Share all your writing methods and routines!

[A. E. Lowan]

Let me start this by telling you that I have never written solo in my entire adult life. I stand in awe of everyone who can do this all alone with their brains. I've been married for 34 years this September, and she's been my writing partner for 35. She's the plotter who keeps me from rabbit-holing with wild abandon, and my strong suit is dressing up the words she hands me and taking it all dancing.

Yes, I literally write what I'm told to. I just make it look good.

My daily routine is pretty normal. I'm autistic, so I need patterns to make sense of the world around me and how I interact with it. So right off the bat it's caffeine. While I'm starting the first social media sweep of the day and waiting for the caffeine to kick in (one huge cup of coffee and 2 - 3 200mg pills), I'm listening to today's project's playlist and getting my brain aligned to making pages.

Then snacks - snacks are a crucial part of the process - and I literally trance out. I type super fast but write very slowly, so when I'm tranced out and really going it sounds like someone's taking the desk apart with a jackhammer. On caffeine.

I can usually get a chapter written a day. I'm also notorious for short chapters. I'll admit to being a lazy writer so I wait until I'm happy with a sentence before I type it. And for some reason, I'm obsessed with having the right journals or composition books to start a project. Obsessed. Only, I haven't kept extensive notes outside of OneNote in 20 years? I gotta be an author, because on anyone else this would look certifiable.

 

[The Dark One]

Plotting has its ample benefits, but I am a pantser by necessity. For me, a story loses all its mystique if I know ahead of time how it will unfold. In my head I juggle potential plotlines, but I never commit to any ahead of time. That way the writing becomes exploratory, and thus more my speed. Alike a Choose your own Adventure, only I wear both the hat of the reader and the writer.

You don't though, that's the beauty of it... for me at least.

I think I know (which makes for a solid structure) but when I get to the end it always changes.

 

[Prince of Spires]

That's how this became my process.

I just want to check out of curiosity. Did you in fact go insane doing this? I mean, that could be a likely explanation why it works...

Just kidding. I'm just in awe of your process.

I stand in awe of everyone who can do this all alone with their brains.

Who's to say I'm alone in here though...

You don't though, that's the beauty of it... for me at least.

I think I know (which makes for a solid structure) but when I get to the end it always changes.

That's the beauty of it though. Everyone is different. I can't finish a story if I don't have an outline. I always run into a point of "and now what?????". But I can see how the reverse works for other people as well. Which makes it very hard to give any definitive advice to people. It's always more like guidelines.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

We coined the term Waypoint Writer on this forum many years ago, and if there is a method to my madness, that's it.

Like Malik, I often write the ending first and, at the least, know the ending. That's probably where Malik and I part ways, LMAO. I don't redraft and rewrite, but am instead a constant tinkerer.

 

[pmmg]

We coined the term Waypoint Writer

I am not sure where I first encountered this term, but I dont think it was here on MS. (I think it might have been from Nyki on Fantasy-writers.org, and that would have been maybe 20 years ago). I think the term has been floating around for a while.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Not that anybody was aware of on here. It doesn't really matter, but it has been argued and searched before, and I've never seen anyone find a use of the term. Lots of people, no doubt, do it, so it's always possible the usage was out there.

I am not sure where I first encountered this term, but I dont think it was here on MS. (I think it might have been from Nyki on Fantasy-writers.org, and that would have been maybe 20 years ago). I think the term has been floating around for a while.

 

[pmmg]

Well...I cant search them anymore. When I look on google, Mythic Scribes is right at the top, and the only with a blog on it. Maybe it was here after all Sometimes things are a blur for me.

Waypoint Writing

 

[Demesnedenoir]

You never know... some people credit Def Leppard with "it's better to burn out than to fade away," but it's (apparently) The Ducks who once touted Neil Young as a member.

Waypoint appeared here because the conversation around Pantser vs Outliner had been hit on several times, and I described my process. Which kinda sorta hits set piece scenes like in a movie, and I thought about maps and how I knew points on the map and the destination but not the road I would take to get there, and said... Waypoint Writing or Writer or some such. From there, it kind of stuck, and Rose Andrews (don't recall her handle on her) wrote a piece on it to immortalize it.

Well...I cant search them anymore. When I look on google, Mythic Scribes is right at the top, and the only with a blog on it. Maybe it was here after all Sometimes things are a blur for me.

Waypoint Writing

 

[pmmg]

Yeah...Sorry Rose

I like you better than Nyki anyway

 

[skip.knox]

>partly because I don't know the characters that well at first.
This plays a large role for me. The story can't be a story until it is inhabited by characters and I've never found a way to know a character without actually writing them for a while. This makes for a rather messy process.

 

[skip.knox]

>The first draft is just me making sure the story works.

Yeah, it took me a long time to reconcile myself to this. As long as I saw the early work--what winds up being first draft--as somehow the story, I invariably despaired (I still do, just less often). But now I regard that early work as me telling the story--working out the story--to myself.

This is a more pleasant process. By that I mean there's is somewhat less weeping and cursing. I'm not trying to impress or innovate or anything except getting a story told in a way that makes sense to me *and* that feels like it has a good story somewhere in there.

 

[lorenaroys]

After brainstorming on an idea and ending up with a bunch of notes, I take the notes and start by outlining. I do a rough high level outline of the main plot, separating my notes into what I call buckets. The buckets contain the notes important to specific parts of the story. I do an outline of various character arcs.I find knowing where I'm going helps a lot. I do this using the framework of a 3 act structure for the main plot and a 7 point structure for the character arcs. I'll also make note of any obvious themes I may want to explore.

Once I've done that, I do a scene by scene outline. Using scene sequel structure to understand what the purpose of each scene is and what that scene is supposed to do. If I find issues, I go back and edit the outlines.

Then, right before I finally start writing the prose, I do an in-depth outline, designing the scene so it can more or less achieve everything I planned the scene level outline. Sometimes stuff gets pushed because it just doesn't fit. Sometimes I have to back track and rethink, because I find plot holes and stuff that doesn't make sense.

At this point, I start writing the prose. I start from the beginning and I go scene by scene till the end. Like the previous steps, if I find an issue, I go back and fix the outlines and/or prose if needed. I used to just take notes on what to fix and push through to the end, but I found doing that t created more issues. More than once I've had to throw out the last half of a book because it wasn't working. For me, it's like finding out the trajectory of a rocket is off by one degree. In the short term it doesn't mean that much, but over a long-long distance it can mean the difference between hitting your target or missing it by light years. So, when I encounter plot issues now, I stop and fix them before moving on.

I set the goal of 250 words a day minimum. If I hit that goal, I'm free to stop. With my last book, life was feeding me a shit sandwich, so my word totals usually fell between 250-1000 words a day. On days where I couldn't write the prose, I'd put down the scene in point form, or I'd read over the notes that were important to the current part of the story and take more notes adding to the ideas, etc. There was a time I could do 1-2k a day, but... It's hard now because I need to work on my studies and do a lot of tasks I have, and that's why it's not that easy sometimes to write a lot. But anyway I do it, because I need to write a lot of papers for my courses, but it's a totally different thing. It requires more time and effort because you need to stick to requirements and structure. Some time ago I needed to write a persuasive essay, and it was hard. I was lucky to find this page https://edubirdie.com/examples/persuasive-essays/ which provided me various examples on that paper type, and after all I managed to finish it before the deadline. And it's good that there are sources like that, for students they are so helpful.

Any way, as I'm writing, I take editing notes on things that may or may not need to be tweaked on the second draft. As I'm writing, more themes may reveal themselves to me and I'll make note of them, and I'll think over them in the mean time to see if I want to explore them or not on the second draft. Repeat until I'm sick and tire of the story and declare it to be F@cken done.

That sounds like a good strategy.
I'm curious, do you have days when you don't write? I mean, it can be different reasons, like having no time, inspiration, and so on.
Or if you have a goal to write a minimum of 250 words, do you always stick to it?

I'm very new to writing, so for now, I'm still experimenting and figuring out different methods of working on a story.
For me, it all starts with an idea. When something comes to mind, I take notes of how I see the story, the main characters, and the ending. I think about it for some time, and if I like the characters, and the general idea, I start thinking about "key" memories of the story, and the relationships between characters. Usually, it's the hardest part for me, because I need each character to have a specific and clear role, and it takes me a lot of time.
When it's all done, I start writing part after part - from the intro to the first chapter, then from the first chapter to the second one, and so on.
I don't have any deadlines because they always make me anxious, and just go with the flow.
Sometimes I write a lot in one day, and sometimes I can write nothing. I don't push myself because I need some time.
When one part is ready, I start another, but always take notes of new ideas, and then try to add something or to replace one with another.

 

[Penpilot]

That sounds like a good strategy.
I'm curious, do you have days when you don't write? I mean, it can be different reasons, like having no time, inspiration, and so on.
Or if you have a goal to write a minimum of 250 words, do you always stick to it?

I used to be very strict about getting stuff down each and every day. For about say 10 years or so, I was getting something done 99% of the time. Now, sometimes life gets in the way, and I don't get anything done, and instead of stressing about it, I just let it go and start fresh the next day. Missing a day or two every so often doesn't matter that much. What matters is making consistent progress.

There was a time I had trouble finishing things, so maintaining that strict routine helped me push forward and finish my stories. Now, I don't have trouble finishing, so a small break in the routine isn't going to matter in the long run. But it's rare that I go more than a couple of days without writing, because writing is usually the first things I do in the day.

 

[Devor]

So, I tackle a scene in about 4-6 sittings. A scene, in this case, is a full POV section. There's two MCs who swap scenes, and there's usually two or three scenes per chapter. Sometimes one of the MCs might go through a few mini scenes. Or the two MCs might be together, and one scene picks up immediately where the other left off. That doesn't matter to me, a scene is a POV-section.

In the first sitting, I dialogue the scene, making something that looks like a script. Usually I do this ahead of time, while I'm still working on an earlier scene, so I can read it a few times and polish it out. I'll leave little notes about the action and deep POV. If there isn't much dialogue, I'll spend more time on the action or character thoughts. I'm really after the structure of the scene. The word count of a script is abysmal.

In the second sitting, I start the scene from a blank page. This is often harder than it sounds, considering the scene has been fleshed out. But the focus here is on establishing the character's moment, and capturing the details of the setting, and bringing the reader in. It's more reflective and slow, and so is the writing. It's just a few paragraphs, but I never know what to expect here. The word count gain here is often a bit low, at 300 to 400 words.

In the third sitting (and usually fourth, if the scene is long), I go back to the script and fill in the narrative. What are characters doing and how do they react inside. The word count gain on these sittings is usually a good 700+, and the end of the scene wraps up with no problem.

In what's usually the last sitting of a scene, I have have some gaps to fill. First there's a little gap between the intro and the script. A segue. It's often a lighter moment, or it could be a two line transition. Whatever it is, I need to get it resolved. While I'm at it, I also go through the scene and I look for moments where the character's POV is weak or missing, where their response to bad news is "she looked away for a moment" or something that doesn't do it justice. I fix little things too, but the goal here is to dig a bit deeper into the character's POV. Deliver on the emotion. Do it justice. And this is often the part that sparks new ideas for future scenes as I think, "This emotion will need a payoff later." The word count gain here varies widely, but it easily averages to 500.

I usually expect a failure or two here, where the words just don't come, and a couple sentences turn up duds, and the sitting has to be redone. Such is life.

Other things:

I have an outline. It's broken over four sections of 6 chapters each. The first ends with a call to action, the second with a midpoint where the character has to double up the commitment, and the third with a false victory/fail. There's just a few words in a spreadsheet for each scene. Everything beyond the act I'm working on is considered extra flexible, maybe just a step or two above a placeholder. Between sections, I spend some a week or two thinking through the next section, and figuring out how exactly I'm getting to that end of section goal. It also involves revising the future sections, but I still consider them placeholders.

The goal is to keep flexible going forward, and to minimize the need for cuts and rewrites.

I've also got lots and lots of notes and worldbuilding. To risk sounding crazy for a moment, I also have this dumb idea that I'm creating not just a book series but a franchise. I've got it in my head that one section of the setting's history would be great for a movie trilogy, so I try to hint at it as epic and keep it a little mysterious, and when I have someplace old and cool in my story, I might add details to hint at what was happening there during that time. And I add in hints of conflict and sources of mooks on the map that never get resolved, in case there's a video game sequel. It's the long shot of long shots, but I can't keep my brain for going there sometimes.

 

[Finchbearer]

Your routine sounds very realistic Devor. And oh, it’s good to know I’m not crazy when I write my dialogue on its own and it looks script-like, I thought it was just me being strange. I do struggle with natural sounding dialogue when I’m writing off the cuff, and so this helps me too.

I also like your forward thinking for your work becoming a potential franchise, though I don’t go in as thoroughly as that, I do plant little Easter eggs along the way for future revelations that crop up later on. But that’s only for my story that I’ve intended as a series, otherwise all my other stories are standalones.