Just asking....Pt 1

[JamesMiehoff]

In thinking about how I go about writing a story I came to the conclusion that I just might be doing it wrong. Or maybe I am doing it right for me but wrong for someone else.

I thought I would post here to get your opinions on some of the mechanics of how you write. I'm pretty sure there are no wrong answers, but don't quote me on that (and that was not a challenge).


For me, I will think of a situation. It might be a small thing like a chance encounter with someone or a big situation like a vacation with friends. And then I roll it around in my head for an indeterminate amount of time to flesh out some of the details and then I write.


The writing tends to be stream of consciousness until I end the story. Then I save it and ignore it for a while. When I don't have anything better to do, I go back and poke at it. I rewrite dialog, catch stupid spelling tricks, come up with a better way to say something. Save it and ignore it again for a while. Rinse, lather and repeat until I am mostly satisfied with it and then introduce my new child to the world.


I can't help but think that maybe there is a better way. So how do you bring your next masterpiece into the world?


James

 

[oggbashan]

The simple answer is whatever works for you, and we have different ways.

For me?

I think of a premise and the ending/resolution. Without a known ending, my story will stall for months or years.

Once I have those two elements I work out in my head, perhaps over weeks, how the characters get from the start to the pre-arranged ending. The twists and turns can multiply but the ending is almost always as I intended.

'Almost' because sometimes the characters decide they want a different ending that is more logical for them.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I get an idea about something and noodle on it until I can envision it as a movie in my head. Initially I might write a little blurb of what it was about. I have found that I need to do that more and more as I get older and older.

Once the movie is clear, it has a beginning and an ending, the middle is kind of there, I started pounding the keyboard. If it's going to be a multi-part story, I write the first chapter or part and the then the last part(the ending) so I have somewhere to go.

The reason I do that is because as we all know, characters always try and take over the story to fit their own agenda in there.

 

[HBergeron]

There are many ways to start a story - sometimes it depends on what sparked the idea for you. I remember finding out that the way I started my screenplay was a throwaway joke by Ben Affleck on 'Inside the Actors Studio' (on his co-writing 'Good Will Hunting' with Matt Damon): paraphrased, "What did I know about writing a script? I don't know, you put 2 guys in a car - where are they going?"

The best ideas come from turning over a premise in your mind until something pops out that makes it worth spending the time writing it.

No matter what inspires it, I strongly suggest you don't start actually writing it until you know how it ends and what will make it any different than everything else in the genre.

 

[MelissaBaby]

The simple answer is whatever works for you, and we have different ways.

For me?

I think of a premise and the ending/resolution. Without a known ending, my story will stall for months or years.

Once I have those two elements I work out in my head, perhaps over weeks, how the characters get from the start to the pre-arranged ending. The twists and turns can multiply but the ending is almost always as I intended.

'Almost' because sometimes the characters decide they want a different ending that is more logical for them.

That is pretty much my methodology as well.

My original concept can come from anything. One chapter of Mary and Alvin was born out of Linda Ronstadt singing Desperado, another from my memory of a pair of angel statues in a cemetery in Maine.

 

[SamScribble]

As others have said: the right way for you is what works for you.

What works for me is to gather together some characters, write a first sentence and then keep asking: What happens next? All going well, there comes a point when 'the story' has been told and I can stop writing.

At various stages in my career, I have taken formal instruction. And, mostly, what these encounters have taught me has not been particularly helpful. On the other hand, a word here and a word there, from my agent or from an editor I trust, has often proved invaluable.

Good luck.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I usually start with some small, true life incident - some trivial thing, usually visual, sometimes a recalled encounter or a conversation - that, being true, anchors the writing with veracity, even if all else is completely made up. I then write until the story is done, with no plan, no plot until the plot unfolds itself.

Characters enter unannounced and may be important, may feature in another story, or may just get a vignette. My final product is about 98% there in the first draft; my edit is usually limited to words changed here and there, occasionally phrases and sentences get re-arranged, sometimes half a paragraph will go. If I'm not sure about the next paragraph I'll go and do something else and let my sub-conscious cogitate for a while. As a consequence, it's mostly stream of consciousness and taps into something intimate and personal - my male characters are always versions of myself with varying degrees of bullshit about the women involved, because I'm too lazy to imagine anybody else. Where the women come from fascinates me no end, because I rarely know who they are.

Sometimes I'll write two hundred words at a time, sometimes two thousand, it just depends whether I'm in the zone or not.

To answer the OP's question, I write my way. If you write your way, you can't go wrong, because there is no "right" way or "wrong" way to write. You just do what works - for you.

 

[JamesMiehoff]

Thanks everybody.

As I said, there are no right or wrong answers. But it is amazing the amount of commonality.

We all seem to take a premise, roll it around in our heads for a while to let it age. then pour it out on the electronic paper like a fine wine and let it breathe. Then clean it up and toss it back with some cheesy dialog and characters and then let it stand on its own.


There were some variations. I did realize after seeing a couple of the comments that I do tend to work on the beginning and the end and go with the flow through the middle. Some stories nearly write themselves when you have those two endpoints.


In any case, thanks for the comments so far. Please keep the cards and letters coming.


James.

 

[NotWise]

I usually start with characters and then build a story around them. It isn't a long process, but I don't start writing until I know the ending.

I write slowly compared to a lot of people. I don't want to spend much time rewriting. To me, rewriting is harder than writing, so I try to make the first draft close to final form. I usually write ahead for a few paragraphs, then reread those paragraphs and fix things before I move on.

Often -- especially near the end of a story when things get complicated -- I'll write a sketch to guide me.

 

[HeyAll]

I start with an exciting theme/premise/scene/idea, then build a story around it.

 

[Hypoxia]

If I had voices in my head, I'd write what they say. But my own mechanisms are:

* Know the storyline, like from a journal. Fill in the juicy details.
* Visualize an ending. Fabricate a twisted story to reach that final image.
* Create a setting and some plot points and set the players loose. Transcribe them.

The world's best setup won't save you if you don't know where to go from there.

 

[SimonDoom]

There's no right or wrong way. Different writers approach the mechanics of writing differently.

I start with a concept that comes from somewhere. It might be a response to something else I read or saw, or it might just come from someplace in my imagination. The concept involves a character having some kind of erotic experience.

Then I plot out the story. I write a numbered outline of the story. I always do this, even though as I write I often deviate significantly from the outline.

Then I begin to write. Before I get too far into the story, I write the ending -- the last scene, or sometimes just the last paragraph. In all the stories I've written over the last year, I've known exactly how I wanted the story to end before I got to the ending.

Then I go back to where I left off and write the rest of the story.

Then I proofread and edit, as often as I feel is necessary. I may skimp on this process if I'm trying to meet a deadline, as for a contest, for instance.

 

[Kantarii]

I start with the dialogue for the chapter which helps layout the plot, then paint the mood, setting and finer character details, etc. around the dialogue. It seems ass backwards, but it works for me
Kant