How do you write?

[amhran_comhrac]

It's no secret that many, maybe even most of us here are writers.  In the interest of sharing "best practices," as they say in the cube farm, I thought it would be interesting to discuss our own processes.  Maybe someone can pick up a trick or two that way.  Some of us co-write, some use betas, one person (and my virtual hat is off to you for your bravery, miri1984 ), has even taken to livestreaming as she writes.
So, I suspect there's a great deal of variety. 

Share! How do you write?

Comments

[amhran_comhrac]

Most of the time I've taken to writing on my laptop. I got into this habit ages ago. Partially it's because I really need a dual monitor setup and don't have one, and partly because when I was in college I had nothing but my laptop and got used to banging out long papers on the smaller-than-standard keyboard.

Now, since I have both once again, and the desktop is specked as a fairly respectable gaming rig (better soon... just put off my iPad 2 in favor of ordering a core i7 processor), I'll usually have the game up and running, or in the case of Origins, the toolset open with dialogue files up. Sometimes both.

I never "just" write. I've always got google chat windows open, a billion browser windows, sometimes I'll have a movie or tv show on. (although I usually stick to historical or fantasy for the "look." It sounds odd, but I feel like seeing people in the proper setting helps me visualize what Maggie or Malina or whoever are wandering through.)

I've also taken to writing small bits on my iPhone (seriously) using the PlainText app while I'm on my commute. It doesn't require an internet connection, but once I have one the files sync automatically with my dropbox account. Not much, although I did write most of the last chapter of Apostates of Amaranthine that way, and a good chunk of the next chapter of Leap. I can usually manage a thousand words each way, if I'm on a roll.
That's the only way I can write when someone else is around. Generally I need to be alone or I can't focus.

As for publishing, I don't use a beta. Miri's looked over a couple chapters for me here and there, in a "can you tell me if this scene works" sort of way, but no one checks my spelling, grammar, or the like. Errors do seep through on occasion, but not too many. I do, however, have a degree in English and have spent many long hours tutoring teenagers to help them with their own grammar, so I'd like to think I'm more than capable of twisting the language to my whim when I have to. ;)

I generally read over the chapter in word once it's done, tweak it a little bit, and then upload to ffnet. From there I read it again in the document manager for anything I've missed, and post.
The "html" button in the ffnet document uploader is a lovely thing. I copy the code right from there to paste into AO3, here, and DA.

[miri1984]

I know what you mean about being alone. I can write if the kids are around but I get all embarrassed if my husband is. It was worse when I was writing Fanfic in secret (it took me a good couple of months to "come out" to hubby about it :D)

[aithne]

For me, it depends. On occasion i'm sneaking a little bit of writing in while I'm at work--I (usually) use Google Docs, so I can write from anywhere. Mostly i'm in my office at home with one or both dogs crashed out behind me, or downstairs on my laptop if I'm home alone and the dogs want to sleep on my legs. This weekend is a writing intensive weekend, so I've switched to using MSWord. (And I *will* finish Old Roads today. I have determined this.)

I tend to write with music on, either my writing playlist (full of soothing classical and Celtic music and soundtracks), or my project playlist, which is the soundtrack to the story I'm writing. i can't write with other stuff going on in the room, and I do my best work when i have at least a couple of hours to pound out words, but I rarely get that.

For a long project like Old Roads, I have a file that's full of things like prospective titles, plot touchpoints, quotes I might use, and other dribs and drabs. When I fire up a new chapter document, I make a list at the top of plot points I think I want to hit, and then just start writing. Usually, I've been writing the chapter in my head for a bit, so once I actually have time to write it goes pretty quickly. This has been especially true with these last three chapters of OR, as I've been writing them in my head for *months*. I knew back in December how it was going to end, I just needed to get there.

Once I've got a first draft pounded out, I'll let it sit for a bit and then go back to it and start tweaking. My first pass is a spell check and looking for egregious grammar mistakes and typos. My second pass is looking for my writing tics--I have a semicolon and emdash problem, and sometimes in the interest of getting a chapter done I will write some seriously awkward sentences. I'll also be on the lookout on this pass for shape and tension issues, and whether I'm missing anything I need to add. At this point I'm also nitpicking language and dialogue, tweaking to make sure I'm using the right words and rhythm for the POV I'm in. (In practice, the hardest POV to get right is the dog's! All of his sections get lots of changes made to them.)

Third edit is mostly a final readthrough and spellcheck to make sure I haven't missed anything genuinely horrible. I don't have a beta, so at that point I button it up and post it around.

Back to the word mines for me! (It's a "with your draft or on it" weekend. I *will* *freaking* *get* *this* *finished*.)

[miri1984]

I write awkward sentences that I think are REALLY awkward and vow to go back and change them, but when I go back I can't find them again! I think sometimes we THINK it's awkward because it was difficult to get out, IYKWIM?

[aithne]

And as of *right now*, i have a completed draft of Pitiless Games! That only needs minor tweaking before it's ready to post!

*falls over*

Oh dear gods the ending has SLAIN ME.

And of course, ff.net is choosing now to have issues. Grrrrr.

[amhran_comhrac]

Oooh, I have a file like that. A lot of dialogue snippits that I loved but didn't work for Maggie and that version of Anders, which may end up tweaked to work in one of my other universes ended up there. A lot of my Bioware Bang fic started out there, too.

[lenna_nightrunner]

I generally write in the evenings while online talking to Shimmy, or recently over lunch now that I take a half hour off. Since I only write VLS'v at the moment, I don't have to worry about smut! Since Mr. Nightrunner is home essentially all the time, my background noise is usually whatever he's listening to.

I write very, very much out of order, little snippets of dialog most of the time that end up getting fleshed out afterward with narration and then eventually bridged together and edited for consistency before they're given to Shimmy for beta work. I have never had another beta besides Shimmy. Since we've been writing together the process has changed from how I used to write because what she writes affects what I do. I'll have ideas like bits of dialog, etc, ahead of time, and then they end up being modified later in reaction to what she's written. It's actually much easier that way; writing my Deep Roads chapters was such a fscking nightmare.

Because I write nonlinearly I'll have notes and bits of dialog and narration that can come in weeks or months later. They have to be modified based on what's happened since then, but ideas about major sequences are usually written out many chapters beforehand.

Collaboration has been really good for both our processes, I think, and has changed them a lot. We do some writing separately, but a lot of it happens in real time while chatting in google docs as we go. When we write separately the other person then goes through and leaves comments long before a final beta edit is done. It takes a loooong time to write the 3,000 word posts that eventually go up XD

Also, I never had a character/story playlist until VLS'v, when I needed to really define Caerwyn's character. I'm fairly confident that very few people would find it shocking that his playlist has a fair amount of punk music on it (especially from the early days when his anger was at its height). Many of the song quotes used as chapter titles in VLS'v come from songs that have made it onto the playlists. That's something I never did until we started VLS'v.

My writing process in terms of how I brainstorm ideas has shifted drastically since I moved to Chicago last August. Now that I spend an hour of each day commuting, I have a lot of time listening to music while walking and on the subway. I find songs that have quotes that will eventually become chapter titles, and the mood of a given song will help me brainstorm for future chapters. It's fascinating to me how much of an influence that lifestyle change has had on my process.

[miri1984]

I know what you mean about lifestyle changing the way you write. When Tom was born my methods changed so drastically I can't even REMEMBER how I used to write.

[amhran_comhrac]

The playlist does not surprise me.
Most of Maggie's playlist is industrial dance. ;)

I get a lot of ideas on my commute, too. That's why I had to start recording some of them on my phone. I would think up great lines of dialogue or whatever and forget as soon as I got to work.

[miri1984]

Oooh, thanks for sharing these! I'm always fascinated by how other people write, considering...

Truly, circumstances dictate how I write. One of the reasons I wanted to try the livestream idea was because I am usually very distracted during the writing process and I wanted to pump out some more Blood Wound (it's getting vaguely close to being complete, and it would be nice to get there soon). It DID help - I didn't get as distracted as usual (although I had a good chat with Tankgirly on the livestream chat function at the same time!)

However, when I'm not livestreaming my writing style differs according to circumstance. I write on and off during the day - a sentence here, a sentence there, while I'm looking after the kids. My soundtrack is whatever kids program will keep them quiet for a few minutes (I know, I'm a terrible parent) or my daughter singing or my son crying.

As a case in point, I started writing this post at 7:45am and it's now 8:28. It DOES lead to some inconsistencies in my chapters, so I have to read through them pretty carefully and check for repeated words or phrases (I once wrote the same action scene three times in the same chapter, forgetting I'd already written it).

I tend to write linearly - but it's not set in stone. If a scene from a later part occurs to me I will write it and keep it for later.

When I DO have time to write non-stop I'm like Amhran - I have heaps of browser windows open and I'm usually chatting in google chat or reading Mark Watches or emailing my husband and annoying him and his email group of uber geeks with stupid questions about the space shuttle or lego. I've discovered recently that intense Formspringing interferes with my writing process, though, so I only do that in writing down-time, unless I'm roleplaying Anders or Saoirse or Carver in which case I can do that AND write parts of Shameboner. Aedan does NOT like sharing his headspace, however, especially if Faolan's around :D.

For Shades of Grey I had a strict chapter outline, but for Blood Wound I don't, because I'm following the Awakenings storyline and that's enough structure for me. Same with the Shameboners - it's easier to write when the structure is already there.

Aaaaand that's about it. HERE have a gif of my son, because I just made it (while I was writing this post) so I should share it :D


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[amhran_comhrac]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cute, it burns!
It seems your destiny is to have children with those great big "give me everything I want because I'm adorable" eyes.

There are worse fates to have. ;)

[crazy4da]

Not sure how informative this is actually going to be but here goes. I'm not a writer or really aspiring to be one. (Despite my husbands urging that I should write down the silly stories I tell me kids for posterity sake.)

I can't say that I have a huge amount of practice. What I have out on the internet is what there is. I'll usually start having ideas when I'm driving. It's one of the few times I can have two minutes to think! Then I just think about a quick outline while I'm cleaning, cooking or doing dishes.

Pretty much I just sit down and start typing. What comes out comes out. My husband knows me best so I've asked him to read my stuff to see where it needs work. He's uber picky on what he thinks is good so I figure if it passes his quality check that it's ok. Lately I haven't had the benefit of him beta-ing for me so I've been doing a lot of revisions after I've posted. It's embarrassing because if I was a bit more patient that wouldn't happen.

For the most part, it's one chapter at a time. Once or twice I've written something I'd like to include later but there is no guarantee that it will make it in. I also took a huge break from writing anything. Part of it was a time problem, I just didn't have any and the other part was me just not knowing where to go from where I'd left off. It helps if I reread my story or reread the previous two chapters to help get started on the one I want to work on. I really rather start a chapter and finish it in the same day. It's so hard to fall back in the mood if I have to start and stop. I have to feel it to know it's going to be something worthwhile. Being able to talk about my story helps too. I can work out so much if I can just discuss what I want to happen, many times where it falls short or isn't going to work reveals itself as I talk. I thank God a lot for my husband because he puts up with this and even helps long after he's bored to death of me talking about it.

Sometimes I'll put music on if I think it will help but sometimes not. YouTube, CD, or iTunes list...whatever I'm in the mood for.

After a chapter is written I'll check spelling and reread it in hopes of catching anything obvious. This often doesn't work out well because I don't catch it until several days later. I just started working on some much needed revisions to early chapters now the I can see how rough they are and have some idea how to fix them.

Reading other people's fics helps a lot. It helps to see my own in a new light.

I'm not as ambitious as many of you on here and just have one story in the works though a I will write something else that is short if I really feel like I need to.

I really like DAO and Awakenings was good but I don't really want to go over what happened in them so I find myself writing about things that either happened between missions, expand on them in parts unseen or, as in the case of my current story, happen in the future. This way I don't have to stress out over dialogue, story, or detail inconsistencies and get to tell a story I want to tell. I like to think that many Wardens stayed on as Warden Commander and dealt with their world as it changed. It's what interests me so it's what I write.

[1smut_princess]

... Being able to talk about my story helps too. I can work out so much if I can just discuss what I want to happen, many times where it falls short or isn't going to work reveals itself as I talk...

I feel ya there. But that's what b and Janni and Ninja and you do for me. Phill just stares at me in confusion. For my original work though, I used to talk to my old roomie Julia, for hours upon hours, and I didn't even know the "facts" of stories until I'd told her them. Like they'd be gestating in the back of my brain, and just come out when I started yammering on about them. I can do the original stuff with Phill but he gets disturbed by tons of it... Probably to do with the junky-telepath who is also a serial killer snuff orgy guy, who also just so happens to be the good guy...

[amhran_comhrac]

I really like DAO and Awakenings was good but I don't really want to go over what happened in them so I find myself writing about things that either happened between missions, expand on them in parts unseen or, as in the case of my current story, happen in the future. This way I don't have to stress out over dialogue, story, or detail inconsistencies and get to tell a story I want to tell.

Honestly, I feel like the best fics are the ones that focus on the moments we don't see in the game, or present an AU where something fundamental has changed about the world. I find reading tons of dialogue straight from the game without an expansion on the story or characters really dull.

After all, we've all played the game already. ;)

[1smut_princess]

LIVESTREAMING? THAT I NEED TO TRY!

The runnin' joke between Janni, Ninja, and b and I is that I'm an exhibitionist writer. I do best when someone's on my GoogleDocs askin' me questions in the sidebar as I basically "answer" them by filling in the scene.

But like Amhran I use my laptop for it all, I need mobility, I need to be curled up in a nest, or out n'about. If I'm out n'about whilst writing I'm usually drinkin' too much coffee and nibbling on churros. Oh wait, that was in Spain. Dammit. Texas style churros blow. And the cafe con leche is far from inspiring.

So I basically wind up with the laptop, somewhere comfortable for either people watching, or a nest. Usually four to five chat windows talking about other things that have little to do with the story, and a bajillion searches on the webbrowser, history books, psychology books, etc, ready to be raped for information. I mean, probed deeply. I mean, researched. Yes. Researched.

I'm okay with having people around me in person, so long as they're not tryin' to make me laugh or pay alotta attention to what they're talking about. I can write in just about any scenario, situation, or whathaveyou, so long as there aren't idiots yelling directly in my ear, or listening to their "olympic" sports of Starcraft telecasts in Korean. :stares at husband for last part of that statement.:

[analect]

Oooh, interesting! Massively impressed at all these people who can do multiple things at the same time. O_O

I come down on the gluing-myself-to-the-screen-or-notepad-"fuck-off-I'm-busy" side of things. There is coffee, maybe a graphics program or text editor open if I'm doing something else at the same time. Usually there's music, but not always. Most books I've written have had their own playlists, and my fanfics do too, which I never expected to happen. (My Hawke responds worryingly well to Aretha Franklin. Wtf?) Unless one project's going really well and I'm completely engrossed, I invariably have about five documents up at once, and I switch back and forth - sort of productive procrastination when I'm stuck or CFS brain fog makes concentration crappy.

I don't have a beta; I edit and tweak everything myself, though I'd like to throw things around in draft stages much more than I do. The major thing about fanfic for me is that it's the only writing I do that actually happens chapter-by-chapter, instead of being conceived, written and edited (then changed completely, and rewritten and edited again) as a whole piece, so continuity is an issue/challenge, along with theme development.

Also, as a mildly OT tangent, further to what some of us were talking about a while ago, I went ahead and set up a DW comm for original fic people. Chat, crit, support and resources... that kinda stuff. It's here, but not yet actually active. Feel free to drop by and help me change that, should you wish!

[scarylady]

I write intermittently during the week. I write exclusively in Word, on my desktop, which is basically wehre I live most of the time.

I find that I spend a lot more time thinking about my chapter than actually writing it. I change PoV a lot, sometimes incorporating as many as five different PoV's into a chapter. I have to let each one stew, and not push it, and then it all pours out in an hour or so. I then go back to not writing, while one personality shoves over and another one takes up residence.

I write one draft, and that's it. I don't even read it back half the time. I have heard this theory about turning off your internal editor, but mine's a bit pushy.

My finished chapter goes to bellaknoti, my lovely Comma Fairy, who tells me that beta-ing one of my chapters takes half an hour flat. It tends to come back with a couple of extra commas, and perhaps a note to point out that I've used the same word in two consecutive sentences. Yay for pushy internal editors.

I offer my support to analect on the subject of The Writer's Lounge. http://writerslounge.dreamwidth.org

The idea there is to have a sister comm where we can rant about writing in general, rather than DA writing specifically. It's all new, and not properly active yet, but to those who write please do all sign up and see if we can find ways to help each other (or at least cuddle up and enjoy a good snuggle).

[jessicajones]

One draft? *blinks* Wow. I can't imagine. My first draft is generally nonsense.

[jessicajones]

I write like a painting. I start with an outline, and then I fill in a wash of the vague action, usually in parentheses with bits of dialogue that I already know. So that the first version looks kinda like:

(Anora and Alistair have a vaguely human conversation)
(until sex comes up)
(Alistair makes it worse) "Do we... I mean, did you have a specific quantity in mind, or something?"
Anora (sits in stunned silence). "No," she managed, after a while. "I don't have a sex quota."
(Anora gets offended, tells him he smells, they part, teh awkward)

And then I fill in the actual words and details in whatever order they come to me.

And... then I send it to my lovely beta, who rips it to shreds and usually makes me rewrite the whole thing. Like, you shoulda seen the first version of Dark Overture. I think literally the only words the first draft shared with the final were "Your light shines in the dark."

[sierralie]

I've been clunked on the head with horrible writer's block lately, so maybe answering this will clunk me with some inspiration!

I've started writing in Google Docs - the interface isn't quite as smooth as Word, but it does mean that I can read and edit wherever I am. Not that I'd ever write smut at work.. -cough-

I tend to write the segments that are easier first, then go back through and add spacers in parentheses or highlighted in colour so I know what's missing. Most of my unfinished work seems to have big chunks of 'didn't know where to put this' text at the bottom of the file as well - fragments that I liked well enough not to discard but couldn't work in. Sometimes those make it back in later. I keep random notes about that fic at the bottom as well - thoughts on plot, character motivation, questions I need to answer, etc.

I am pretty much incapable of not multitasking, both for attention span and my sense of never having enough time to really focus on just one thing, so I usually have multiple windows open. For a while, I was playing DA:O or DA2 while keeping a fic window open - it helped keep me in the mindset of that world. (Writing DA fic while playing ME2, not so useful.) I write in spurts - some days it's just a paragraph or two, some days it's a whole huge block until I can get it out of my head and into text form. Occasionally this gets me back up out of bed.

As for editing, I am a compulsive over-editor. I almost always read my writing out loud to myself (under my breath if need be). I find it helps to point out flaws in dialogue or words I've used repeatedly in the same segment or paragraph. I share all of my unposted fic with my husband first, who then tells me what he thinks works or doesn't work. This is particularly useful for, say, action or violence, which he 'gets' much more than I do! Also, he's a good resource for 'hot or not' when it comes to the smut. I have occasionally asked him random things like how particular elements of sex feel for a guy.

I think that's about it. I don't have a beta, mostly because I am terminally hermitlike and this is my first actual foray into fandom of any variety (and the first time I've been writing in years). Perhaps now I'll get back to those two very overdue works in progress.

[scarylady]

I went through a stage of asking my husband about how stuff feels for a bloke, too. When I first started writing SS, every time I said to him 'Can I ask you something?' he looked at me with near-terminal suspicion. I found out loads of stuff I didn't know though, like how both turn-on and orgasm start really far back behind the balls, not deep in the groin like ours does.

[braigwen]

I get bored easily. Very easily. So, if I want to write, I literally have to multi-task to keep my attention on it. I have several audio books on my iPod touch and an e-book to read while I write.

It also gives me inspiration for some scenes, moods or dialog. Sometimes I can concentrate enough to just listen to music. I just need to clean my DA:O stuff up before I post it.

[rhiyah]

I've recently started writing again after a 15+ year stint of non-writing. I find that my process has changed quite a bit. Before I wrote strictly with pen and paper, then would transcribe the lot via a manual typewriter.

Now, however, I use MS Word, primarily on my home desktop. I have worked on my stories some at work, though not often because it's hard to stay in the "zone" as it were.

My pieces tend to have a playlist, but ironically, it's usually only one song that I have on repeat. I get a lot of inspiration from music and often a specific song will trigger the emotional connection I'm looking for in the piece I'm working on. Hearing the song on repeat puts me in an almost meditative state where I can just focus on what I want to convey while maintaining my concentration.

For instance if I'm working on smexings I usually listen to something that I find erotic or arousing. It makes things flow better and not feel so mechanical to me.

Analect has been a gracious checker of grammar and lameness for my DA work and a real godsend. I don't over analyze as much knowing she's going to look at it and help tidy it up or point out sticky spots.

I also spend far more time thinking about my characters/stories than I do writing them. I usually do this while I'm commuting to work, doing house work or cooking. By the time I sit down to wrtie, I've usually sorted out exactly what I want to put down.

While I do repeatedly read over my work, I don't usually change much. Mostly trying to build up description or flesh out an emotion. I suspect this is because I do spend so much time pondering what I'm going to write before I write it. Though there have been pieces that I've just completely chucked because I couldn't get what I was thinking to work itself out in words.

[niniane]

Let's see...my process is very roughly...

I have about 40 minutes reserved every time as my "writing time". I have a cup of tea, no distractions, and my desktop. (Which I can work on a laptop or my netbook, I find that I make fewer mistakes on a desktop. I do not know why.) During this time, all I get is a blank screen and my story to write and/or edit. I also sometimes use other time - go to a coffee shop on weekends, write with a glass of wine at night to unwind, whatever - but I do keep 40 minutes reserved where I'm not allowed to do anything else.

I start with an outline. It's pretty rough, but it gives me some idea as to what I'm trying to write. I also do research at this stage. If there's a kid in the scene, I ask people with parents about that age how they'd behave. I figure out what time of day the scene is set in, what time of the year, etc. If I'm world building/character building, I figure that out before I even start typing. I want to have a pretty clear idea as to who everyone is, what they're trying to accomplish, how this story impacts the plot, etc. before I do anything else.

Then I just force myself to type. I'm not supposed to edit (although sometimes I do, anyway). I'm just supposed to set the scene down.

Once the story (or story arc for longer bits) is done, I sit down and edit. I try to figure out what's wrong with the story on a macro level. Do the actions make sense? Does the timeline make sense? Does the scene propel the story along, is it filler, do I need it at all? Am I using the right POV for the scene? Sometimes I'm not 100% sure of all of this, so send the very rough draft out to a beta to review.

Once that is done, I clean the puppy up. I read very slowly, correcting long sentences, removing words and even paragraphs that aren't needed, fine tune word choice, fix spelling and grammar, etc.

Finally, when I'm content, I send *that* to a beta, and they make me revise my language further/catch awkward stuff/delete stuff they hate/point out where I've screwed up and often demand macro level stuff, too. (i.e. new POVs for scenes, new scenes all together, more/less description in scenes, deleting scenes, etc.)

Then once that's done, I get that back, make all the changes I agree with, then go through it a few more times checking for clarity.

I save a fresh document any time I make a "major" change. (i.e. something more than a fine tune). I've had revisions go from 0 to 15. (And then there's probably 3 or so drafts in between where I clean up things.)

This seems like a lot, but as I type super fast, it actually doesn't take that, that long!

[dragonreine]

Writing for me is like describing a movie playing in my head. With regards to plot, I know what's "what", and where and when should "what" happen, but when it comes to characters I more or less mentally literally design a movie set/stage in my head, plunk down my characters in them, and let my imagined personalities act out.

A lot of "CUT! Let's do this again..." happens before I start writing proper, and I hit the mental "replay" a lot while I write. I usually stick to one PoV in a chapter, and I tend to overdo on the internal monologue. >_<

I don't make a lot of drafts. Three, at the most, but usually I only make one draft. Since I bought myself some basic grammar books, I'd been consciously trying to edit myself as I write. English is not my country's most common language of choice during conversations, and it shows in my own use of English. Thank the Maker for my grammar fairy scarylady!