You're right, writing is a fascinating experience. I tend to write totally linearly, so I never write anything ahead of where the story is, though once in a while I'll take a scene that isn't quite working, save it, and go back to it a few months later and make it a starting point (or even a middle point) for a different story
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I don’t think I’ve ever written a story of any length, with only a couple of exceptions (and those have qualifiers), in a linear form. My thoughts jump all over the place, always have
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I suspect one of the reasons I write linearly is to avoid being left with having to finish by writing the 'boring in-between scenes'. And sex scenes? I write totally gen now. I never did write good sex scenes, and I knew it
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They do love to do that, don’t they? They definitely have minds of their own.
The most dramatic example of this I’ve ever experienced was, I was writing what I intend to be a short PWP take on that old trope, “James Kirk as a prostitute”. Everything went quite well until I was coming to what I thought would be the end.
At that point, I intended to have Spock go back to where he had met Kirk initially. However, Kirk wasn’t where he was supposed to be, and when Spock sees him and starts following him Kirk turns right instead of left and started walking down a dark alley. From that point on I felt as if I were watching a movie. He entered a ramshackle building, made his way through a complicated series of rooms, ending up at a weapons cache.
That’s when I I realized I was actually writing “James Kirk is a rebel against an Evil Empire”. (Basically, what if Kirk was raised in a dystopia a la Blake’s 7.) That’s also how a 5,000 word PWP turning into an 80,000 word novel.
They literally take over! People who aren't writers probably thing we're nuts. :)
I'm a linear writer, always have been. Occasionally I'll insert a scene after I've written out the whole thing. It's rare that I'll write a scene without everything that comes before it. My story might have been inspired by that scene, but it doesn't get written until I get there.
I usually don't write an outline unless it's a very long story. My outlines tend to be in my head, though I might jot down ideas in a notebook and keep them as reminders as I go along. :)
For my own part I get haunted by characters who very slowly proceed to tell me who they are and what their story will entail. Often at the most inconvenient of times like during a shower or a business meeting! XD
I frequently have the same sort of experience with characters monologuing at me while I’m in the shower and have taken to keeping a pad of paper and a pencil handy on the counter so I can at least jot a few words down to remind myself as soon as I get out. Yes, making notes during business meetings is a lot more difficult to accomplish. I always hope I can remember enough of it to make quick notes once I’m out of the meeting.
LOL! What is funny is when those notes you jot down don't contain the fandom you're writing for. I sometimes stumble upon old notes and can't remember which fandom they belong to.
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The most dramatic example of this I’ve ever experienced was, I was writing what I intend to be a short PWP take on that old trope, “James Kirk as a prostitute”. Everything went quite well until I was coming to what I thought would be the end.
At that point, I intended to have Spock go back to where he had met Kirk initially. However, Kirk wasn’t where he was supposed to be, and when Spock sees him and starts following him Kirk turns right instead of left and started walking down a dark alley. From that point on I felt as if I were watching a movie. He entered a ramshackle building, made his way through a complicated series of rooms, ending up at a weapons cache.
That’s when I I realized I was actually writing “James Kirk is a rebel against an Evil Empire”. (Basically, what if Kirk was raised in a dystopia a la Blake’s 7.) That’s also how a 5,000 word PWP turning into an 80,000 word novel.
They sure are determined to get their own way!
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I'm a linear writer, always have been. Occasionally I'll insert a scene after I've written out the whole thing. It's rare that I'll write a scene without everything that comes before it. My story might have been inspired by that scene, but it doesn't get written until I get there.
I usually don't write an outline unless it's a very long story. My outlines tend to be in my head, though I might jot down ideas in a notebook and keep them as reminders as I go along. :)
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For my own part I get haunted by characters who very slowly proceed to tell me who they are and what their story will entail. Often at the most inconvenient of times like during a shower or a business meeting! XD
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