Do you filter yourself when you write?

[Captainnumnuts]

What I'm asking is do you place limits on yourself in any way when you write?

Most times I don't. Whenever I write a story, I let it take on a life of it's own. I never know how it's going to end until I'm there. Then editing may or may not become tedious.

There are times, however, if I've decided to keep it within the realm of a theme I have in mind, I'll stick to the theme. Mostly deeply rooted in facts, I do put my own ficticious spin on it.

During those times I have a particular theme I feel should be portrayed a certain way, I drive myself nuts keeping it within the scope of a certain subject matter or a particular character. I get stuck trying to keep it 'this way' or 'that way'. Sometimes more picky than an objective editor would. If whatever I've written simply isn't acceptable within the theme of what I have in mind, I'll shelve it for use in another story or trash it altogether.

 

[lovecraft68]

I never used to. I'd let it fly and go wherever it took me.

But recently in between writing some smut for sale I've been working on an erotic horror series and I'm now on book three. I have to limit myself now because a series is like dominoes and they all have to fall just right and you're locked into what has gone before and what direction you pointed the story in, so free styling at this point can cause continuity issues or force the story to be long to explain why you just went off track.

Its a learning experience

 

[Kojak01]

What I'm asking is do you place limits on yourself in any way when you write?

Most times I don't. Whenever I write a story, I let it take on a life of it's own. I never know how it's going to end until I'm there. Then editing may or may not become tedious.

There are times, however, if I've decided to keep it within the realm of a theme I have in mind, I'll stick to the theme. Mostly deeply rooted in facts, I do put my own ficticious spin on it.

During those times I have a particular theme I feel should be portrayed a certain way, I drive myself nuts keeping it within the scope of a certain subject matter or a particular character. I get stuck trying to keep it 'this way' or 'that way'. Sometimes more picky than an objective editor would. If whatever I've written simply isn't acceptable within the theme of what I have in mind, I'll shelve it for use in another story or trash it altogether.

When I started writing "The Text Message" I had a completely different story in my mind. Not a little bit different but really totally different. The only thing those to stories have in common is that the 'action' started with a text message.

For "The Expat", I set out to write an enjoyable, happy feel-good romance to cheer up people who needed a boost for the Christmas time and did just that. I also consciously stopped me from bringing in difficulties for the couple.

In my first story "The Monster Within" I wrote the story more or less as I wanted to but things happened differently from how I had planned (the first sex of a new couple happened earlier than planned and surprised even me )

TLDR: Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. Sometimes a little.

 

[Alice_Rosaleen]

Filters

When I'm working on a story, I usually have the beginning, ending, and several key points in between in mind. I focus on reaching them and showing how the character(s) changes along the way, but I try not to force anything if it's not working. Sometimes a character needs to go in a different direction, or a plot point I've planned out comes out differently when I write it.
Basically I write with a vision or theme (as you put it) and let it inspire and motivate me, rather than make me feel I'm confined to one set of possibilities.
It sounds like you do something similar, though I find if I don't know how a story will end, I'll never finish it! If that happens, I'm usually getting too self-indulgent with exploring the characters and not advancing a plot.
Interesting question. I'm always curious to see how other writers work.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Most times I don't. Whenever I write a story, I let it take on a life of it's own. I never know how it's going to end until I'm there. Then editing may or may not become tedious.

This is me, even when I have a vague plot in my head. I edit as I go along, and even then, 95% will remain as originally written.

 

[Jada59]

I used to be guilty of over-editing, to the point where the story might change. I try not to do that now.

 

[My I]

Writing is when I take the filters off.

 

[Captainnumnuts]

I've always loved to read and/or write. It's not until recently, I've decided to publish several things I've written - written recently or over the years. I've never really like the idea of publishing - fearing it could hamper or destroy my desire to keep writing.

Early on, every single English teacher I've had encouraged me to write. I moved around a lot. Heck, I recently discovered there's one small story I wrote in HS 35 yrs ago that's still posted on a hallway board as a prime example of how a thesis should be written. That teacher, long gone now, practically twisted my arm to allow it to be seen by other students. There's even a little notation stating it's copy righted and not allowed for publication.

My problem's always been getting the mechanics of English down pat. However, whenever I write something those mechanics seem to blend in. Thus; appearing as if it's not really me writing the story or poem. More often than not, I faced accusations of not being the author of such stories or poems. That one English teacher, now dead, seen this defect I had and pointed it out. She successfully tutored me on subjects I would have failed in otherwise. When I'm frustrated or stuck on something when writing, my thoughts go back to her and it helps.

 

[RocketLauncher]

I tend to write plot lines, character sketches and point form scenes. Writing is more than just stringing grammatically correct sentences together. While some might consider writing an art there is a definite craft to it. Well written sentences strung together do not a story make. A story with a few spelling or grammatical errors can be enjoyable if the story is coherent and engaging. Building plots, characters, blocking are all part of the techniques, I find without a good foundation it's difficult to write a decent story esp. multi part stories. But that's just me, everyone has their own approach to writing and whatever it takes to keep writing is never a bad thing. Writing is a cathartic hobby we should all be fortunate enough to pursue.

 

[NotWise]

My writing isn't stream-of-consciousness, or even close to it. So yes, I filter.

 

[Hypoxia]

It depends. Each story can take on its own life but the voices in my head don't totally control me. I've mentioned my three basic composition techniques, when I'm writing:

1. Know the story, as from a journal. Blog it, flesh it out, trim it back, polish it, voila.
2. Create a setting, players, and a few plot points, then let the players write the tale.
3. Visualize an ending, then create the setting, players, and storyline to arrive there.

The characters always surprise me. I give them much leeway. I filter and revise as/when I write. That edited-in-place draft is usually close to the final cut. Then I put it aside for a couple days, return to it, fix the flaws I missed, The End.

 

[TxRad]

It depends on where the story is going. For Lit, which is my fun writing, the filter is thin. For my mainstream stuff, there are limits imposed so you have to filter much more. They pay for the filtering so I'm happy with it.

 

[KindofHere]

...............

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm not sure if "filter" is the metaphor I would use to describe how I write.

If an "unfiltered" writer is one who starts writing and keeps writing with no idea where the story is going, and makes things up as he goes, then I'm not an unfiltered writer. I usually have a very good idea where I want the story to end up before I'm very far into writing it. The challenge for me is to get where I want to go artfully. I have yet to write a story where halfway through the process of writing it suddenly veers into a direction I didn't expect. I don't think of my style as "filtering"; I just don't know another way of writing.

 

[Gentleman_G]

I don't think about much when I write. When I look over what I have written, I feel like I'm reading a story from someon else instead, because it never ends up what I wanted to write. So the only one that gets filtered is me.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

The only filter on what I write are those that Lit sets...no children having sex, no bestiality, no snuff, no non-consent for titillation, etc.

As far as I'm concerned anything else goes.

Of course I don't use real people's name, well maybe first names, but no last names.

 

[Captainnumnuts]

Mine is raw, then refined.

Whenever I start to write, I do indeed have something in mind. But I start out totally and completely raw w/no limits and not filtered in any way. Good, bad, something in between, laugh, cry, - it's all thrown out there on paper. No editing, no "not this or that" - totally umbridled until it forms a life of it's own. Once it begins to take a life of it's own - at that point I've automatically started to decide how I want it to go and start placing limits on it. The filtering process begins somehow w/out realizing it.

It's either not me at all or exactly how I am or wish to be.

 

[FEELINGLUCKYPUNK]

I strive to discover what overwhelms folks, in real life, then use the material in fiction. But mostly I want a flow like a slide at a water park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZzzQbvFBJg

How to filter

A sample

After I pulled an enlistment in the Msrine Corps I got a job as a bar bouncer at a resort and wemt to prison for murder after I killed a drunk VIP from some British shithole who paid me to fuck his old lady and had a dose of buyers remorse when she got pregnant and kept the child as a souvenir of her good times in America. I did five years and they cut me loose. I walked the ten miles to town to catch a bus and missed it.