Indie Authors Monthly Magazine For Authors and Readers discussion
What's your process?
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So I tend to start all of my stories with a scene. It'll come to me either late at night, in the shower, in the pool, etc. Somewhere that my attention is elsewhere. A lot of times these scenes go nowhere, but I'll get the scene down, the dialog, the characters, and then I'll see if I can get a plot to go along with it.
For example: In my current WIP, I came into it with a scene with the vampire being kept in a silver cage so he couldn't escape. The human woman discovered him and vowed to free him.
That evolved into a whole human/vampire love story with a religious bent (as in the vampire was imprisoned because a fringe group of humans considers the vampire to be an abomination.
For the published book I have out, I started with the vague scene of a witch being tortured and her warlock mate rescuing her. The very next scene I had in my head was about 8 chapters later where she ends up saving his life.
For me, this is a very good way to eliminate "blank page syndrome". A lot of times, what I conceive originally doesn't even make it into the final product, but it helps me focus my writing.
Once I've got that scene or scenes, then I start outlining a bit. From there, I'll start sketching out characters here and there in Scrivener and making notes about the world.
Another quirk I have that I know a lot of other writers don't subscribe to is that I don't follow the "Write first, edit later" mantra. I write chapter 1. Then I go to bed. Then the next day, I re-read what I wrote, edit a bit, then write chapter 2. Then the next day I edit 1 and 2 a bit and move onto chapter 3. It probably draws out my process more than it should be, but it's what works for me. If I try to write first and edit later, I end up obsessing over things that need to be fixed in Chapter 1 based on what new twists I came up with for Chapter 6. :-)
I am a "pantser," which means I don't plot much ahead of time. I tend to come up with a main character and what situation he/she is in...and then I just watch in wonder as all heck breaks loose :)
I'm a pantser too, though I prefer "organic writer." :) And yes, it's a spark - an image, a sentence, a character that sets me off on the story adventure. Once I have about four or five chapters done, I write a synopsis...but the end product is often different in many ways.Have fun on your writing adventure!
I start with broad plot ideas, which can sometimes turn into 6 pages or so of thoughts. From these I make an outline of each chapter, which usually ends up being 3 pages long. The characters and world-building rear their heads anywhere in that process, and neither one matures until I'm actually writing. I don't stick rigidly to the outline but let the story tell me what to do as I write.And I try to have fun and not bang my head against the wall too often. :)
I usually get a really brief idea from somewhere (the list is endless and often strange!) which will often rouse its head while I'm writing something else, which means it often gets jotted down and put away in a folder. But when it's time to write, I spend any length of time on the basic plot idea, naming characters and work out how they all tie in to the plot. Then I will take that plot idea and lengthen it, writing in any little scenes or bits of dialogue I think would fit well. These plot outlines can vary but can run to many pages (the plot outline for Darkness Forbidden ran to twenty pages, and the one for its sequel is even longer).
When I start writing I just write. I write straight onto the computer in Arial point 14, write notes as I go and highlight them, as well as scribbling other ideas/plot changes etc on the printed outline. It's a mess. I don't write in chapter headings (i used to do this years ago, but stopped as i found it put too much pressure on myself to try and find compelling endings to each chapter and often would find those endings contrived). I don't correct mistakes. I also don't re-read what I have written - I simply keep going uIntil the end. If I get stuck, or am unsure how to proceed with a particular scene I will simply type 'blah blah' and move onto a scene I can write. This is a first draft: it doesn't need to be perfect or anything more than a very detailed and longer version of my plot outline, with and ideas thrown in for good measure.
Once the first draft is finished I put it aside and leave it for at least a few weeks, either taking a break from writing or starting something new.
When I'm ready to start the editing process, I sit with my plot outline and start to read through the novel, slowly. I check all spelling etc, changing the font and size to Palatino 11 as I go. Any notes and highlights are dealt with and removed, and chapter headings are added.
Once that's done, I put it aside once more for a few weeks until phase three, where I print off the entire novel and read it through on paper, fully proof reading it to remove anything I may have missed.
Then comes the (ahem) fun part of designing the cover, writing the blurb, formatting for publication etc.
At the moment each stage can take weeks and weeks just because I'm so busy with other things -life in general - but it's a fun process. I've tried many different ways of writing over the years, trying different methods and found I simply either got nowhere, re-wrote an awful lot, or just spent ages writing one section as I pondered over. Now I write as the ideas come to me and I can fill in the gaps later. Everyone has their own way of working, and we all have to find what works for us depending on our lives and situations, but I agree it has to be fun, otherwise there's not much point. :)
I tend to be more of an organic writer. I have these moments of clarity where the muse is absolutely screaming at me. Sometimes these flashes are brief and other times I can go on for a half hour writing what pops in my head at that singular instant. At times the ideas just seem to flow out of me one after the other. I sometimes write out whole scenes dialogue and all. other times I just get dialogue that is absolutely perfect and build the rest of the scene around it.My methods are a bit haphazard, but as far as I can tell they work for me.
One of the more structured techniques that I have developed for myself is to write out whole chapters in a sort of synopsis format. Then go back and fill in the gaps, adding detail to the chapter as I go. I am presently working on a timeline for the sequels to my first book A Love Beyond Time. I have an idea of where I want to go with the story and I know that some overlap is going to occur. I decided on the timeline to avoid having any inconsistencies.
My stories usually just start with an idea, and most times, I don't really do anything with it for a few months, maybe even a year, but in that time it brews and I randomly come up with characters and situations and scenes. This whole process happens in my head. Once it begins to gnaw at me so much that I can't leave it alone, I write it and usually end up with a really decent first draft that needs little structural or plot revisions.I rarely stray from that process.
My process has been evolving a lot lately, and seems to be different for every project. Usually I get my ideas when an image of a character in a situation comes into my mind. For the series I'm writing now, I had an idea of the setting I wanted - an Old West setting in a fantasy world - then I looked at pictures and read a bunch of Westerns until I came up with an idea for a character - a wizard bounty hunter who hunts for renegade wizards.Once I have a character, I figure out who they are, what they're doing and why, what they want and why, what kind of opposition or antagonist they might be facing, and what the general outcome of the story should be. After that, I make a rough outline of the opening, as many major and minor scenes during the story as I can think of, and a general ending. I outline on notecards (paper or virtual) or just as a rough bullet-point list. I consider the outline flexible, and it changes and grows, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, as I write. If I get stuck while I'm writing, I've found the most helpful thing for me is to take a look at all the possible problems and conflicts the main characters are facing at that point and how those different problems can relate to the basic conflict or story-problem of the book.
I write the first draft in a month or less, set it aside for a while (several months or longer, usually, while I work on other projects). I do one deep, thorough revision pass for major plot/character/world-building issues, send it out to the test readers, do a second thorough revision based on their feedback, a revision to fix dialogue, description etc, then a line edit and two proofreads, then format the book and put it up for sale.
I tend to start with a scene or a tiny nugget. Then I will literally write the book in my head for a few days and live with it until I feel the juices flowing and start putting pen to paper. I used to make outlines and do all kinds of "pre-writing", like they taught us in school. For me though, that was really stifling.
I do try to work in a linear fashion but if a particularly good thought pops up into my head about the ending or a scene I haven't gotten to yet I will make a separate file and write it down or else I will be sure to forget it.
Kyra - that's a really cool idea! Let me know how that one goes; I'm interested!
Jason wrote: "Kyra - that's a really cool idea! Let me know how that one goes; I'm interested!"It's my Daughter of the Wildings series; there's more about it on my blog. Will start releasing it next year.
My two cents worth [although in Canada, we got rid of the penny, so I guess this is my nickle's worth now!]I usually have/generate an idea of a world and or character I want to explore and then I think about world building and that character. who are they, what do they do, what do they like. and then based on that I try to figure out what their life is like and how taht may lead to conflict.
I write from start to finish without jumping ahead. I used to jump all over and I found I rarely finished works when I did that because all the 'good' scenes were written and I had no motivation for the 'filler' scenes.
I usually only know the next 2 or 3 scenes that happen, with a general idea of how I want it to end. i still work off the general 'graph' of a novel I was taught in junior high - intro, rising action, climax, denouement. I find though, as my work progresses, that I flush this out and 'spice' it up a bit as:
Intro
Rising action
Big action scene
more rising action/tension/character development
another big action scene/or tense moment for characters/characters in peril etc
more rising action - more character development, feelings, conflicts etc
Final action scene
resolution.
It really helps me to visualize each 'big action scene' as an apex, with the final action scene being the biggest apex of all, to keep me from peaking too soon. it also helps me keep the story moving as I'm always working toward the final apex. Also if a scene I'm working on doesn't fit into this 'graph' I have to wonder why i'm including it in the story. Sometimes I've realized i don't need it and sometimes I've realized it's left me with a brand new playground of stuff to work with!
For my first novel, I used a rather detailed outline. I needed it primarily because my characters hadn't yet found their voices, so to speak. I'm a strong proponent of character-driven plot instead of plot-driven character (makes characters seem more pro-active in my mind). Now with my second novel most of my primary characters are rounded out a bit more, I'm trying to let the story flow organically towards a few specific set-pieces/character interactions.
One thing I've noticed so far is it is a little harder for me to match the writing output of the first book, since I'm writing a little more thoughtfully, rather than a connect-the-dots kind of mindset. I won't know if it was the right decision until I've got a little more written and gotten some feedback from my alpha readers.
Hi Reed,You have to do what works for you. What's your personality? That will give you an indication of your writing style.
I teach literary analysis for a living, so I might be more "technical" than most, but here's how I craft a novel.
An idea for a story pops in my head. After pondering the arc of the story--conflict,rising action, yada yada, I think about the first sentence, the last sentence, and themes.
Hunching over the keyboard and plotting it all out on a spreadsheet is the next step.
Research follows --which may take several weeks--to get the facts/myth/science/history etc right ( which sparks new ideas).
A character chart with name/meaning of name/ personality traits/mannerisms/ physical characteristics helps me give birth to a character.
If there's a polar opposite to a "pantster," I'm it.
While writing, motifs and symbols emerge. I hone these in later drafts.
1st draft= word vomit
2nd draft= detail and tone
3rd draft= cutting the verbal fat
4th draft= run through AutoCrit to make sure MS follows suggested guidelines for percent of acceptable dialog tags,adverbs, its/justs/thats. It also finds repetitive phrases.
5th-infinity= obsess over diction
Fun, Yes?
Bottom line: There's no "right" way.
Wow! So many responses. I envy all you organic writers. If I don't go in with a plan I get lost in an avalanche of ideas. Plus I'm constantly going back and editing my stuff on the fly. I could never do the whole first draft without repeatedly going back and tweaking things. Wow Kyra! You get a whole first draft done in under a month? You work fast! I'm totally jealous, I usually only get 1000-1500 words done a day. Thanks for all you input folks. I feel inspired. Time to get to work. :)
I don't much like the fairly recent term pantser. It somehow to me sounds derogatory. I prefer free flow, or organic writer. But basically, I write without an outline or what to the conscious mind appears to be no plan. But since it all works out in the end, I am thinking that the subconscious mind has filled it all in and it's letting it out in a free flowing manner.I don't start with anything usually, a word, a phrase, a song, maybe something odd I saw, and I'm off. I don't know genre or setting or names, most of the time until I get there. I discover the story as if I had picked up the book and I am a reader.
You can discover new ways to try things, but in the end you do whatever works for you. I spent years trying to outline my stories and then could never write the story itself. Turns out once it's down on the screen, my brain says you told this story already move on. I'd never been taught, all those year sin school and university, that you could write a book without an outline. Discovered the process at a writer's confernece many years ago, before the internet.
You do what works for you and the story. My method works for me. My fourth book just came out and I have four more contracted.
I promise that I didn't mean anything by it; I read it in one of the first writing-process-research things I was doing. I hadn't even heard the (much nicer and cooler-sounding) term organic writer before.
Thanks for posting this question!
I agree that the first sentence is the most horrific moment for me. I want it to snap a person into focus when they read the first line and then I can follow from there.
My process is pretty fluid and never linear. For instance, I see images and scenes first in my mind. It could be a song or an emotion that causes these images to flutter around. And then dialogue naturally follows.
Most importantly, I keep a notebook now of character bios and setting. It helps to keep the motives in check.
Setting, minor characters and other elements are secondary as I begin to write. If I must go back and research some more and make corrections, then I will.
Of course I am always online learning better ways to plot and outline my work.
Good luck!
I agree that the first sentence is the most horrific moment for me. I want it to snap a person into focus when they read the first line and then I can follow from there.
My process is pretty fluid and never linear. For instance, I see images and scenes first in my mind. It could be a song or an emotion that causes these images to flutter around. And then dialogue naturally follows.
Most importantly, I keep a notebook now of character bios and setting. It helps to keep the motives in check.
Setting, minor characters and other elements are secondary as I begin to write. If I must go back and research some more and make corrections, then I will.
Of course I am always online learning better ways to plot and outline my work.
Good luck!
Mick wrote: "I`ve got a pet spider that I dip in ink and then allow to crawl across the paper. (This solves blank page syndrome) If any of the trace marks look like words I`ll join them up with a felt pen. I t..."
Unique.
Unique.
Jason wrote: "I promise that I didn't mean anything by it; I read it in one of the first writing-process-research things I was doing. I hadn't even heard the (much nicer and cooler-sounding) term organic writer..."LOL I just don't like it applied to me. LOL
Plotter here. Often the ideas themselves come to me in dreams, twists and everything. Some are pretty fully formed, but some need fleshing out. A fair amount of ideas come from the questions I ask myself every day 'what would happen if...' I outline, asking myself more questions about character motivations, conflict, etc. This is also where I do research if it is needed. Then if I'm being good I do a sentence for scene outline, then jump in and write.
Once done it goes off for feedback and I try (unsuccessfully) to forget about it and write the next thing. If it's a big work then I put it through a bigger edit before this stage.
Changes are made, then comes copyediting, and publication or submission.
I think I'm more a pantster/organic writer... my ideas usually spring from incredibly vivid, epic dreams that feel as though they span many years in one night. I'll wake up, write keywords or draw what I experienced and the idea births itself from there. It comes out in one flowing cascade of words and images. In between, there are periods where not much seems to happen at all. It may seem that way on the ouside, but within, I'm often thinking of my writing.
There was once a stage where I spent months in deep though as my character had to get from A to B and I'd no idea how. Oddly enough, after long periods of time trying to figure it out, suddenly I had a 'satori' moment, a flash of inspiration, and on I went.
I am working with a fellow author on a fantasy that we plotted out beforehand, and it's certainly a fun project, but it is very alien to my usual method. Actually formulating a plot, and creating characters before writing a single word is a surreal experience for me.
I think whatever your process is, so long as it works for you, embrace it!
For me, it's write, write, write, then reread, edit, reread again, spell check, add, improve, delete, reread, proofread, spell check again (I have a set list of things to check for).
Once I'm happy with my changes, the editor in me will yet again do a final spell check after one last read through. Once I'm happy, I have another editor edit it for me, to pick up those things that I missed, but by the time I get there it's reasonably well polished, as I've spent so much time error checking!
Aneza wrote: "I think I'm more a pantster/organic writer... my ideas usually spring from incredibly vivid, epic dreams that feel as though they span many years in one night. I'll wake up, write keywords or dra..."
This is largely my own write and edit style; however, I envy you your source for original inspiration. I have to actively think, think, and think some more. Sometimes I find inspiration in researching old mysteries regarding lost treasures or missing persons. But coming up with suitable story lines is the toughest part of the writing process for me.
It varies from book to book, but largely:It comes to me in forms of scenes. Next come the characters, the plot twist, and the beginning and ending. The middle is usually the part I have the most trouble with, as I think of how to build the momentum from the beginning to the plot twist I envision at the end.
I second many others: dreams spark so many great ideas and make connections I couldn't see when I was awake!
I am a pantser. I know, roughly, what is going to happen but it is a vague idea. I tend to think in fragments which are a bit chaotic and sort through until something works. Often as I write the story changes until it gets where I need it to be:)I was trying to plan but it just gets put aside...
I'm a marathoner. I do start with an idea that I want to work with and a notion of what I want to do and where I want to go with it. I start blazing away and before too long I am veering off in some unforeseen direction. Which on the re-read amazes me as being wonderfully inspired and creative. So I'm sticking with this as SOP.
A glimpse into my process of writing my dystopian novel Isolation can be found in an interview I did for TreeHouseArts:http://treehousearts.me/2013/08/20/ar...
Not only can you read about my process there, and find another source for publishing short pieces of fiction and poetry, but you can consider helping with my Kickstarter.
I have started to write fiction (Dark Fantasy) lately, and my process is a bit different. As an artist and also someone constantly painting characters both for clients and for myself, my first ideas come from my paintings.
I am writing a series of short stories whose characters were first painted, then I liked them so much i imagined the plot, roughly, then sketched the stories around the plot... :)
Almost forgot to mention: I only write about my own characters, never the clients'.
I am writing a series of short stories whose characters were first painted, then I liked them so much i imagined the plot, roughly, then sketched the stories around the plot... :)
Almost forgot to mention: I only write about my own characters, never the clients'.
Holly wrote: "My stories usually just start with an idea, and most times, I don't really do anything with it for a few months, maybe even a year, but in that time it brews and I randomly come up with characters ..."Holly, this sounds like what I do. By the time I write anything the main "timeline" of the structure is already in my head and scnreaming at me to get it down on paper. I have no idea what the character names are yet, or possibly even what they look all look like, but I know what they're doing and where they are going!
Benjamin wrote: "For me, there is one crucial ingredient, without which the writing process is impossible.Coffee.
My best writing days are when I wake up, go to Starbucks with my laptop, buy a black, grande drip..."
Totally agree. Coffee is just as important as the damn pen!
I find Coffee most important when typing in a fourth round of edits. So tedious.
Once I've come up with a suitable amount of people who I think will interact in an entertaining way I work on general plot points that I break up under chapter headings.
I handle settings and environment by writing down a beta description in a notebook of what each place would be like (types of bystanders, objects in a room, sensations it illicits, etc.)
When it comes time to actually sit down and type it out I usually hit a brick wall. I suffer from a very bad case of what I've heard desribed as "blank page syndrome". The first sentence of any given chapter is a painful experience everytime.
The best way I've found to deal with it is to write out the dialogue in a scene first and then fill in the description afterwards. Although sometimes it takes me a long time to actually get motivated to add the aforementioned description. I'm doing the sequel to my first novel right now. I've got 12 chapters of dialogue down and only 3 of those chapters are fully complete. Oh well, I'll get to them eventually. :)
So, how about the rest of you? How do you do things?