Story Writing Process

[J.Q. Hack]

Lately I seem to have run into a bit of writer's block. I have several ideas & scenarios for stories floating around in my dirty mind but when I try to put words on the computer screen they fail me.

Up until now the stories I've written have been done straight through. I mean that I wrote the story in the order in which it appears in the story. I think this may be my problem now, getting from one section to the next.

I was wondering how other people tackle the actual writing of the story? Do you write in order of the story or do you jump around the different sections and then connect them as the story develops.

Thanks,
J.Q. Hack

 

[Sabledrake]

I almost always write straight through, and I'm very familiar with that uncomfortable place of knowing what happens now, and what happens later, but having no clue what goes in between.

I might make notes about the later bit, but will only rarely write it out because I never know when something may crop up in the story to take things in an entirely different direction.

Usually, when I get stuck like that, I'll take a break from the story altogether and work on something else. It's the sad fact of my life that I never lack for "something else" to work on ... my to-do list is scarily long.

Then, while I'm off doing that, the problems and connections in the first story have time to simmer, and work themselves out.

Sabledrake

 

[nushu2]

I've had trouble recently, too. Distractions of real life get in the way. It can get to feel like work instead of fun. When that happens, I just take a break for a while.

Started writing again last night and cracked myself up with such awkward dialogue that it was fun again. My horror story has turned into a humour story but, at least, I'll like it now.

 

[millieteases]

Well...

Go read Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author


I've always found it easier to edit than write - so I just write down what comes to my head and then go back and help it make sense.

Listen to your characters.

I usually write it out in bits and pieces - but in roughly the order I want it in. I also think out each of the next scenes, the emotions of the characters, the activities, etc. Then I just write and it comes out.

Then, the hard part.

Edit ruthlessly.


Hope it helps.

Millie

 

[J.Q. Hack]

Thanks for the advice millie. In a few minutes I read some brief summaries of "Six Characters in Search of an Author" and I would like to read the entire play.

I think one thing I haven't been doing in my own writing is letting my characters speak. I need to try and pay more attention to their own emotions and feelings. Hopefully that will make my stories better and make me a better writer.

Nushu, I certainly understand the need for taking a break. I don't think I wrote anything for about two or three weeks but now I'm feeling like getting back into it. This has happened before where I was able to get two stories finished relatively close to each other and then it was another two or three months before another was finished.

What I should try is the old bit of writing advice and try writing everyday. I supposed even if it is only an hour or two here and there.

 

[snooper]

Originally posted by J.Q. Hack ... I was wondering how other people tackle the actual writing of the story? ...

Mostly to demonstrate that there are, in Kipling's words:
Four and twenty ways
of constructing tribal lays,
and every single one of them is right.
I will detail my method of writing a novel.

First I, or my publisher, decides on a topic or character to investigate. No decisions at this stage.

Then I work up a one paragraph plot of the entire book, perhaps even only one sentence.

If that sparks something in my mind, I will elaborate that into a page or so of outline, already split into sections, each of one sentence.

Each section is then further elaborated into a list of chapters, each fairly clearly defined in a paragraph or so, all marked to show that 'real' text is missing.

At this point there is a joint decision with my publisher whether to write the book for publication. If I say "no" (perhaps 50%) that is the end of it and another idea goes in the "Maybe one day" box. If he says "no" (10%), then I may or may not think about it more, but probably it goes ditto.

With one of the other 40%, I then work on the chapters in no particular order until they are a page of outline each. I also write two or three full chapters. At this point the publisher decides for certain whether to publish or not.

Then I write chapters and part chapters entirely as the whim takes me until there are no more markers in the file for missing text.

Then I go through several times, refining where necessary. (Spelling checks happen all the time.)

Then it goes off to the publisher and in due course lovely money starts to come my way.

I have currently three novels in various stages. One is about two thirds complete, one about a third and one had only 7k words in their 'final' form.

So you see, some people write one way, others have other methods. J.K.Rowling claims to write from start to finish in that order, with the whole book held in her head all the time.

 

[nushu2]

Certainly, for a large project, an outline is helpful and maybe even necessary. More often, I use an outline as a reminder.

It's one thing to get a good idea for one section of a story and just write it down, out of sequence. Leaping over a tough section because it's not working out causes consistency problems that can be tougher to edit out later.

I have been trying to tie a historical fiction together for weeks. I tackled it in two parts, history and fiction, and it still feels that way.

 

[snooper]

... Leaping over a tough section because it's not working out causes consistency problems ...

Consistency problems are kept in check by the background file which goes with every story. It contains such things as names, descriptions, ages, relationships, a sequence of events (with dates/times) and so forth. Any story longer than a single episode has one of these. It is just easier to remember it if it is on "paper" than if it is in the author's head.

 

[J.Q. Hack]

Thanks for all the terrific advice. I definitely want to use some of the advice from snoope and nushu. Hopefully I can modify and combine suggestions to give me some sort of working model that will help me.

Nushu I certainly understand the problems of trying to tie things together. I'm not sure what your exact problems are with tying the history and fiction together are but perhaps the historical part may be best left as brief phrases as explainers in context of the story or a few quick historical set ups interspersed througout the story to give background. I think perhaps trying that may give the characters more of an historical feel and not seem like they were thrown in some time period for the sake of calling it a historical story.

 

[snooper]

Anyone who quotes the late, great Benny Hill is welocme to my advice.

 

[J.Q. Hack]

I think I may have overcome my writer's block. Just last night I was thinking of another possible story. It hit me that the perfect character for this new story was one I was attempting to use for a story that I couldn't write. So today after I thought about story order and progression and character motivation I sat down and within in an hour or so I had 3 pages written. So it seems I had the perfect character I just had the wrong story.

Thanks for all the advice I received and I know it will be useful in the future for me.