How do you write? A writers' workshop for new and established writ

[Libby Drew]

The first question we offer is this: When you write, A. do you write from an outline, knowing where the story is going and where it will end, or B. do you have in mind only a beginning, and then allow the story to flow from that point without further planning?

 

In addition to answering the question, would you describe the process by which you write. If you have an example, preferably on this site, of something you've written that you especially like, please tell us a little about the experience of writing it, and provide a link to it.

 

I know several authors who are inspired to write by characters they invent. They have a clear picture in their head of what these people look like, how they dress, their skills and talents, and what motivates them. Then they take these well-rounded characters and make up a story for them.

 

I've always been the opposite. For me, it's always the story first. A situation, a conflict, a mystery, something. Once I have (what I believe) to be a compelling tale, I begin to craft characters for it. This is also when I'll decide on what kind of POV to use, and who makes the best POV character.

 

Let's see

[Mikie]

For me,

 

I get the idea, however that happens [ie listening to a song, hearing someone say something, etc]

 

I then start to write nonsensically a beginning of the story, and then outline it in my head. I never write a physical outline, because it just doesn't seem to work. But after I have the mental outline, I go back and rewrite the beginning so it actually seems well- written. I then continue to write, developing plot and characters as I go along. Granted, I've only written a few short stories, nothing novel length, it seems to be working for me.

 

I know that my friend works in a similar way, but in the Creative Writing Club at my school, I know some of the members can't write without a solid outline. So it's just a matter of preference.

 

~Mikie

[colinian]

The first question we offer is this: When you write, A. do you write from an outline, knowing where the story is going and where it will end, or B. do you have in mind only a beginning, and then allow the story to flow from that point without further planning?

A. Outlines

No and yes. Most of my stories have not been outlined in detail in advance. A couple have been written from a detailed outline. What I do for longer stories or those with a lot of characters is develop a character outline that lists each character's name, location, school or other pertinent information, relationships with other characters, and how they fit into the story. If necessary I also develop a timeline for the plot, what happens when and who's involved at each point.

 

B. Flowing without planning

Sometimes I have a feel for how the story is going to end. More often the ending develops and arrives unbidden while I'm writing, and this is how I usually write.

 

In addition to answering the question, would you describe the process by which you write.

I'm a university student and computer science major, so I don't have much time to write. Most of what I've written that's been posted are short stories. That's primarily because they've been written as assignments for creative writing courses in high school and a Writing Short Fiction course a couple of semesters back. When I write for my courses almost none of my stories are gay-themed and certainly don't have sex scenes.

 

When I write I have either an idea for a plot or an idea for a character, sometimes both. Almost anything can give me an idea: seeing someone on campus, reading something, watching TV, remembering a dream, listening to a lecture, hearing a song, thinking of a title for a story, overhearing a conversation... almost anything. I make some notes and either file them away for future reconsideration, or start writing the first few paragraphs or maybe a series of ideas about the story. I'll review the ones I've filed from time to time and, if I have time to write, I'll rescue one from this slush file and work it into a story. I doubt that I'll ever be able to finish every story idea in that file!

 

A lot of writers debate about using first person or third person. I think both can be effective, and I use whichever works best for the story that I'm writing.

 

If you have an example, preferably on this site, of something you've written that you especially like, please tell us a little about the experience of writing it, and provide a link to it.

Because most of what I've written is not gay-themed it's not posted here at GA. However, I do have a gay-themed story here that I wrote for the GA 2007 Fairy Tales Anthology, The Tale of Snow White. This is one of my personal favorites, and is a rather long short story. I thought about the anthology and came up with the idea of telling a different version of the Snow White story. I thought "What if the prince was gay?" The story didn't go in that direction because I lost control; the story took over and it more or less wrote itself. I was no more than a mechanism to enter the story at my keyboard. At least that's how it seemed, especially when I was finished. The story invented new characters and new situations on the fly as I wrote. It ended up having almost 12,000 words, and I wrote it in one sitting -- not including my self-editing and revisions, and responding to my editor's comments and suggestions.

 

Another of my personal favorites is The Dying Game, a story posted on Codey's World. There's no sex, no gay theme. I wrote it when I was looking at the TV listings and saw that A Clockwork Orange (which I've watched a couple of times) was going to be on TV, and heard my sister talking about having a sleepover. That combination gave me the idea for the story, and I wrote it for my Short Story Writing course.

 

Two other stories I wrote had very different origins, but both have a tongue-in-cheek aspect.

 

I was walking on campus one day and saw a girl carrying a small blue Tiffany bag with some papers sticking out of the top. I wondered why someone would be carrying a Tiffany bag on a university campus, and what kind of papers would she be carrying in it. I had an assignment for a short-short story (no more than two pages double-spaced) and came up with the idea for Nightmare.

 

The other story came to me in a dream; I dreamed about writing it (bizarre!). I even dreamed about the title, Catching Some Rays. Codey's World was soliciting stories for their Summer Vacation and Back to School collection, and this must have been what got my dream state working on the story while I slept.

 

Colin

[Dolores Esteban]

Thanks for the great topic, David! I love to get insight into other writer's thoughts and methods. And thank you all for answering! Reading through these was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

 

 

Thanks for posting and leaving your thoughts.

Edited January 16, 2009 by Dolores Esteban

[David McLeod]

...Ending a story has always been difficult for me. I always have problems with it, but when I think about how I would want MY story to end, if I were the protagonist, I usually come up with some ideas...

 

Sounds as if you have your characters under control. If I were to ask one of my progagonists how his story should end, it would be...at the least...beyond my imagination. Do your characters ever take on their own life, and go places you hadn't planned?

[David McLeod]

Your problem (yes, you've got a problem) is that you consider that you're wasting your time. You aren't. Once you realize it's not a problem, you don't have to worry about it Just DO it. It's important.

 

Hmm. That's a rather serious thought that's going to take some rather serious thought.

[C James]

I've been following this thread with interest. Thank you to all who have weighed in.

 

My own method varies. It has also changed over time. When I first started writing, I'd write the end of the last chapter, scene, or epilogue first. I would then try to make a detailed outline. Then, I would begin, and try to follow the outline. In this, I was usually not sucessfull, as the plot tended to change and evolve as I wrote. I then began using the outline only as a guide, and also as a convenient place to make notes. (for example, something happening in the last half of the novel that needs to be set up in chapter two).

 

I do use character sheets, in order to keep track of small details (eye color, for example).

 

One thing that helps me work past writer's block is to change what I'm working on. I either jump ahead to a different part of the novel, or go work on a different story, until my subconscious can sort out the answer to whatever was giving me a problem. This results in me often writing chapers out of sequence, but so long as I refrain from posting them that way, it seems to work.

 

Sometimes, when I know the ending of a scene but not how to get there, I'll write the last paragraph and then write my way to the beginning, working backwards one paragraph at a time.

 

Recently, I've moved away from using a detailed outline and now just sketch out a few notes on plot aspects.

 

For short stories, I generally don't use an outline at all, except for the one in my head. In one case, I was "aided" by being fairly drunk at the time, after a Christmas party.

 

I like to use short stories to try new things, or different styles. My first third-person attempt was a short story, as was my first second-person story.

 

So, I suppose I have to say that I have no fixed way of writing, just a hodge-podge of methods that I pick and choose from to suit my muse's moods.

 

I certainly can't recommend my methods to anyone but myself. They are admittedly oddball, but then again, so am I.

 

The real key, in my opinion, is to find what works best for you.

[Dolores Esteban]

The real key, in my opinion, is to find what works best for you.

 

 

I agree.

 

But often we just try the same method again and again. So it's good to learn how others create a story. Thus perhaps we find a new method that works better than the one we used.

 

Many thanks again to everybody. Your posts gave me some thoughts. I will certainly think on some points more thoroughly.

 

Writer's block is one of my major problems. I have an idea. But I'm just not able to start the story. So I sit and write: nothing. Thanks for some useful information.

[PlugInMatty]

Wow, reading about other peoples' method of writing makes me feel kinda uptight

 

Basically, coming from a journalistic background, I've been taught to start with an ending and work my way backwards. If I don't know where I'm going with something, it's highly unlikely that I'll even start it because, like everything else in life, writing is a means to an end. Sometimes I'll just sit down and write, but it's often painfully obvious when somebody is writing without direction.

 

Anyway, I have two ways of going about things: Concepts and punchlines.

 

To give an example of the former, here's a blog I wrote in August 2007:

 

Collateral Damage.

 

No, not that shit-awful Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. I'm talking about consequences, the idea that one action can trigger a whole shovel-full of shit. Think of it as The Butterfly Effect, on steroids. A butterfly doesn't flap its wings, it grabs a machine gun, throws a handful of playing cards into the firing line and laughs hysterically as the perfectly stacked deck you call life gets scattered to all corners of the f**king room.

 

Sounds nasty, but what if it's your finger on the trigger? And when did blowing it all up and starting again become the only viable option?

 

Well, that one's easy. Last Monday I got thrown my lifeline, and let's face it, things had to change. Uni sucked, work had almost come to a standstill and it was the same old people with the same old problems every weekend.

 

So I got my chance to switch it up.

 

My escape route.

 

My detonator.

 

Close a door, open a window. Right?

 

Maybe, maybe not.

 

Make no mistake though, it was a move I had to make. Times change, people change. I'm not the same person I was a year ago. Hell, I'm not the same person I was six months ago. I need to start making life decisions, and I need to start making them now. That doesn't mean I'm going to give up alcohol and sit at home on a Saturday, watching DVDs and pretending to be 'mature'. But then again, going out three nights a week isn't really on the agenda anymore either.

 

As I said, people change.

 

But at the same time, they don't. I mean, I'm about to turn 21 and we're all still acting as childish as ever. Some people don't even talk to me anymore, because I don't fit in with their 'mature' new image. And then there's the relationships I just can't be bothered putting the required effort into anymore.

 

You're mates, not a heritage listing. Real friendships don't need a groundskeeper and a f**king janitor.

 

And what about those relationships that seem to have hit a dead end? I mean, I'm pleasantly surprised every day by some people in my life, the friendships that seem to ascend to a higher plain of emotion without being forced by either party. But then there's the people who pretend that everything's just like it used to be, when it so obviously isn't.

 

Maybe it's time to blow them up as well.

 

Stop lying to myself, stop lying to everybody else.

 

If you want to be a part of my life, you know exactly where my f**king door is. If not, f**k off. Stop wasting my time. I've pulled the trigger before and you'd be an idiot if you thought I wouldn't pull it on you. If that makes me an arsehole, so be it. If innocent people get hurt, that's not my problem.

 

...and if anybody gets caught in the crossfire, that's collateral damage, but sometimes that's the price you've gotta pay.

 

Keep the change.

 

(Needless to say, I was in a pretty foul mood that day)

 

It started with the concept of the butterfly effect (you know, chaos theory), and it just kinda grew wings from there. But when I'm writing stuff like that, I basically just write what ever is on my mind and go back and edit it to fit the concept. That's where all my ability lay, I think. I don't write particularly good prose, but I can go back and re-organise my work into whatever it needs to be.

 

In contrast, here's a 'punchline' blog post:

 

Stumped.

 

That was my first reaction when I heard that India had threatened to boycott the rest of their test match series against Australia. They don't want to play anymore because of Harbhajan Singh's three-match suspension for racial abuse, the poor darlings. But sledging's a part of the game, right?

 

We call them a bunch of curry-munching f**kbags with terrible hygiene, and they call Andrew Symonds a 'Monkey'.

 

But, all of a sudden, when somebody challenges Australia's standing as the be all and end all of world cricket, the Slazenger V300s aren't the only blades that are out. Make no mistake kids, this isn't racism, this is elite cricket's version of throwing the toys out of the pram. Somebody challenged Australia's dominance and they don't like it one little bit.

 

We can poke fun at Eddoe Brandes' weight, tell Herschelle Gibbs he just dropped the World Cup, but god help you if you ever have a go back at them. They can give it, but I'll be damned if they can take it.

 

Maybe there's a bigger, underlying problem, though. Maybe Symonds wanted Harbhajan to call him 'Roy' instead? After all, that's the nickname this bunch of wannabe-celebrities is trying so desperately to make a part of the public consciousness. They put their stupid f**king nicknames on the back of their metrosexual Twenty20 shirts and expect people to actually refer to them by their lame-arse gimmicks.

 

No, I don't know who 'Mr Cricket' is.

 

And you know what? I really don't give a f**k either.

 

And I don't give a f**k about their cookbooks. Or the way they impersonate people in television commercials. Or the way they release god-awful Diaries about how they ate a meal of pasta then took a shit before bed on the night after the World Cup Final. Is it any wonder we've got a bunch of prima donnas playing cricket in half-empty stadiums across Australia? It's because nobody wants to watch a bunch of cockfags running around with all the personality of a colonoscopy. People used to go to the cricket to watch a bunch of fat cunts like Tubby Taylor and Swervin' Merv play the game with a bit of flair. Now what have we got? We've got a team of pansies like Michael Clarke doing their situps and styling their bleached blond locks around their spotless Baggy Green caps before jogging out to start the first morning of a dull, boring test match. Maybe they should wear those uniforms the Kiwis trundled around in during the Twenty20 a couple of summers ago? That'd brighten things up. Their clothes and personalities could try to out-beige each other.

 

Or not.

 

It's all good though. Hayden's still gonna charge. Gilly's still gonna walk. Ponting's still the self-appointed captain of the free world. And never mind the fact that nobody wants to play against them... They'll just play with themselves.

 

God knows they're a bunch of wankers.

 

It's just not cricket.

 

(Apologies for perceived racism, I actually find Indian people very polite and well-mannered.)

 

This blog started with the words 'it's just not cricket'. Nothing more. I was just sitting in front of the tv one day, watching the cricket, and those words were all that I could think of. Afterwards, I wrote the final sentence and worked my way backwards from there. As you can see, the last line doesn't even fit in with the rest of the text haha.

 

Anyway, when I'm plotting fiction (like The Things You Fear The Most), I'm working to a game plan. My work can start with a simple idea or concept, but if I don't know where I'm going with it, it's unlikely that I'll even begin to write it. So before I start writing, I've gotta have a game plan.

 

And if I do get around to writing something, I have rules I follow. They are:

 

a) Actions have consequences.

Everything happens for a reason.

c) Everybody follows some form of logic.

 

Things don't just happen in my stories and, frankly, I don't think they should in anyone's.

 

In terms of writing scenes, I always have an idea of what I want to convey and what I want to achieve. Usually, I'll even have a list of dot points typed out and interspersed within every scene that I'm working on so, as a result, the final draft is always very 'structured'. It might seem like it flows nicely, but it's usually been rewritten a million times over to get the effect I'm looking for.

 

That said, with dialogue, I'll usually just sit down at the keyboard and type out whatever I'm thinking/feeling. Maybe that's why dialogue is my strong suit haha. Most of my dialogue in simply written in one hit and goes in the final draft without any sort of revision.

 

Hope that gives you some insight, anyway. I'm a bit of a Nazi when it comes to my own writing, so don't take anything I've said as a recommendation

[Dolores Esteban]

You mentioned some good points.

 

Thanks for explaining the difference between concepts and punchlines. I had never heard of the latter.

[David McLeod]

...when I get an idea, or a premise of a story, I'll play it in my mind like an internal movie...rewind it and freeze it at a certain scene or picture...concept boards and storyboards...When I get stuck, I'd draw a concept board for the whole scene or part of it...if I want to stay in a certain mood like anger, I'd draw a very [angry] picture...and sustain my writing to suit that particular emotion if it occurs.

 

In a nutshell, I write from my mental images.

 

Verm, Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this post, but thank you for sharing an interesting process. It sounds as if you have both the aptitude and the training, and have taken one genre and applied it to another. Since I can't draw anything more significant than water from a well, I keep picture books (ranging from classical art to B&W photography of the USA Great Depression) and can usually find something to stir any emotion.

[David McLeod]

...For me, it's always the story first. A situation, a conflict, a mystery, something. Once I have (what I believe) to be a compelling tale, I begin to craft characters for it. This is also when I'll decide on what kind of POV to use, and who makes the best POV character.

 

Let's see

[corvus]

I'd resisted replying to this thread because a) I had finals, and I think the act of writing is so personal that it defies any sort of discussion. But this sort of discussion is fun all the same, so...

 

The first question we offer is this: When you write, A. do you write from an outline, knowing where the story is going and where it will end, or B. do you have in mind only a beginning, and then allow the story to flow from that point without further planning?

 

In addition to answering the question, would you describe the process by which you write. If you have an example, preferably on this site, of something you've written that you especially like, please tell us a little about the experience of writing it, and provide a link to it.

 

When I was writing my story, Mike and Winston, I knew -- because it was this taste, this feeling that gave rise to the story -- that it'd be about the inexplicable loneliness of coming of age, and how sometimes the most unexpected connections can be the ones that stick. I knew the turning points, and I knew the ending.

 

Having been on GA for some time, I expect it'd be no surprise to some of you how I love to use the words of Maria Callas on the art of writing -- because she's just so amazing. Anyway, one of the things she said is that every note must be "the expression of the stato d'animo [state of mind] of the character." How I view that within the framework of writing is that every scene, every paragraph, every choice of diction and syntax must be linked to expressing the mood, the character's situation, the thrust of the story, etc. It's not enough that a scene be nice, be absorbing -- it has to contribute to the larger impression of the work.

 

That aside, I find that I need an outline in order to write. I get paranoid if I don't. I have one outline for the story as a whole, and one detailed outline for a chapter. Of course, the outline changes frequently -- almost with every chapter I write -- but I need to know that these pieces are connected and going from event to consequence to resolution.

 

Anyway, cool topic, thanks for bringing it up.

[David McLeod]

...the act of writing is so personal that it defies any sort of discussion. But this sort of discussion is fun all the same, so...

 

When I was writing my story, Mike and Winston, I knew -- because it was this taste, this feeling that gave rise to the story -- that it'd be about the inexplicable loneliness of coming of age, and how sometimes the most unexpected connections can be the ones that stick. I knew the turning points, and I knew the ending.

 

...Maria Callas [said] every note must be "the expression of the stato d'animo [state of mind] of the character." How I view that within the framework of writing is that every scene, every paragraph, every choice of diction and syntax must be linked to expressing the mood, the character's situation, the thrust of the story, etc. It's not enough that a scene be nice, be absorbing -- it has to contribute to the larger impression of the work.

 

That aside, I find that I need an outline in order to write. I get paranoid if I don't. I have one outline for the story as a whole, and one detailed outline for a chapter. Of course, the outline changes frequently -- almost with every chapter I write -- but I need to know that these pieces are connected and going from event to consequence to resolution.

 

Anyway, cool topic, thanks for bringing it up.

 

Thank you for sharing your intensely personal experience, and especially for the notion that every word must contribute to the story (character, plot, mood, etc.). That idea is going to go in bold type in my mental "how to write" file. (And, likely, in bold type on my computer's startup screen, as well.) It's something we all probably knew at one time, but I, for one, tend to forget it in the heat of the moment.

[David McLeod]

Wow, reading about other peoples' method of writing makes me feel kinda uptight

 

Basically, coming from a journalistic background, I've been taught to start with an ending and work my way backwards. If I don't know where I'm going with something, it's highly unlikely that I'll even start it because, like everything else in life, writing is a means to an end. Sometimes I'll just sit down and write, but it's often painfully obvious when somebody is writing without direction.

 

Anyway, I have two ways of going about things: Concepts and punchlines.

 

 

As a USA American, I'm genetically and psychologically incapable of understanding cricket. However, when I read your second blog, it was if a curtain had been pulled back to reveal a glimmer of light that might lead to understanding. Both blogs were clear examples of your two notions (concepts, punchlines). I wonder if it's too late to start writing backwards, from the ending to the "once upon a time." Thank you for posting!

[Meeko]

I also listen to music when I write. I usually listen to one specific song. I sometimes listen to the same song for three or four hours. Poor neighbors! But so far no one complained.

 

Hey Dolores

 

I actually do the same thing, it's like I can't sit down and write unless I'm listening to music, or like you said one specific song for hours. That

[Dolores Esteban]

Hey Dolores

 

I actually do the same thing, it's like I can't sit down and write unless I'm listening to music, or like you said one specific song for hours. That's how I seem to get my story tittles as well, music is great for writing he he.

 

-Mike

 

 

I definitely agree ;-)

[Mowgli]

I never thought about writing to music. Does it really help that much? Usually I write while I'm doing other things, and I add a little bit to my story when I think about it.

[David McLeod]

I never thought about writing to music. Does it really help that much? Usually I write while I'm doing other things, and I add a little bit to my story when I think about it.

 

It's my understanding and opinion that there are those who find music incredibly helpful when writing or studying, and those who find any distraction to be incredibly harmful, and that where music is concerned, there's no middle ground. Personally, I prefer to write without distractions, but to edit to music. Good question, Mowgli. I hope people who do write to music will give us some of their thoughts.

[Duncan Ryder]

I never thought about writing to music. Does it really help that much? Usually I write while I'm doing other things, and I add a little bit to my story when I think about it.

 

Sometimes I need silence, but mostly I seem to need a certain dull background noise. I do a lot of my first drafts in a little cafe that always has jazz playing softly in the background... At home I usually put on classical or jazz instrumental.

 

I find I have to be very careful about songs. I get sucked into words easily and then I stop writing and listen...

[hh5]

Sometimes I need silence, but mostly I seem to need a certain dull background noise. I do a lot of my first drafts in a little cafe that always has jazz playing softly in the background... At home I usually put on classical or jazz instrumental.

 

I find I have to be very careful about songs. I get sucked into words easily and then I stop writing and listen...

 

How about selecting the mood music thats describes the story u wish to write?

[hh5]

I never thought about writing to music. Does it really help that much? Usually I write while I'm doing other things, and I add a little bit to my story when I think about it.

 

One of my hobbies for years was to write a simple story and then find a bunch of songs that describes the story.

Hence a mix.

 

The next step - I haven't tried yet - is to write a story base on the mix.

 

That be certainly challenging.

 

Now go find your wolf music and write!!

[Dolores Esteban]

How about selecting the mood music thats describes the story u wish to write?

 

 

That's exactly how I do it. It works pretty well.

[Procyon]

Sometimes a story idea flashes through my head, ready and packaged, and I know everything about it except maybe the exact ending, although I usually have an idea of it. I know the characters, how they're going to interact, what'll happen, a fair amount of dialogue, and how the story will be structured. I wrote The Caf

[David McLeod]

Sometimes a story idea flashes through my head, ready and packaged, and I know everything about it except maybe the exact ending, although I usually have an idea of it. I know the characters, how they're going to interact, what'll happen, a fair amount of dialogue, and how the story will be structured. I wrote The Caf