What's your game plan?

[carsonshepherd]

I just finished a novel, at just over 103K words. It took me about eight months. Another writer friend asked me how I did it. He wanted to know what my game plan is for the long haul.

This was my answer, in part.

I don't really have a game plan. I have told myself in the past "I will write two hours a day or complete 3 pages (or five hours/seven pages on a weekend)" and I can do that, but I don't on a consistent basis.

My average on this story may have been 7 pages a week, but I didn't write a page a day. Some days I wrote ten, and then I'd go three weeks without writing a single word. So, I'm undiscplined and lazy, but in the end, I'm dedicated. Writing is a priority to me. I want to finish work because I want to sell work. I want to make money doing what I love, even if I never get rich and I'll never be able to quit my day job. I can live with that.

I was talking about this to a friend recently. I told him I'm not the kind of person who will ever have a "career" type of job; my jobs will always be "day jobs." That's because I always knew I was going to be a writer (from the time I was about ten) and I never really made any other plans.

So - my game plan is just to write. Just, every day at least THINK about writing if I don't actually get any words out. And I only work on one project at a time. I don't let my attention wander or give myself permission to work on something else until I'm finished with a project. Then I move on immediately to the next one. Writing can be tedious, there's a lot of drudgery, but in my opinion, the ability to do the work is crucial. Inspiration is very important but so is determination.

So... do you have a game plan? How do you keep yourself focused and interested in a story, especially a long one? What's your strategy?

 

[impressive]

I have a short-term objective -- which is to discipline myself to write every day, come hell or high water. To that end, I've set a 500-word daily word quota for fiction & I've been keeping track of myself on MySpace. (Makes for a BORING blog, but ... well ... tough.) At the end of each month, I should have 15K words to show for it. At the end of a year, 180K (or two novels' equivalent). So far, so good (but I'm only at day 26).

I've learned that I'm a tortoise not a hare ... at least where writing's concerned.

 

[carsonshepherd]

I have a short-term objective -- which is to discipline myself to write every day, come hell or high water. To that end, I've set a 500-word daily word quota for fiction & I've been keeping track of myself on MySpace. (Makes for a BORING blog, but ... well ... tough.) At the end of each month, I should have 15K words to show for it. At the end of a year, 180K (or two novels' equivalent). So far, so good (but I'm only at day 26).

I've learned that I'm a tortoise not a hare ... at least where writing's concerned.

You're one of the people I really admire for their dedication. You seem like the kind of person who, when they set their mind to something, they do it.

I've been writing every day for so long, I feel moody and disconnected when I don't. The quota thing sometimes works for me, and sometimes doesn't, depending on what story I'm trying to tell.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Right now, I'm only writing to entertain myself or even to escape from reality and keep myself sane. It would be unrealistic for me to commit too seriously to writing until my son goes to school this fall. After that, I've promised myself that I'll write the third and final part of my Feast Of The Rose Garlands series and then edit all three parts to turn into a novel. I'd say getting it published isn't really a game plan at the moment, but it's definitely on my mind.

 

[BlackShanglan]

At the moment, I have no time in which to write. My long-long-term game plan does address that - but that's more of a "what's your career game plan?" answer, and I think you mean "what's your game plan for completing a single large work?"

I write in stages - outline, rough draft, several revisions - and I pause and rotate projects between stages. That gives me some variety in my pursuits, lets me gain an objective viewpoint of my work by letting it cool a while, and helps me not to obsess too much over individual stumbling blocks. It's not a method that works for everyone, but all of the stories that I think anything of, I wrote that way.

Shanglan

 

[carsonshepherd]

At the moment, I have no time in which to write. My long-long-term game plan does address that - but that's more of a "what's your career game plan?" answer, and I think you mean "what's your game plan for completing a single large work?"

I write in stages - outline, rough draft, several revisions - and I pause and rotate projects between stages. That gives me some variety in my pursuits, lets me gain an objective viewpoint of my work by letting it cool a while, and helps me not to obsess too much over individual stumbling blocks. It's not a method that works for everyone, but all of the stories that I think anything of, I wrote that way.

Shanglan

I can't do that because I write in different styles for different project, and I totally submerge myself in the tone and mood; to go back and forth would require more mental flexibility than I have. I'm very single-minded.

 

[lucky-E-leven]

My game plan is to do some serious editing on my second novel and send it away for publishing. I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish that this summer or not but I sure would like to.

I'd say it's been almost a year since I wrote anything substantial and up until a few months ago that didn't really bother me. Now it's on my mind constantly. I am beginning to feel settled in my life and I feel that when I'm not immersed in school that I only want to be writing.

As for how I write, it's quite a wide spectrum. Most stories I begin are finished within just a week or two of beginning them. Others are still sitting, en masse, on my hard drive lacking several hundred words to be complete. I'd say at least two thirds of them have strong enough legs to be finished. I like returning to them and finding that of three or four that I may open at least one of them is something I'm interested in working on right that moment. I hate to delete something, even though I know I may never have the verve for it again but better than that is finding something once abandoned and breathing new life into it.

I'm not for disciplined writing. I really believe that my best work has been fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writing. Like when I got a flood of email to write a sequel to one of my Lit pieces I was completely turned off by writing for months. I was ashamed, probably still am, but that's the truth of it. I've gotta do it because I want to and feel possessed by it. *shrug*

 

[SophiaY]

My game plan is to do some serious editing on my second novel and send it away for publishing. I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish that this summer or not but I sure would like to.

I'd say it's been almost a year since I wrote anything substantial and up until a few months ago that didn't really bother me. Now it's on my mind constantly. I am beginning to feel settled in my life and I feel that when I'm not immersed in school that I only want to be writing.

As for how I write, it's quite a wide spectrum. Most stories I begin are finished within just a week or two of beginning them. Others are still sitting, en masse, on my hard drive lacking several hundred words to be complete. I'd say at least two thirds of them have strong enough legs to be finished. I like returning to them and finding that of three or four that I may open at least one of them is something I'm interested in working on right that moment. I hate to delete something, even though I know I may never have the verve for it again but better than that is finding something once abandoned and breathing new life into it.

I'm not for disciplined writing. I really believe that my best work has been fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writing. Like when I got a flood of email to write a sequel to one of my Lit pieces I was completely turned off by writing for months. I was ashamed, probably still am, but that's the truth of it. I've gotta do it because I want to and feel possessed by it. *shrug*

My method as well (save for the novel, no intention in that regard). For better or worse I tend to be an improvisational writer within a loose framework...Hmm, perhaps because of an affinity to playing Jazz?

 

[carsonshepherd]

I've gotta do it because I want to and feel possessed by it. *shrug*

But what about the dull and tedious parts of writing? (the necessary little transitional scenes, etc) Can you get through those and still feel possessed and excited? Because that's what sometimes shakes me right out of the zone - something that HAS to be in the story but isn't necessarily interesting to me. I'll sometimes ponder and dither over those for weeks, and the suddenly I'll just sail right over them and onward... until the next one.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Right now, I'm only writing to entertain myself or even to escape from reality and keep myself sane. It would be unrealistic for me to commit too seriously to writing until my son goes to school this fall. After that, I've promised myself that I'll write the third and final part of my Feast Of The Rose Garlands series and then edit all three parts to turn into a novel. I'd say getting it published isn't really a game plan at the moment, but it's definitely on my mind.

Please don't sell yourself short as a writer. I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished.

 

[McKenna]

My game plan is to write, keep writing, and maintain balance. (When writing fiction.) I have a tendency to become über absorbed in a project. I find when I maintain balance in my life with other aspects of my life -career, family, other personal goals- I'm a little more sane. Not completely sane, but a little more so.

When I'm writing non-fiction (for work) my game plan differs. Usually one has to map out the text one is writing. It's a bit more structured, but then the writing is different, too. Writing a 200-page user's manual or owner's guide or insurance plan takes a different kind of thought process than fiction. The game plan, or strategy, which usualy includes an outline and a deadline keeps me on track. I have a career, but I also have a personal goal to publish my fiction; My plan was to live comfortably while I attempt to get my fiction published. Techincal writing allows me to do this, plus, it keeps me writing (constantly.)

 

[lucky-E-leven]

But what about the dull and tedious parts of writing? (the necessary little transitional scenes, etc) Can you get through those and still feel possessed and excited? Because that's what sometimes shakes me right out of the zone - something that HAS to be in the story but isn't necessarily interesting to me. I'll sometimes ponder and dither over those for weeks, and the suddenly I'll just sail right over them and onward... until the next one.

I guess it's a matter of perspective. I feel possessed until the bottom line (denoument) has been given. That said, I have a very real problem with overdoing it. I write way too much inconsequential shit by way of reaching the final point. I'd love to be more focused on the action and real point of the plot but I really don't mind getting lost in minutiae at times.

My biggest problem with some of what I write is that I have really great starter ideas or scenarios that are good enough to get me halfway there but about 2/3 of the way through I realize ... I don't have a point. I was just enamored with the scenario enough to flesh it out and describe it interestingly and then ... well I falter. It's something I struggle with; having a deeper meaning, that is. I find it to be a real problem with short stories versus my longer pieces. If I have enough room/time/length available, I can make anything meaningful. It's just a matter of what audience I'm writing to and whether or not the initial scenario has even an inkling of worth.

Gawd I'm a mess as a writer.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Please don't sell yourself short as a writer. I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished.

Thanks, Carson.
I won't sell myself short, because I'm proud too. Though, I'm not too proud to realize I still have a long way to go. I'm up for the challenge of learning to be a better writer. That's the most exciting part. It's the only thing I've ever really wanted to do, so I'm not about to give up now.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Thanks, Carson.
I won't sell myself short, because I'm proud too. Though, I'm not too proud to realize I still have a long way to go. I'm up for the challenge of learning to be a better writer. That's the most exciting part. It's the only thing I've ever really wanted to do, so I'm not about to give up now.

I know you won't. You've been doing it too long. At least now you realize you have the talent to go as far as you want.

 

[Guest]

So... do you have a game plan? How do you keep yourself focused and interested in a story, especially a long one? What's your strategy?

It seems to vary according to what the work is, what my mood is, what the phase of the moon is...I'm a variety girl.

My first novel came out of the NaNoWriMo for last year. I dod 70,000 works in 30 days by writing to a quota every day with my eye on the word count. This kept me moving and made me push aside other things that have stopped me in the past. I kept that going for another month, writing toward word count and a shifting story outline, until I had something that looked like a novel.

Short stories come as bursts, either as full fledged ideas or birthed from a prompt that I later expand. I'll rotate among short stories, fiddling and fixing, acting on long ago feedback, until I feel "done" with a piece.

The second novel I'm working on is being written on a time goal -- I'm posting chapters to a library and I have readers, so I have to have so much finished by such a time in order to stay ahead of my deadlines. For the story in question, it's working.

A new story I'm working on seems to want to be a novella. It has an OUTLINE (*gasp*) and I'm happily working with the outline, filling in the scenes, plotting out ideas. This is still pretty new, so I have no idea how it will work. However, I'm seriously thinking of digging back out three earlier abortive novels and trying to work on them again, maybe from a fresh perspective, using some of these new techniques.

I don't write daily (unless writing in my blog or journal counts). Sometimes I have to be reading, or doing music, or up to my neck in wire and beads, or staring at movies one after the other. It feels like I "reload" my head and then spill it out over long periods, then "reload" again.

So I have no real idea about what the hell I'm doing

 

[carsonshepherd]

A new story I'm working on seems to want to be a novella. It has an OUTLINE (*gasp*) and I'm happily working with the outline, filling in the scenes, plotting out ideas. This is still pretty new, so I have no idea how it will work. However, I'm seriously thinking of digging back out three earlier abortive novels and trying to work on them again, maybe from a fresh perspective, using some of these new techniques.

.....

So I have no real idea about what the hell I'm doing

In general I write until I feel like I've said everything about a particular story I wanted to say. My goal when I write is to focus on every detail that seems important and complete every thought. Even the not-so-interesting ones.

In the past I've always edited as I went. I would sit down and read everything that came before, and then build on it. It was like making a brick wall. Each layer of bricks led upward to the next layer.

Then I sort of broke out of that box, when I realized I was accomplishing nothing but writing really neat, orderly first drafts. And first drafts don't necessarily need to be neat and orderly. That appeals to my latent compulsiveness but, I realized, it hampered my creativity. Now I'm trying a new way - just sitting down and writing it. It's sloppy and messy but it's there on the page. It was hard to let go of the brick-by-brick method but... I finished a novel so it must work.

There's really something to be said for fresh perspectives.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Thanks, Carson.
I won't sell myself short, because I'm proud too. Though, I'm not too proud to realize I still have a long way to go. I'm up for the challenge of learning to be a better writer. That's the most exciting part. It's the only thing I've ever really wanted to do, so I'm not about to give up now.

The only thing I've always felt your writing needed was considerably more intense research into the mechanics and fine nuances of sex with, um, me. But I'm happy, as always, to assist a fellow writer in her research.

(BTW, I would buy "Feast of the Rose Gardens" as a novel in a heartbeat, whether I knew you had written it or not. It's beautiful work.)

 

[BlackShanglan]

Double post.

 

[BlackShanglan]

But what about the dull and tedious parts of writing? (the necessary little transitional scenes, etc) Can you get through those and still feel possessed and excited? Because that's what sometimes shakes me right out of the zone - something that HAS to be in the story but isn't necessarily interesting to me. I'll sometimes ponder and dither over those for weeks, and the suddenly I'll just sail right over them and onward... until the next one.

Yes. I think those are actually my least favorite parts of writing. I enjoy fleshing out the very broad strokes and planning the plot in outline/scrawl; I enjoy revising both in structure and in line-by-line polishing. The actual throwing-the-whole-thing-down-in-complete-paragraphs part, though, gets tedious at times. And yes, that part I have to do all at once. It does require immersion. I don't do well when I break in the middle of a stage unless I am breaking because I'm completely stuck. Usually, that means I'm going to have to go back a stage anyway - back to outlining and broad strokes to figure out what's going wrong.

Shanglan

 

[sophia jane]

I don't have a game plan, but I'm glad for this thread. It's good timing for me. I sat down today with a little piece of an idea and wrote about 4000 words, plus character descriptions and plot ideas. So it looks like I'm going to try to write a novel or at least a novella. From the way it went today (and because I'm going to be addressing several different characters within it), I suspect I'm not going to write it straight through, but pieces at a time that I'll have to put together later. Like today I wrote the beginning and then part of a much later chapter. I figure at this point it's more important that I write what I have in my head and let it happen than to force myself to write it out the "right" and orderly way. My biggest worry is sticking with it. I have this horrible habit of starting something and if I don't come back right away, I never come back at all. I really want to finish this time.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Double post.

*spanks you*

[/end threadjack]

 

[Guest]

But what about the dull and tedious parts of writing? (the necessary little transitional scenes, etc) Can you get through those and still feel possessed and excited? Because that's what sometimes shakes me right out of the zone - something that HAS to be in the story but isn't necessarily interesting to me. I'll sometimes ponder and dither over those for weeks, and the suddenly I'll just sail right over them and onward... until the next one.

You know, I never notice those parts. Some part of me enjoys the story as a story, while others enjoy the story as a puzzle. How to I do this thing or that? Technical or stylistic, craft or art, there's not much I don't like about writing.

Wait. Spelling. Typos. Realizing I've repeated myself. I hate those parts. Sometimes I hate not being able to type faster so I can keep up with a thought, or envisioning a particular scene or a line and having it pop like a soap bubble as soon as I get near enough to grab it.

The rest of it? If it isn't complete and total, passionate, full body contact love, it's big ol' like.

 

[carsonshepherd]

My biggest worry is sticking with it. I have this horrible habit of starting something and if I don't come back right away, I never come back at all. I really want to finish this time.

But you know... if you don't, it'll be great practice for that idea that comes along and MAKES you finish it.

PS: I've written stories exactly the way you describe. No one's ever read them, they were among my first, but I loved every minute of doing it.

 

[carsonshepherd]

You know, I never notice those parts. Some part of me enjoys the story as a story, while others enjoy the story as a puzzle. How to I do this thing or that? Technical or stylistic, craft or art, there's not much I don't like about writing.

Wait. Spelling. Typos. Realizing I've repeated myself. I hate those parts. Sometimes I hate not being able to type faster so I can keep up with a thought, or envisioning a particular scene or a line and having it pop like a soap bubble as soon as I get near enough to grab it.

The rest of it? If it isn't complete and total, passionate, full body contact love, it's big ol' like.

I've said this before (maybe ad nauseum) that in the best moments, to me, writing a story is like being in love. Hooked on a feeling, high on believing.

 

[BlackShanglan]

*spanks you*

[/end threadjack]

Like I'm going to let that go.

*waggles rump*