When you write a story do you...

[SteamyChik]

find yourself staying up all night writing or are you able to spread the story out over several nights?

I was wondering because my stories seem to control me. Once I begin writing a chapter or story, I'm afraid to go to sleep until it's finished. I have the story in my head and it's flowing along and I don't want to take the chance of breaking my concentration.

 

[Moriah]

writer's well

You sound just like me. I learned long ago, you never know when the well's gonna run dry, so you go with the flow as long as it lasts.

I've started on some chapter scene at eight in the evening, and the next time I looked out the window of my study, the sun was up. And, I wasn't the least bit tired.

So, kiddo, you're not alone. Our characters own us, and they know it.

 

[wild_jay]

I tend to write over several nights...but only because of the day job. Some stories are a grind, others the words and ideas just flow. Writing is a bit like exercise...you have to do it regularly.

Some nights I simply edit and work on what I've already written...other nights I work on story development...depends on the mood.

 

[christo]

I like nothing better than knowing I have a big chuck of time to write in. I've put in all-nighters, not just erotica, other stuff to, when the words are flowing, it's hard to step away.

But I rarely write a story in one sitting. Having time away helps you see things differently, helps you see errors or lapses that you might miss at the end of a 5-hour blitz. It's good to step back, think things over away from the keyboard, and then come back another day. New ideas, new lines, new twists and turns, the benefit of time away can't be overstated.

Like right now, I'm going to put my story aside and sleep on it. Plus I can't keep my eyes open.

 

[SpectreT]

"Time is the fire in which we burn"

*sigh* I wish I were in a position to do that, but the demands of job and friends on my time are too great for me to write more than a page or so every few days. Sometimes, when I'm at work, or with my friends, a story starts in my head, and it's almost a physical pain not to write it. And it's only too true about the characters owning us.

 

[doctor_insanus]

The hardest part for me is getting the damn thing started!

Sometimes, I get two or three pages into a story before I realize that it's just terrible. Cursing my own ineptitude, I delete the entire thing and start over. This can go on for days at a time before I'm satisfied.

That's when I start cranking. I usually write the bulk of my stories in a 2-3 day period, then spend another couple of days on minor revisions. If the story is longer, I may go a week or so before picking it up again. Then I usually finish it with another burst of inspiration.

I also do most of my writing after midnight. It's always quiet - a little music in the background, the cat at my feet, the light at my desk the only thing disturbing the darkness. That's my inspiration.

 

[poetrylady4u]

When I get started on a story or poem I'm unable to walk away from it until it is finished. IT just pours out of me, I've been told I write in flow. I think when you just let it go until you are done it is more passionate and has more feeling. I have stayed up all night just writing, when the bug bites I just cant stop. Writing is my passion, and erotica is great. I love writing, love sex si it's great to be able to put both of them together.

 

[SteamyChik]

I'm right there with you Moriah and poetrylady, once I start a story I can't stop. It's not only that I'm afraid to break the flow of the story, but it's almost like the characters are alive and I just have to help them get to the end of the story, end of the chapter. I read books the same way, if it's really good, I won't put it down till I'm done with it. I have friends that regularly call me between midnight and 2 because they know I'm usually up!

Wild-jay, SpectreT and christo, I understand what you are saying too. I'm lucky enough to work from home, so when I write all night, I can usually sleep the next day. I may want to finish the story/chapter before quiting but that is just round one. Then I will take several days or a week to reread it, proof it, touch it up here and there before submitting it. It's just the initial burst of writing that I can't seem to control.

doctor-insanus, a blank screen is one of my nightmares I tend to create most of the story concepts in my head, usually in the limbo state of half dreaming and half awake. That's where I actually begin writing the story, picturing it in my head. Also leads to some awsome masturbation

 

[Ray Dario]

I am usually working on several projects at the same time. It usually takes me several sittings to complete a single story and then several more to make sure I have removed as many of the "stupid" mistakes as I can.

This means that, for me, writing a story can sometimes take a couple of days and other times it can take several weeks.

Okay, well there is my two cents worth.

Ray

 

[SteamyChik]

Thanks Ray, I'll give you at least 10 cents for that

 

[SensitiveSuccubus]

It usually depends on the amount of time I have. I do most of my writing after work so I have so much time between then and when I get fatigued from writing, usually a few hours later. Sometimes I finish and sometimes not. When I'm at work, I think about the story so I don't have trouble getting started, just in waiting to get started! I've never written all night, in any genre, I'm usually busy doing something other than writing or sleeping given a choice.

 

[Bob Peale]

find yourself staying up all night writing or are you able to spread the story out over several nights?

I've got the worst of all worlds. I usually take about a week to write a story, but when it grabs me, it's all consuming. I find myself writing passages in meetings, composing paragraphs in the car, and stuff like that.

Fortunately/Unfortunately I've never been a person that needed dedicated space so I'm frequently multitasking anyway (I also am usually reading 4 to five books concurrently).

I can say, however, that when I'm working on a new story, I can't read anyone else's stuff around here..that totally short circuits me.




[Edited by Bob Peale on 03-25-2001 at 10:48 AM]

 

[cymbidia]

For me, erotic story ideas take hold in my brain in response to something i've experienced. In the beginning, the story is always fuzzy and a little sleepy, and needs time to ferment for a few days.

During a story's fermentation period, while i'm musing it over, i play with how it story will feel. Will it have an in-your-face intensity or be a dreamlike thing? Will i actually name a character this time? Whose viewpoint must it be from? While pulling out of the bank parking lot, or making pasta for dinner, or picking through the bruised bananas to get at the perfect ones behind them, i play with the way the story will smell and how it will taste.

Then i begin to write. I seem to do the bulk of the writing of a new story in one dazzling (to me ~grin~) burst of creativity. However, the whole process really takes days and days, and that's not even counting the editing.
cym

 

[NiteWriter]

Believe it or not this is my first post on the boards. Actually, I've only recently joined Literotica and have been busy posting the stories I've written over the past, I guess it's 5 or 6 years now. How I missed this site baffles me. I've had more enjoyment since joining Literotica than I've had in a long time. It's a great site.

Well, in any case, let me get to the question at hand.

When I write a story I usually find myself spreading it out over a couple of days or so. But I have had exceptions to that. Sometimes I get a story idea that gets me caught up in a passion for it. Then like SteamyChik says, the characters almost become alive and the words flow so easily. I've actually had times I can't type fast enough to get all the words down before I lose the train of thought.

After the whole story is pretty much complete, I'll take days to read and reread. I'll change some wording. Sometimes I've deleted whole sections because I've come up with a better story line.

I'll spent my drive time to work in the morning comtemplating scenarios for my stories. Sometimes they just come from out of nowhere. Then I develop it in my mind how the story should go and what hot sexy and nasty things I can have the characters do.(Sorry, I do tend tend to get rather explicit, nasty and dirty - I guess anyone reading my stories will find that out.)

As they years have gone by though, and particularly this year, I've finally come to realize how much better the stories can be with a little more character development. Using the right words takes time and can make the differece between a good story and a great one. So lately I've been taking a week or so to wrap one up.

Hope my thoughts are useful.

 

[Ulyssa]

Old Haunts

Some stories or chapters of novels or pieces rescued from an old journal can sometimes creep up on you while you're housekeeping or file cleaning.

"Did I write this?" or "I wrote this one in 1988?" or "Good grief--I wrote this six days before Ben was born! No wonder I don't remember it."

Those things happen occasionally and they are like Christmas presents in August. Of course I've cleaned out some hard copy files only to discover that I'm going to toss the work before I toss my cookies.

I think being a writer is being aware that you're throwing away stuff you once used to keep as examples of good writing.

[Edited by Ulyssa on 03-29-2001 at 11:18 AM]

 

[Satyn]

Can't I have it both ways?

Decisions, decisions ... okay ... not that I usually avoid commitment issues ... but I do both!

I've generally got my CD player blasting when I sit down to write. I've almost always got an idea for a story floating around in my head somewhere (some take longer to lasso than others), and once I get the first few lines figured out, the rest just seems to pour out with reckless abandon. I've been known to stay up until all hours finishing a thought or scene ... but I ALWAYS have to come back over the next few days and revise, mostly because I realize in my rush I skip little important words like "his" and "her" ... and believe me, it is VERY important you specify exactly who is wearing the cowboy boots, and who is wearing the spurs. An issue like that can destroy the whole image! LOL

 

[Cockatoo]

Catch a wave...

For me, writing is like surfing. I spend a hell of a lot of time just paddling around aimlessly on the keyboard, waiting for a wave. Then, when I see one, I have to paddle like crazy to catch it and keep up with it. Sometimes, it fizzles and I miss it.

But sometimes, I catch it just right, and I can stand up on the board and I just try to hang on and ride it until it breaks. Real life, food, sleep, etc are merely pesky interferences to me then. When I come up for air, I have most of a first draft. Assuming that the characters and plot structures are sound (and that's not always the case), the rest is paint and polish.

So yes, I get "seized" and sometimes I feel powerless when I'm in the grip of a story. I love it. Beats the hell out of writer's block.

 

[1musicman]

finishing stories

when I am writing with someone in mind then I usually HAVE to get the story finished in one session. If I am just writing from thew flow, then I let things gestate and take whatever time is necessary for them to come out right. Poems are usually a one shot sort of deal with editing taking anywhere from a few minutes to several months. Stories are obviously more complicated and getting to the finish line has a lot to do with how turned on I am at the time. Lately I have been writing more complex stories involving several fantasies and those tend to extend to more than one chapter. I would love some feedback on the one story I have posted here, it's called "Ain't nothing like the first time", anyone read it? any comments?

 

[cymbidia]

Re: finishing stories

I would love some feedback on the one story I have posted here, it's called "Ain't nothing like the first time", anyone read it? any comments?

Would you consider going to Story Feedback and posting your request there, along with a link to your story? You might find a wider audience there then here.

 

[Otzchiim]

I have no pattern. I have written stories in one session, in three or four close together, and in two separated by weeks or months -- though in all cases I knew where it was going in at least a general way. In two cases the story was written and then expanded the next day after the characters had told me more about themselves while I slept.

Poems are of course one session and are almost never revised.