How do YOU write?

[drumairoxtinez]

Hello, all. This is Daniel Martinez. Just curious to know how you all write the things you do. Usually I get an idea, like it kind of occurs to me. The three rules I follow in the whole writing, editing and editing and editing and editing process are:

1. Start with what you see, and go from there.
2. Use only those words that are necessary.
3. After you finish writing, put the and at the beginning and re-write the end.

So what do you do, and how long does it take you to write whatever you're writing? When I sit down to write my a novel, it usually takes anywhere from one to six months to finish a piece that varies greatly in length. I remember Queen of the Undead, my eighth book written and first one published, took me about three months. Paranoid Schizophrenic was about the same, as we Artemis Grant and How God Was Created. Mind, I'm just talking about writing the initial, first draft -- not the editing process and everything like that.

However, it took me one month to write Mendoh, prequel to my collection A History of Mendoh, and three months to write the following two books (actually, one and a half -- I got frustrated halfway through the third one ). The fourth book took me about three months to write, and I'm nearly on page one-fifty of the fifth. (All of them have been written by hand.)

Anyway, keep writing, just wanted to ask.

-- Daniel Martinez,
Novelist

 

[wgjones3]

I get a character / situation / scene / cool plot idea in mind and sit down and write.

Sorry to be so bland but I don't have any rhyme or reason, I just put words together.

 

[oncewaslost]

it took me about five months to write my story/novel. i'm still not sure what to call it. anyway, i don't write every day so it probably actually took me about 3 1/2 months. it's about 120 pages in word so i'm not too sure what the definition of a novel is. i start with a basic idea and go from there. i never have an idea of how long it's going to be. usually about half-way through i know basically how it's going to end but that's it.

 

[drumairoxtinez]

"it took me about five months to write my story/novel. i'm still not sure what to call it. anyway, i don't write every day so it probably actually took me about 3 1/2 months. it's about 120 pages in word so i'm not too sure what the definition of a novel is. i start with a basic idea and go from there. i never have an idea of how long it's going to be. usually about half-way through i know basically how it's going to end but that's it."

Yeah, I'm about the same way.

Usually, it works like this: A novella is between 30,000 - 50,000 words or so, and a novel is anywhere from 60,000 up. A long novella is in the 50's, while a short novel is in the 60's. A "typical" novel is anywhere between 75,000 and 100,000 words, while a long novel is generally anything over 110,000. If you're work is 120 pages single-spaced, Times New Roman font, it's probably around 80,000- 90,000 words long. If it's double-spaced, the font is smaller, or what have you, then of course it will be different. Have fun!

Daniel Martinez,
Novelist

 

[bevandcar]

I usually start with a character development. I write down all the names of my characters and little things about them I think are important. I have written two first drafts of novels. The first took about 7 months and is about 50,000 words. The second took about 2 months and is currently 60,000 words long. I've never been published, obviously. I'm currently doing a rewrite of the first novel, hoping to tweek it to include a lot more descriptive details. It seems that most of my writing now is more explanatory and dialogue. I've not yet perfected the art of "painting a picture" with my words.

It seems that while I'm writing, I skip around somewhat. I usually write "the good parts" first, the main story elements. Then, I go back through and add in the subplots and other information. I don't know if it is a good idea to write that way or not, but for now it works for me.

I'm aiming primarily at the romantic Christian fiction genre. I've wanted to be a writer since I was a kid, and at twenty-nine I finally decided to go for it.

Bev C.

 

[The Duke]

I haven't written any stories yet, but I've had an idea I've been cultivating for a while. My plan is to do pretty much the same as bevandcar.

 

[Hidden_Love]

Hmmm. My Stories? Haha!


I'm not organized when I first start out. The idea comes to me, I write it down. then I think of the climax of the story, becasue thats the fulcrum, thats the axis to my plot. I usually write down my ideas for the climax, then develope my charcters. next comes the actual plot. Why the climax happend, where, how, when the whole thing. Then, I write the end, and fill in the blanks. I'm a little weird, but thats okay for us creative-type people.

 

[oncewaslost]

i jump around a lot when i write too. i get the basic idea down and then i go back in and edit to make it better. it's grand. i spend more time editing than writing the story. i guess that's the way it goes.

 

[artybloke]

I just put one word in front of another...

 

[Ashlynn]

When I write i tend not to force myself- forced writing reads just that way. If Im not feeling what Im writing I stop....it takes me a long time to write whatever Im working on- but usually it is worth it.

 

[DUV]

It varies for me. A few times I sat on the computer for like 7 hours straight if I remember correctly writing and almost finished a whole book. As you can tell I love to write. God has been very gracious and gifted me with the LOVE OF WRITING!


May God richly bless you all in all your writings!

God bless!

Luv ya!

DUV