The Creative Writer's Toolbelt discussion
Writing Process
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This is great thanks, there are a few points in it were I might do things in a different order, but not that meany really, and it's just personal taste.
Points I noted when reading your comments:
- how much do you write for your principle character sketches, and is this bullet points or a linear description like a biography?
- for the 'characters present' section of your spreadsheet, is this present for each scene?
- what software do you use to support this process, is it MS Word? Do you use Scrivener? Something else?
- I really like the way you focus a lot of inconsistencies, I find these can be quite a challenge in the latter part of the editing process, especially remembering and recording changes that might have implications throughout the book
- One question, do you decide on PoV policy right at the start of the process, I assume you must do but it's worth asking
- I really liked your scene check list with the five core components (which I note are five of my six stages in the story process) and the attention to details, PoV and tone.
Thanks for sharing this with us
Andy
Hi Andrew,Characters: I write about a page for each main character. Some of it is narrative and some is point form. I cover physical description, background (childhood, schooling, major events), current life (work, living arrangement and location, schedule, hobbies, interests), and motivations (goals, fears, weaknesses, strengths). Some of these sections will be changing throughout the story so I'll make a note of the before and after status and when that change happens.
Spreadsheet: I loosely follow Shaun Coyne's Storygrid method for the spreadsheet and the five components of each scene. I started listening to his podcast when I was about halfway through my first draft and there was a huge improvement in my ability to write a full scene instead of a collection of plot points and character moments. I also find his global foolscap useful, his definitions of scenes vs sequences, and his descriptions of genres and the idea of obligatory scenes and conventions.
Software: Yup, MS Word, relying heavily on the headings to create a document map that I use to view the story overall and navigate. I use MS Excel for the spreadsheet and sometimes will create graphs of the character progression or tension in the story to make sure its logical but not too linear. I use Dropbox to store the majority of my files so I have access to them on my iPad on the bus.
POV: I decide on POV at the beginning, generally when doing the planning, but I'm willing to adjust it if needed within the first third of the first draft. By then, I have it set and if I'm still not sure I won't keep writing until I've figured out what I want. If this becomes difficult I'll write sample scenes from different places in the story to test different POVs and how they read/feel. For my current project I have two main characters that each tell about half the story in third person limited. It took me a long time to learn how to decide who should tell which parts and ended up going with the character that had more internal reactions that the reader needed to understand. My first revision included a lot of rewriting scenes to change the POV, mostly in the first half of the story, which is extremely tedious.
Revising Checklist: I have developed this checklist from listening to your podcast, and Writing Excuses, and Storygrid. It's a combination of lots of different bits of craft that I want to make sure I at least look at to see how I'm doing. I'm sure after I do a few scenes I'll get an idea of which ones I'm pretty good at naturally and which ones I really need to work on.
I wanted to share this to open a discussion of the process because I've had a very steep learning curve regarding writing the story beyond the first draft. So much of the information out there is presented as though we should be writing that way right off the bat, not re-writing to fix the craft. Craft has almost no place in the first draft in my experience. If it comes out naturally, which it will more and more as you work on re-writing, then great, but if you focus on craft during the first draft you'll never get it done. The first draft should be about storyline, character development, just generally making the story work. Setting reader expectations and fulfilling them. As somewhat of a perfectionist, this was really important for me to learn.
Anyway, thank you for your continued support and information. Its great to have someone to share these ideas with.
Meaghan
Mod
I wanted to share my writing process thus far in the hopes that it will help you if you're stuck at a particular stage of a writing project and encourage you to share yours.
Planning:
- write a stream of consciousness blurb about your idea so far.
- Use one cue card per plot point and arrange in logical sequence
- research typical plot points for stories of the genre I am trying to write (romance, performance, thriller, mystery, etc) and ensure I have as many as make sense so far for the story
- fill in details on sticky notes or backs of cue cards as ideas come
- Write out a synopsis to generate more ideas and identify the holes in the flow
- Do a character sketch for each main character and a worldbuilding/setting description
- Add cue cards for new ideas and re-arrange as necessary
- Complete a spreadsheet with the plot points including any details, characters present, timeline.
First Draft:
- Create document with scene headings from spreadsheet
- add point form details for each of the scenes including character development, plot, and setting
- starting at the beginning or whichever scene is clearest, expand the details, then write out the full scene.
- continue with each scene, updating the spreadsheet as you go and adding scenes as needed.
I typically write from start to finish but will skip scenes that I get stuck on if there is another scene coming up that I can see clearly.
After each sequence (3-6 scenes), I return to the spreadsheet and often the cue cards, (or sometimes sticky notes with different colours representing scenes of different story lines), to get an overall view of where I am in the story.
I find a time and place that is consistent at least 5 days a week (for me, this is on the bus on my commute to work) and find technology that will allow me to write in this context. This includes music that helps me focus.
If I decide to change the story halfway through, creating inconsistencies (as always happens), I make note of where this change starts and continue writing as though this change started from the beginning.
While I am writing, if I am aware of a poor word choice, inconsistency not easily solved, or detail that requires research I put it in a comment to be addressed in the first revision.
Finally, I finished my first draft!
First Revision (Second Draft):
- Make a list of inconsistencies that have occurred as you wrote the first draft and address them in order of size.
For me this meant starting at the beginning again and fixing things that I had changed to make it consistent with the second half of the story.
- To make revisions, update the spreadsheet to match how you want the story to flow, then reorganize the scenes in the document to match the spreadsheet.
- add notes at the beginning of each scene that needs editing about what needs to be changed for the issue that you are currently focused on (not every issue on the list).
- read through the scene (or 2-3 scenes) and highlight anything that needs changing for the current issue you are addressing
- return to the beginning of the scene and only allow yourself to change areas that are highlighted
- When the area has been fixed for the current issue, remove highlighting.
- You will likely need to return to scenes multiple times with this method because as you fix big inconsistencies you will become aware of other ways to address more minor concerns or strengthen the story.
When you have addressed all the story level inconsistencies, go back and resolve all the comments, filling in details and fixing POV errors that you were aware of while writing the first draft.
When you have no more open comments, you have finished your second draft! (I am almost at this point with my current project)
At this point, my plan is to have it formatted, printed, and sent to a few beta readers for reader reactions.
The snag I currently have is that addressing many of the comments that require research also requires internet access which 1 I find very distracting, and 2 means I can't complete the work during my standard time (during my commute on the bus). Oh well, I'll push through some how.
Third Draft:
- Use a method of analysis that works for you for overall story view - 30-page view, global foolscap storygrid, spreadsheet, synopsis, etc. Identify areas of weakness, look for themes, track character arcs, generally ensure that the story level work you did for your second draft has addressed all the larger issues. If you identify areas of weakness, brainstorm or trial solutions.
- Analyze your story scene by scene looking for:
- the five core components of a scene - inciting incident, progressive complications that build to a turning point, crisis, climax, and resolution
- use of sensory detail and telling details rather than chunks of description
- POV consistency with description, dialogue tags, actions, thoughts, etc
- word choice for tone/mood
- any other aspect of craft you would like to address
- Make notes at the start of each scene about changes or highlight things that need to be addressed. I prefer to do this step by printing out each scene and making notes on a hard copy using various coloured highlighters or pens for different issues.
- As you get to smaller and smaller issues or more detailed prose level editing rather than story level editing, you should be able to address multiple issues at once (use of sensory details, dialogue tags, paragraphing, character voice, POV refinement, word choice, etc) rather than having to edit each scene ten times.
When you get to the end of the story completing this level of editing all the way through, you have finished your third draft!
At this stage I am planning on attempting to get an agent who will also assist with editing as needed. If I am rejected by all agents I would like to work with/can find, I will send it to a professional editor.
Sorry for the massively long post. I hope this helps anyone struggling through this process.
Please post a description of your own process. From this you can probably tell I am very much a planner. I would be interested to see what the writing process for a pantser would look like as compared to mine.