What is your writing process (an inspiring writer wants to know)

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sweetjen35

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I'm curious about what basic process you us when coming up with a story or book.

Example - do you make out a general outline, define the character overview including their conflicts in advance, or do you just start writing and see where it takes you? (Or other)

I have written some short stories just for fun and posted them on my Tumblr blog (none published here YET) but my ultimate dream is to write a full length book.

Baby steps though.

What advice can you give to a first time-aspiring author to point in the right direction?

I'd eventually LOVE to have a mentor to encourage, advise, critique.

Thanks in advance for any insight. I hope to spend more time on this board.

Jen
 
Hi Jen,

There is no right or wrong process. You'll have to develop/discover what works for you when writing. But whatever you do, write. If you aren't putting words on paper or screen, your process is failing you.

I write at short story lengths. A character and vignette, almost like a still shot from a movie, pops into my head, and the story grows from there. What I have discovered is to not try to force my characters to behave in a certain way, but let their motivations/desires/impulses guide their actions. This doesn't mean I can't put them into uncomfortable or intriguing situations, but how they react to and resolve it is their business, so to speak.

If or when I attempt longer lengths, I will likely resort to outlining the broad aspects of the plot in order not to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

As for advice...
- Try to write every day, if only for a few minutes.
- Don't fight writer's block. It happens to us all. Take a break or switch to another piece for a while.
- There must be conflict. A main character must be striving against some obstacle, external or internal, otherwise there is no drama and hence nothing to capture readers' imaginations.
- Mind your spelling and grammar. This matters.
- Have fun.
 
Most of my stories were inspired by something. As a kid anything inspired me. My first story (in the 5th grade) was inspired by Meatloaf's I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) music video lol.

My Dragons of Fraidel was inspired by 2 things. One I wanted a story with dragons being the focus (most of my stories are unicorn focused) and one future scene in the story was inspired by a scene from the anime Mon Colle Knights. Oh I also heard somewhere that a Purple Dragon was the rarest type so I went with that too.

Now when I come up with an idea, I start to come up with the 'climax' that affects all characters and it's usually towards the end. It's also when I come up with the main conflict of the story and main characters. Next I come up with the world itself and all the rules that fall within it because coming up with the secondary characters and chapters. All the minor characters and details I come up with as I start writing.

And nowadays I always come up with notes, especially since I tend to come up with a big cast and several major plot lines. How and what I write all has to tie in with the major plot points. I think of it as creating bridges between two mountains. Bridges symbolizing the minor details that connect 2 major plot points aka the mountains.
 
My muse drops elements of a story into my mind and I sit down at the computer and write a story prompted by, but not necessarily restricted to, those elements.
 
I might think about a story for days, weeks, months or even years before I start to write it.

Whenever I do start a story, I always know how it will end, even if I don't get more than a few hundred words written.

If a story stalls, I save the draft and come back to it later. Sometimes I might have added a summary of the ending, but usually I don't. Even looking at a draft story years later, I still know where I intended it to end.

Ratio of completed stories to part-written drafts? About 1 to 8.

Ration of part-written drafts to possible stories in my head? About 1 to 10.

Since I have 250+ stories on Lit, the number of possible stories is 250 x 8 x 10 = 20,000. But many of them aren't worth pursuing to completion.

That is why I sometimes use 15 story ideas in a set of 15 x 50-word stories. I have too many potential stories to write even if I were to be writing well past my 100th birthday.

And if I start think about more story plots? I can generate another 100 a day. :(
 
I might think about a story for days, weeks, months or even years before I start to write it.

Whenever I do start a story, I always know how it will end, even if I don't get more than a few hundred words written.

If a story stalls, I save the draft and come back to it later. Sometimes I might have added a summary of the ending, but usually I don't. Even looking at a draft story years later, I still know where I intended it to end.

Ratio of completed stories to part-written drafts? About 1 to 8.

Ration of part-written drafts to possible stories in my head? About 1 to 10.

Since I have 250+ stories on Lit, the number of possible stories is 250 x 8 x 10 = 20,000. But many of them aren't worth pursuing to completion.

That is why I sometimes use 15 story ideas in a set of 15 x 50-word stories. I have too many potential stories to write even if I were to be writing well past my 100th birthday.

And if I start think about more story plots? I can generate another 100 a day. :(

Sounds like you mostly do short stories. I wonder if the process of creating stories differs from those who mostly do short stories to those who do long ones? I could never do a short story, my mind is too detail oriented for that because I always ask myself "Why is this happening?" in a story.
 
Mine is basically the same, although I have to have more story threads in mind for a longer piece than for a short story before I begin to write. More often than not these days, what I think is going to be a short story when I start to write expands into at least a novella.

I just don't do a lot of messing around before I start writing, no matter what I'm writing. I might be juggling a lot of ideas or be busy doing something else other than writing, but once a story is ready to go, I don't procrastinate a lot starting to write it. And it generally comes out as already having been organized in my mind.
 
Sounds like you mostly do short stories. I wonder if the process of creating stories differs from those who mostly do short stories to those who do long ones? I could never do a short story, my mind is too detail oriented for that because I always ask myself "Why is this happening?" in a story.

Short?

Yes. Fifty words are short.

But I also do longer stories. The 12 part Flawed Red Silk was written as a NaNoWriMo in 2003 and is just over 50,000 words. Some of my stand alone stories run to several Lit pages. Miranda the Witch is 8 Lit pages - more than most Lit readers can stomach. :rolleyes:

But my process is the same for fifty words or 50,000 - know the ending and work back to how the characters got to that ending.
 
If I am writing a non-fiction book, I write a rough outline - because that's what the publishers require. If it's fiction, I start at the beginning and keep going until I reach the end - at which point, I am usually as surprised as (I assume) the readers are.

I am sure that there must be better (more reliable) ways to write 'commercial' fiction, but I am now probably too old to change my ways. :)
 
Process...

First I get an idea. It may come from a song, a picture, or just a thought.
Then I mull it over for a while in my mind, laying it out like a movie would unfold on the screen. Scene description, dialog, character development, all done before I even start writing.

When I do start typing, as a character is encountered on the page, I type out his bio in another file.

Sometimes, if the work will be long, I might type out an outline to remind me of plot points later in the creation process.

Of course, some of my work has languished when I got distracted or ran into a block in the creative process. They sit there waiting for me to remember them.

I have just recently found one that has been sitting for about three years. And another for four years. Both are a series of books. I like doing series...until I don't. Then they sit until I do again. ;)
 
I see a lot of people saying you should write every day. No matter what, just write something.
I've tried that and given up. Just doesn't seem to do much for me or make a difference.
(My own experience of course).

I don't think it hurts to wait for inspiration, if you're not feelin' it.

If its a massive struggle, it's because the ideas aren't clear. But I'm someone who needs to know what I'm going to write before I write it (the gist of it that is). Just plowing ahead never works for me. It will turn out muddled and confused.

When you know what you're aiming for, it writes itself.

Just some thoughts.
 
I usually have an opening scene and an ending in mind before I start typing. Then I have to come up with the middle parts. I get those by writing bits, moving them around, and throwing them away when I realize they don't fit. I keep big deletions in a "discard" file for that story, and often I come back to it to fish things out for that or another story. About a third of what I write ends up in the "discard" file.

If I'm feeling stuck I make an outline. I can discuss plot developments with The Spouse, and that's helpful, but he doesn't want to talk about the sexual aspects or read the story. He really doesn't want to know the content of my fantasies, and I don't blame him. I'd probably divorce me if I read one of my stories.

Filling in the details of a sex scene is a good way to kill time while waiting for the resolution of a problem to occur. Sex scenes are hard to write, and it's easy to get bored and inattentive when you've written a lot of them. I often make them too extreme, and then I have to tone them down before posting. I could make a pretty good Fetish story by collecting squicky shit from my "discard" files.

Faulkner is supposed to have said, "In writing, you must kill your darlings"--that is, cut out passages that you think especially fine. Put them in your "discard" file: when you go back and read them later, you'll see that they were self-indulgent crap.
 
...
Faulkner is supposed to have said, "In writing, you must kill your darlings"--that is, cut out passages that you think especially fine. Put them in your "discard" file: when you go back and read them later, you'll see that they were self-indulgent crap.

Faulkner (and others) were quoting from Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch who wrote 'Murder your darlings' as part of a series of lectures on writing in 1913/4.
 
When I started my series "The Agency" a month or so ago, I found it easiest to build the general outline of a few chapters in my mind before I began writing about them. This allowed me to maintain a specific direction, while also speeding up my writing process.

As mentioned by others, every writer is different; but this is just how I found it easiest in my story. I have the benefit in my plot of having smaller stories within a group of chapters (sexual encounters with a specific celebrity) which only last two to three chapters long. However, running congruent with those stories is a much larger plot (main character's thoughts and actions) which span over the entirety of the story.

My word of advice is to have an idea of where you are wanting to go with a plot before you sit down to write. Whether you are writing a single chapter story or series, knowing your conflict and general storyline will help keep you moving in an organized direction. Once you have that, you can get creative about filling in all the details.

i have read a number of stories where the first few chapters were great, but the writer didn't have an end direction to the story. After a few chapters it becomes evident as they try to force storylines into the plot, which were never introduced prior.

You definitely need to have conflict to make the story compelling. I got slammed by a few readers for my lack of conflict in my first few chapters, but they didn't seem to realize the overall length of my story and how I was wanting to subtly incorporate conflict into the plot. You need some conflict, but you also need to use conflict wisely. Too much conflict and the story lacks believability. I compare it to the show 24, where the main character faced massive conflict every season. Eventually, you couldn't move forward with that character because it wouldn't be believable for him to have another awful day like in the previous seasons.

I hope this helped. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions or if you want me to clarify anything.
 
Faulkner (and others) were quoting from Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch who wrote 'Murder your darlings' as part of a series of lectures on writing in 1913/4.

And the sentiment (if not the metaphor) is even older. Here's Sam Johnson, one of Ogg's countrymen: "Read over your compositions, and where ever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out."

My "discard" files are full of very fine writing.
 
I usually start writing either with an end in mind, and then have to figure out how to get there; or one or two thoughts or moments captured, and go from there.

I rarely plot (I know, it probably shows...). Some stories I'll start a paragraph with no clue how that para will end, and find out for myself as I go. Some stories get a major turn half way through, that I never saw coming - for me, those are the best, because that's where the "wonder" is.

As you can see, there are no rules, no methods that work for everyone. The only thing in common, I think, is:

write.
 
In my thread on setups and endings I mention my three main approaches:

1) Often based on existing accounts like journal entries and real life, I blog the storyline as if watching a movie, and fill in salacious / tragicomic details;
2) I populate a setting with characters, give them a few plot points (maybe including an ending) to hit, then set them loose and transcribe the fun;
3) I have a certain end in mind, often an image; I create the setting, players, and action needed to reach that desired conclusion.

Depending on a story's duration and complexity, I may write myself a list of characters' ages and appearance, and plot a basic timeline of events. A multi-episode series may have a basic 'outline' of plot points, or it may merely be a series of adventures and (because LIT) fuckfests.

Inspiration may come from anywhere. A certain image; an old song or joke or phrase; my reaction to another tale; my own or others' fantasies; real life; writing exercises (think up a title and first sentence); whatever. The challenge is to twist that inspiration into a workable story. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it ain't. Sometimes the muse is lazy. Oy.
 
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I'm a retired psychologist. That causes me to shape characters and events in ways most writers don't. That is, free will is seriously muted with my characters, my characters act-out dramatic scripts rather than act from free will. The rest is SHIT HAPPENS....floods, earthquakes, riots, car wrecks
 
Definitely like visioneer, Sam Scribble and Hypoxia. I see something a word, sentence or picture and it sparks an idea and everything mushrooms from there. I never know who's going to do who or what and I never know how it's going to end. In fact I have major problems with endings, after the conflict is settled or the climax reached I end it like a balloon that's gone flat. I deserve the critical comments about my epilogues.

I had a look at Oggbashan's 15X50 word stories and I am in awe sir! You have a huge gift. But to be fair so does everyone else who has commented on this thread. One day when I'm big I hope to be as good as you.

Hypoxia, you deserve those death threats - it's not right for one person to be so multi-talented. Okay, maybe not death threats - serious injury. Jealousy makes me nasty.

Serafina - you nailed it. You can only do sex scenes so many times before you want to leave them out because you find yourself doing the same things, saying the same things, etc. I normally rush through it (that I can do in 50 words) then write on until my conscience bugs me and then I go back and re-read it and add sentences, feelings etc. I will do that 3 or 4 times, I go back, delete a sentence, put a (hopefully) better one in, until the voice shuts up.

I'm very much a novice at this so I thank you all for your input. I think I got more out of this thread than sweetjen did.
 
I've always thought of writing stories like writing a tv show. Imagine your story is a tv show, how does it start? What's the next scene? What would the characters say to each other? Where does it lead? What do they do? ect...

As for ideas, I try my hardest to think, "What would make a hot story?" Or I think of a hot scene, or I see a picture, whatever, and I try to think of a story which revolves around that.

Basically, if I see a bdsm picture on this forum with a secretary being tied to her desk by the boss, I'll think, "That's really hot, now what happened before this? What caused this scene to happen?"

From there, I might think that the secretary has a submissive side, maybe she asked for a pay raise because her rent increased, and her boss was a stern man who needed more to justify the extra money.

That's the type of thinking you need to do to make a story, in my opinion. Take an idea and keep blowing it up until you have the full picture. The good news is, the ending is already given. It leads to sex.

best wishes and good luck

heyall
 
For some reason, I tend to imagine that I'm playing the main character (who is also the narrator) in the film adaptation of a story I haven't written yet, and I just write about that.

I'm not very organized, so I don't write anything down, but I will generally have some idea of where the story is going to go, though I don't always stick with it. But I only write short stories or novellas, and my stories tend to be mood pieces with a small cast of characters, so I don't feel like there's much to keep organized.
 
I tend to start with a mental outline of the story, then work out main characters in some depth (usually more than makes it into the story) and let their personalities/desires drive things. Often that means changing from the original outline as I find something that works better for those characters, but it's helpful to have that outline as a starting point.
 
An intriguing situation or scene enters my mind. There is no plot, just the situation.

I form a world that leads to the setting I'm trying to envision. It's this preamble that forms the basis of the plot that develops. Somewhere in the middle, an ending appears in my mind, usually while I'm doing some mundane task like mowing the lawn. I'm fairly lucky that the beginning somehow supports the end.

Planning would make it all boring.
 
I "see" the entire story in my mind; meaning I visualize the beginning, middle and ending. Then I usually spend weeks telling my self the story, over and over again until I know it is the right story. After that I start writing. During the writing process the details always change but the beginning, middle and end never change.

I use this process for short stories and for novels and even for an epic fantasy trilogy that I'm finishing up.
 
Besides beating my head on the keyboard until I wake my muse up, I just get an idea then take a while to piece it together in my head. Once I think I got it figured out I sit down and start typing letting the story take over. Sometimes I finish or sometimes I hit a stone wall and have to walk away from it and let it marinate for awhile to come back to it later.
 
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