Writing process

[TrueImpossibility]

Anyone else have weird quarks in their writing process? Okay, here are mine.

I love the way it feels better to write on paper, but it's too slow for me and I usually can't read my own writing so a lot of times I write on the computer. I still can't keep up with my brain, but at least it's closer than writing by hand.

Which do you prefer for initial writing out of a story, paper, computer or type writer?

So even though I usually end up writing on the computer, I can't do a complete overhaul editing job on any of my drafts. Like, I'll write one up without worrying about perfect grammar/details/continuity. But I'll leave that completely alone and open up a new file to re-write and edit it into a cleaner story line. And when I need to edit that one, I'll do it in another file. I just can't let go of the different drafts, at least not until it's all done.

Do you keep all your drafts or do you toss them as soon as you've written up a new one to replace it?

 

[Turtleopolis]

I write on the computer, too; at this point, I've been doing it that way for so long that the whole ctrl-x/ctrl-v thing happens without my even realizing it. In other words, if civilization ever falls and the power plants go with it, I'm sunk. I'll worry about that when it happens. (Or maybe I'll worry about finding some potable water instead.)

I keep and date all of my drafts, although I don't think I've ever actually had to go back to one of them so I'm not sure why I do it, except maybe to satisfy some geekoid completist instinct that wants to say "I've done eight drafts, go me."

I do have two "quirks," though. For thing, I keep absolutely everything that I delete in a "junk" file. That part really has come in handy, and I highly recommend it, particularly if you're working on a novel-length piece; I can't even begin to list the times when I've caught myself writing a scene or a description, only to realize that I've written it before and deleted it.

The other thing I do is keep a sort of book journal, where I do everything from work out backstories to solve plot problems to complain because the phone keeps ringing. Like most writerly types, I think best when I'm writing out my thoughts, and it's also helpful to be able to work outside the actual document. Takes some of the pressure off - also, it's fun to go back at the end and see how the book has evolved over time.

And now, I've officially spent more time today writing about writing than I have actually writing. Yeah . . . go me.

Best,
Turt.

 

[flying_kiwifruit]

Yeah I have a few, basic story-line is always done on pen and paper. I don't edit my documents, I print it out, edit it and then change the document to my edits. I don't keep any drafts.

I write best when I'm tired than when I'm wide awake.

 

[AutumnSnow]

I normally start out writing longhand. I actually cannot get the story started on the computer However, once the momentum gets going, I need to type it out on the computer or it turns out to be a mess! I can become more eloquent on the 'puter - and sound like a second grader on paper, lol. That being said, I need the paper to get started, and it also seems to help with writer's block ... I'm not even going to attemot to figure that one out, lol.

 

[Thunderring]

I do both. I can write on paper, and often have to, as well as the computer. I try to keep all of my writing even if it is a hard copy that's been edited. It doesn't always happen though. The only true quirk I have is that I HATE to be inturupted. If I'm writing I don't want to stop and am often completly oblivious to everything going on around me. Which is good cause it means I get inturupted less often, but bad cause I miss out on some stuff....

 

[Lessien]

I do both. I can write on paper, and often have to, as well as the computer. I try to keep all of my writing even if it is a hard copy that's been edited. It doesn't always happen though. The only true quirk I have is that I HATE to be inturupted. If I'm writing I don't want to stop and am often completly oblivious to everything going on around me. Which is good cause it means I get inturupted less often, but bad cause I miss out on some stuff....

I hate being interrupted, too. When I'm writing and the creative juices are flowing and someone interrupts me for something pointless, I get annoyed. Especially if it's my mom wanting me to do something she or one of the other kids could've done just as easily, or if it's one of my sibs wanting to show me a picture or something funny on TV. I hate it how family members see you on the computer with a Word document open, typing away, and instead of thinking "Oh, she's writing and seems to be really into it. I should wait," they assume, "Oh, she's just on the computer, not doing anything important. I should make her get off by telling her to do something pointless and making it sound urgent."

When I'm writing, I like to listen to music that fits. In the first chapter of a fanfic I'm working on, a major canon character dies. That chapter was written almost entirely to "Whispers in the Dark" by Skillet. In the next chapter, said character's former girlfriend was having a hard time getting over his death, and that chapter was written entirely to "Memories" by Within Temptation.

 

[Thunderring]

I like to listen to music while I'm typing. See the music blocks out the people, and my writing blocks out the music! Works great. In fact if I'm really into it, I could listen to the same song twelve times and not be able to tell you what the song was talking about.

 

[Lessien]

Oh my gosh, same here! I listen to music to drown out my sibs, parents, and the TV (and my parents' music, lol), and writing drowns out the music. It's so weird...I can write and get so into it I'm not even listening to the music anymore, but the characters and their dialogue.

 

[queenamidala]

I like to write it all out on paper first and then go back and type it out on the computer. So, I like both mediums. When I'm starting a project it's more helpful to write it out and then when I'm going back over it, it's better for me to be able to type it out.

 

[flying_kiwifruit]

Im the same when it comes to being interuppted so I mainly write late at night when everyone else is asleep. Also I listen to music to block out everything, and then like you guys my writing blocks out the music.

 

[WhoopsyDaisy]

I usually will write the initial idea of where I want to go on paper, along with profiles of characters, objectives, etc. Then I'll try and freewrite an outline/brainstorm on the computer. And then when it comes to actually writing the story- a mixture of both, depending on my mood, and whether or not I have access to a computer.

 

[avatarblade2000]

I typically shape my stories and characters around a theme. It's then a question of making the characters natural and believable, and then writing a story that compliments them, puts them in some trying situations, and eventually, have them all converge into a meaningful resolution.

I mostly write my ideas in notebooks, plot them out by storyboarding them, and eventually writing it all out on Microsoft Word.