On Writing!

[zeitgeistic]

Finished my do-me-veela fic and came in at 12k which is AMAZING for me. The only thing that saved this from turning into 50k of me fucking around is the fact that it has absolutely zero plot.

Okay let's talk about fic/fiction writing strategyI've gotten 4 inquiries on my writing process for Azoth now, which is just mind-blowing to me since I never felt like

Comments

[icmezzo]

1. Title/Summaries

[zeitgeistic]

1. This summary while driving thing--is it in your head or on paper? LOL. Haha I remember that summary for TUD (what a horrible acronym that turned out to be, sorry!) and it was indeed hilarious. I need you to write summaries for me. You are like a title and summary queen

[icmezzo]

1. It's all in my head. Everything is in my head. Everything just spins and spins and spins in there. Sometimes I focus on one particular spinning thing (e.g., a summary) and wordsmith it while I'm doing other things. And I actually have great concentration when I am intentional about it. But for the most part my head just spins and spins. TMI? LOL. Seriously, though, I've often wondered what it feels like for other people. Does everything in your head spin

[zeitgeistic]

7. O.O
Nope, not exactly ~plenty~ haha! I think that depends on your idea of terribly long. Is 12k terribly long?

[anemonen]

Wow, this was really fun to read. It's fascinating to see everyone's writing processes. It left me even more in awe of all you amazing writers out there. I would never have the patience to research and plan as much as you do (but hey, I guess that's why I don't write). I'm grateful that you do and that you share it with the rest of us :)

[zeitgeistic]

Great! I'm glad you liked it. I think it's fun to read everyone's style, too. We are grateful you read :D

[vaysh]

Awesome post. It's fascinating to read, as are the comments. :)

[zeitgeistic]

Thanks! I'm totally fascinated with everyone else's styles, too, actually.

[pierian]

Yes, this post and thread! This is exactly what I've been itching for since I commented about being curious how one starts to put together a story with massive scale, such as Azoth. As I haven't written fic in a decade, I don't have too much to share on my writing process and approach, but I am with you on number 2. Actually number 1 and 2 because they both revolve around the same thing: the heart of the story. Only when I know what the heart is can I craft a through line that connects all the dots and plots. Come to think of it, I am with you on 5 for sure. We all are prone to wandering when writing, but that doesn't mean it needs to be shown to the public.

Do you write linearly once you have the ending in mind, or do you write out of order and then fill in the gaps to smooth out the story?

[zeitgeistic]

:D Thanks!

Haha, how awful is it that the answer to that question is, "Just wing it and hope for the best"?

The heart of the story, yes! Excellent way to put it. I like it when stories leave you feeling a certain way, and I think settling on a 'heart' for it does that, maybe. Things just feel like they ~fit~ and that's what makes me love stories the best.

I am typically a linear writer, yep. I don't ever skip scenes unless I realize later on that Scene A and B really need an A.5 scene in the middle to make sense. That's not super common, but it happens. More often, I'll write 80% of a scene, have no idea what a proper scene break would be, and decide to move onto the next scene. I usually come up with a way to end the previous scene a few paragraphs into the new one and go back to fill it in, then return to the new scene. Convoluted, yes. Like my sentences.

[vivaciousmuse]

I don't write fanfiction anymore, so my response is specifically geared towards original fiction writing

[zeitgeistic]

1. Interesting. I'm in awe of authors who can do this. Sometimes I've gotten a glimpse/scene in my head before that I desperately wanted to use, but they often end up getting cut. I'd say about 50% of the time I can figure out how to get the plot into the glimpse I want and it can stay, but the other half of the time, I end up feeling like it wasn't a good fit. Sometimes I'll save them for other stories or other chapters, though.

2. I think I'm middle of the road. I start with a high-level draft of what's going to happen with maybe just the beginning and end and a few ideas for the middle, and as I write, I'll start filling in the outline with dialogue snippets I want to use, character development that would be best introduced in a certain part of the story, how I'll save the say, etc as I go. I like that you can just wing it and everything turns out well. *is jelly*

4. I agree with you 100%! I love a villain that makes you think!