively cross stuff out! "BAH to this line! AWAY WITH YOU."