How do you write?

So, literauthors. Is your process write, write, pause, take laudanum, write, get syphilis, write, go insane?

Or are you more write, write, pause, edit, watch Netflix, shag your partner, write?

My usual process is write, pause to research, write, now it's 3 am, sleep, edit at the end. And then lately, it's been Watch Netflix, write a paragraph, stare into space, watch Netflix, write a paragraph... rinse and repeat.

I know some of you write exceptionally fast (Chloe, my God woman, are you on speed??), and others of you take your time. Just curious to know how you get your words down on paper, and if you recommend Adderall.

Most of the time I write a few paragraphs, net surf to here or a couple of websites to take a brief break, write a little more, repeat.

That's during the week after work when I'm more tired and aggravated.

On the weekends its longer stretches and once I catch on I'll binge write as much as 6-8k in a day

For smut its a little at a time until I hit the 'hot streak' and really get flowing. I generally have my sex towards the end, or even if its sooner, the piece usually ends with it as well.

At that point once I'm done its go chase down the wife for some relief(she is quick to remind me she only takes it for the team) then after a post coital nap, then I'll start editing.

I never edit until the stories done.

lovecraft68 said:

Most of the time I write a few paragraphs, net surf to here or a couple of websites to take a brief break, write a little more, repeat.

That's during the week after work when I'm more tired and aggravated.

On the weekends its longer stretches and once I catch on I'll binge write as much as 6-8k in a day

For smut its a little at a time until I hit the 'hot streak' and really get flowing. I generally have my sex towards the end, or even if its sooner, the piece usually ends with it as well.

At that point once I'm done its go chase down the wife for some relief(she is quick to remind me she only takes it for the team) then after a post coital nap, then I'll start editing.

I never edit until the stories done.

Click to expand...

8K's a nice run. Your wife sounds highly accommodating.

My OCD likes everything (every word) in place before I move on so I could submit/post my first drafts (which I've done before). Speed typing isn't for me. Writing isn't a competition. I don't care if I only manage fifty words in an hour . . . or a week.

Never watched anything on Netflix. I prefer music when I'm writing.

For the most part, I write what I know. Research reminds me of college.

Anything out of place around me messes with my head. I hate clutter. So when the apartment is neat, my brain is calmer and I can write.

I put down thoughts/notes when I'm in bed, using paper and pencil. That clears the words from my head so I can sleep better.

I edit the previous session (if I'm lucky, 500 - 1000 words, sometimes more, depends on the time available without interruption) before I write the next. That way I can preserve the rhythm of the writing and keep it "right", tweak the text and so on. It's a rolling edit technique that seems to work for me.

I'm lucky, I reckon my raw text is 95% my finished copy. I might add or loose a sentence here and there, but usually any tweaking is at phrase or word level.

I know I'm on a roll when I get to the end of a CD and realise I've not heard it. Which is strange, because music is so important for me. Sarah Blasko's latest album, right now "Depth of Field".

Fits and starts.

I spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm writing when I'm going about my business, and often when I actually sit down to write, I have quite a bit of it ready to just transcribe. This is particularly true of dialogue-heavy scenes. I think I'm getting a reputation for walking around muttering to myself.

About once a week I will sit for a long session, but most of my writing is done 15 minutes here, a half na hour there.

MelissaBaby said:

Fits and starts.

I spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm writing when I'm going about my business, and often when I actually sit down to write, I have quite a bit of it ready to just transcribe. This is particularly true of dialogue-heavy scenes. I think I'm getting a reputation for walking around muttering to myself.

About once a week I will sit for a long session, but most of my writing is done 15 minutes here, a half na hour there.

Click to expand...

That's interesting. So, you're writing it in your head before it hits the page.

I have written the occasional story like that, where I've headed to bed and played the next scene out in my head, in that gap between being so tired I can't see to type anymore, and actually falling asleep.

JasonClearwater said:

I know some of you write exceptionally fast (Chloe, my God woman, are you on speed??), ......

Click to expand...

LOL. That made me smile coz I just finished a 2,700 word introduction to "A Troll is Haunting Tex's" which in part answers your question. No speed is necessary for the writing of Chloe's stories....

<b>Another Disclaimer and Warning: Like, really guys, listen to me here!</b> Do NOT make your coffee with Red Bull instead of water. You may end up writing stories on Literotica like Chloe and then you start these stories for competitions with deadlines and stuff and you end up writing in a wild frenzy coz the deadline is getting closer and closer and the story’s just growing and growing and you know everyone wants a hot story and you’re trying to write this wild sex and stuff and you’re drinking more and more coffee and its getting stronger and stronger and the hallucinations will go away eventually but the monsters keep popping into your head and you have to write these action bits and get them out coz otherwise they keep distracting you and … see what happens. Stay away from pouring Red Bull into the coffee machine, that’s all I’m saying on this subject.

But more seriously, I'm fast on my keyboard. Pretty much think and type as fast as the words pop into my head (almost anyhow) and the story just kind of comes out as I write. I do a lot of plotting in my head driving too and from work and I try and write for a couple of hours every morning before I head off to work. Get up waaaay early and write.

Lately I've been averaging 2-3k words every morning whereas in the past I used to have these big bursts. When I get a day when I can do nothing but write I'll hack out about 1k words an hour pretty consistently coz it's just building out and describing what'd already in my head more or less. I'll visualize it and then write it and all the details just come out as I type. Kind of weird sometimes coz I'll look back and go "I wrote that? Where the heck did that come from?" Doing that now with "Tex's" where all sorts of little details have worked their way into the story. The whole B1 bomber tactical nuke thing popped into my head coz I remembered that from another book someone wrote and it seemed like hey, I could use that idea

I'll do a lot of research as I write, usually just internet searches like for that Vollmer VK-12 and right now onvampire and zombie related stuff (and how to hot up a Ford F350 - my Significant Other wants now .... he read what I did to the F350 and he was like YES!!!!). LOL. Sort of like writing this. Coffee. Music. Lots of music. Right now it's Bat Out of Hell on repeat coz it goes with the story so well. Keyboard. Wheeeeee....

ChloeTzang said:

I'll do a lot of research as I write, usually just internet searches like for that Vollmer VK-12 and right now onvampire and zombie related stuff (and how to hot up a Ford F350 - my Significant Other wants now .... he read what I did to the F350 and he was like YES!!!!). LOL. Sort of like writing this. Coffee. Music. Lots of music. Right now it's Bat Out of Hell on repeat coz it goes with the story so well. Keyboard. Wheeeeee....

Click to expand...

So, your trick is the consumption of caffeine in the kind of quantities that it would be considered immoral and socially irresponsible to give research monkeys?

I'm envious. I can hear your mind revving from here.

_Lynn_ said:

I hate clutter. So when the apartment is neat, my brain is calmer and I can write.

I put down thoughts/notes when I'm in bed, using paper and pencil. That clears the words from my head so I can sleep better.

Click to expand...

You'd faint if you saw my house; clutter ain't quite the word for it.
Having read some of your work (more, please), I can assure you it is like being hit by a large hammer, (although the final impression is favourable).

I binge. My geek story took three days for 21k words (not a yugely long story for me), needing just about no editing at the end.

Now, maybe the story sucks; some will think it does even if it doesn’t. But most of my commercial work is written about that fast and edited as I go, and sales are fine. There are A FEW stories that have a lag in the middle, a break of perhaps a week where I don’t touch it.

But longer breaks are a sign to me that I’m not very into that story, which implies to me that it won’t be very good, which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Regardless, my stories tend to come in waves. I’ve got like five good, healthy plot bunnies at the moment, following maybe a month of no writing whatsoever. So apart from the finished geek story, I’ve just wrapped up two nude day stories, and now I’m starting on a spin-off and a one-off more or less simultaneously.

Plus, my publisher has an idea.

So, yeah. It’s usually not a constant, steady process for me. The muse might shut her mouth for months at a time. But when she’s speaking, I can write anywhere I have my laptop. Noise or silence? Fine. Continual small interruptions from my kids? No issue. Public place? Yup. Breaks at work? No prob.

Handley_Page said:

You'd faint if you saw my house; clutter ain't quite the word for it.
Having read some of your work (more, please), I can assure you it is like being hit by a large hammer, (although the final impression is favourable).

Click to expand...

A large hammer?

I'm about 10k into a story now. I hoped to finish it this weekend but we'll see. You'll like it.

electricblue66 said:

I edit the previous session (if I'm lucky, 500 - 1000 words, sometimes more, depends on the time available without interruption) before I write the next. That way I can preserve the rhythm of the writing and keep it "right", tweak the text and so on. It's a rolling edit technique that seems to work for me.

I'm lucky, I reckon my raw text is 95% my finished copy. I might add or loose a sentence here and there, but usually any tweaking is at phrase or word level.

I know I'm on a roll when I get to the end of a CD and realise I've not heard it. Which is strange, because music is so important for me. Sarah Blasko's latest album, right now "Depth of Field".

Click to expand...

Your complete lack of typos in 99% of your writing is mildly disturbing. I've only found two typos in one collab doc that hadn't been edited at all. And of course, that one typo you keep making where you spell the hero's name with an 'A' instead of an 'L'.

JasonClearwater said:

So, literauthors. Is your process write, write, pause, take laudanum, write, get syphilis, write, go insane?

Or are you more write, write, pause, edit, watch Netflix, shag your partner, write?

My usual process is write, pause to research, write, now it's 3 am, sleep, edit at the end. And then lately, it's been Watch Netflix, write a paragraph, stare into space, watch Netflix, write a paragraph... rinse and repeat.

I know some of you write exceptionally fast (Chloe, my God woman, are you on speed??), and others of you take your time. Just curious to know how you get your words down on paper, and if you recommend Adderall.

Click to expand...

I don't have a real process per se'. Mostly, when I do, I write, pause to research (sometimes not),stare into space.....rinse and repeat. Often, I'll pause to think - then write/type it. Sometimes I write nothing at all after considerable thought or pause. Sometimes I'll do the Netflix thing or something similar to find something relevant to whatever I'm writing.


As for being fast? I'm assuming you mean speed. Far more often than not, I'll do pencil and paper - quickly if I'm afraid I'll lose whatever's in my head. Sometimes on a napkin or whatever is close by. I'm extraordinarily fast when it comes to a keyboard. I don't use audio devices.

To some, it appears as if I have a particular method, but not really. There's not real science to my methods. There have been periods, especially lately, where I'll spend hours or days doing nothing but writing or typing and can't seem to stop - pausing only long enough to eat or nap. Napping and/or proper sleep seems to be my best "weapon" for writing. W/out sleep, I can't focus properly nor do the rest.

JasonClearwater said:

So, your trick is the consumption of caffeine in the kind of quantities that it would be considered immoral and socially irresponsible to give research monkeys?

I'm envious. I can hear your mind revving from here.

Click to expand...

A good nights sleep, no distractions (people talking to me - background noise in the local coffee shop or library isn't a distraction) and yes, socially irresponsible amounts of coffee and good music. That about sums it up.

Everyone who knows me in person jokes about my coffee consumption. Which should tell me something but I'm not listening to those voices.....

This is something I've been wondering about this group for a while.

I write a lot, but it is typically 'just for me;' most of it isn't anything I ever intend to post or share (I'm about 100,000 words into a novel on which I'm completely stuck and may never finish, which I'm ok with).

My writing time is basically limited to the time I'm on my lunch break at work, and a few minutes here and there on the weekends. I write exclusively on my phone. If I get started on something good, it can be tough to turn that off when it is time to go back to work.

I usually put together an outline, with bits of color or dialogue here and there, and once that's ready, I start expanding it. I make it a point to start in the middle of whatever I'm writing, working backward and forward in various fits. I've got a long commute to work, and so I use that time to listen to music and brainstorm ideas... I also talk through snippets of dialogue in what I'm writing, trying to make sure that it doesn't come off as wooden, forced, or otherwise unnatural. I sometimes wonder what the other passengers think when they look over and see me talking to myself.

JasonClearwater said:

Your complete lack of typos in 99% of your writing is mildly disturbing. I've only found two typos in one collab doc that hadn't been edited at all. And of course, that one typo you keep making where you spell the hero's name with an 'A' instead of an 'L'.

Click to expand...

That's because, young sir, when I was a whipper-snapper and attended schooling, Mrs MacDonald would write ten new words on the blackboard every morning, and the next day there would be a test. One learned one's letters, and the correct spelling thereof.

Now of course, your auto-correct has a tendency to change words and indeed sentences to new and alternate meanings which can only be described as, let's be frank, unrealistic wish expectation on behalf of a fictional character.

But at least your musical taste is expanding, so that's a forward step.

electricblue66 said:

Now of course, your auto-correct has a tendency to change words and indeed sentences to new and alternate meanings which can only be described as, let's be frank, realistic expectation, that shows true character.

Click to expand...

Why, thank you.

JasonClearwater said:

Your complete lack of typos in 99% of your writing is mildly disturbing. I've only found two typos in one collab doc that hadn't been edited at all. And of course, that one typo you keep making where you spell the hero's name with an 'A' instead of an 'L'.

Click to expand...

That may be electricblue66's style. I tend to do that as well, w/out a spellchecker. For me, whatever I'm writing seems to flow together in that sense. Sometime's I'm like, "Fuck it".
In person or in an informal setting, I'm not like that at all. To meet me, most would think, "This guy writes?"

Polyacrylate said:

I've got a long commute to work, and so I use that time to listen to music and brainstorm ideas... I also talk through snippets of dialogue in what I'm writing, trying to make sure that it doesn't come off as wooden, forced, or otherwise unnatural. I sometimes wonder what the other passengers think when they look over and see me talking to myself.

Click to expand...

"Mummy, why is that homeless man talking to himself?"

"Sshh, sweetheart, he's not a homeless. He's a writer."

Honestly, I wish every writer would try their dialogue out loud after writing it down. But it may be like being able to sing in tune. I think some just have no ear for it

Captainnumnuts said:

I don't have a real process per se'. Mostly, when I do, I write, pause to research (sometimes not),stare into space.....rinse and repeat. Often, I'll pause to think - then write/type it. Sometimes I write nothing at all after considerable thought or pause. Sometimes I'll do the Netflix thing or something similar to find something relevant to whatever I'm writing.

Click to expand...

I do that too. Use doccos or horror films as ambience.

Coffee is essential, if I'm writing in the morning. If I'm writing in the evening I'm more likely to have a little bourbon or scotch.

I map and plot and visualize my stories before writing and continue doing so after I start writing. I usually outline the entire story, but I often amend or even discard portions of the outline as I go.

Usually, before I'm very far into the story, the ending pops into my head, so I skip ahead and write it.

My writing pace is extremely uneven. I go through periods of writing quickly and easily. I wrote and published 8 stories in April and May last year, and I've published 5 in the 11 1/2 months since then.

Daily writing ranges from nothing to writing several thousand words. Sometimes I get stuck on a bit of dialog or on how to resolve a scene, and it can hold me up for days. Or the words just don't come. Other times, it all comes easily.

I rewrite and edit a lot as I go.

JasonClearwater said:

I do that too. Use doccos or horror films as ambience.

Click to expand...

Does that ever annoy you when you do it? For me, sometimes it does. I'll get to a point were my "perfectionist tendency" is tiring or I get angry w/myself and lose concentration. Sometimes it's not an issue.

Gotta go! Thanks for the thread.

Captainnumnuts said:

Does that ever annoy you when you do it? For me, sometimes it does. I'll get to a point were my "perfectionist tendency" is tiring or I get angry w/myself and lose concentration. Sometimes it's not an issue.

Gotta go! Thanks for the thread.

Click to expand...

Yes it can get grating. Depends on the mood and the story.

SimonDoom said:

Coffee is essential, if I'm writing in the morning. If I'm writing in the evening I'm more likely to have a little bourbon or scotch.

I map and plot and visualize my stories before writing and continue doing so after I start writing. I usually outline the entire story, but I often amend or even discard portions of the outline as I go.

Usually, before I'm very far into the story, the ending pops into my head, so I skip ahead and write it.

My writing pace is extremely uneven. I go through periods of writing quickly and easily. I wrote and published 8 stories in April and May last year, and I've published 5 in the 11 1/2 months since then.

Daily writing ranges from nothing to writing several thousand words. Sometimes I get stuck on a bit of dialog or on how to resolve a scene, and it can hold me up for days. Or the words just don't come. Other times, it all comes easily.

I rewrite and edit a lot as I go.

Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear how many other writers have these stumbles. Especially getting blocked. Often it's the sex that holds me up. If I'm too shagged to get interested in what I'm writing, it's not going to flow.