How do you create your stories?

[Amanita]

This is a bit of a personal question, but I'm curious like that.
How does the process of creating worlds and/or stories work for you?

With me, it's rather strange I think. I tend to walk around, telling stories to myself whenever I have nothing to do. (Such as on a train, while walking the dog, when I'm trying to sleep etc.) Many scenes for my stories are fully formed inside my head with pictures and everything, but the bits in between are often missing. I don't really have much choice as to which story I'm "working" on either. This leads to the problem, that I tend to jump between different things and often spend many days not writing anything only to have other days where I do really much. (The latter are much rarer though. Often I'm happy with the story in my head and shy away from the effort of putting it down on paper.)
All attempts to organise this have failed so far. It sort of worked for last years NaNo but I wasn't happy with the end-result at all.

Does anyone here experience the same and how are you dealing with it? Or do you decide that you want to write a story and what is supposed to be about in a rational way, which seems to be how most published authors do it?

 

[Philip Overby]

I used to tend to jump around different stories. I would come up with something and then feverishly work on it for a couple of weeks, get bored, and find something new that I liked. Since that method isn't conducive to finishing anything, I decided to write down ideas or characters I come up with and just put them aside. Having an "idea notebook" is always good to have around. But I now carefully choose which project I'm going to work on now. That way I can finish the first draft, set it aside, and work on the new shiny idea. Then after letting it "cool on the windowsill," I come back to it and start doing edits. That way I'm juggling writing 1st drafts, editing, and brain-storming all at once.

Instead of starting a brand new project (like I used to), I just write down my other ideas and come back to them later. Thankfully, I don't get writer's block (which isn't real) so I can use this method to constantly keep everything in rotation.

I usually can come up with ideas by just sitting around with a notebook. I don't stare at a blank computer screen. If I can't work on a novel or story, I usually write a blog, come here and do challenges, or write other various things.

 

[Sinitar]

Mostly random ideas that sprout from a main one. The inception of a story for me begins with a main idea, and then a lot of thinking. Setting a main goal usually helps(like what I'd like to happen in the story: A character gets kidnapped, religious conflicts etc).

As for the process itself, it all starts with a little bit of everything. If I want to work on the world building, writing random ideas helps. When the world is developed enough to influence the plot, I write the full plot and then come back to all the details I've left behind. There are cons, of course. If you ask me what I want to write for november's NanoWrimo, I'll say the first book of a trilogy. If you ask me what it is about, I can't answer because of the huge number of details I've left unattended.

 

[Aegle]

I've often considered my writing as a form of self-monologue; an active and ongoing verse from a journal I'm writing to myself. A mindful soliloquy, being as it may that it's derived from an emotional discourse.

 

[Lord Darkstorm]

I think we all go through a stage similar to that. I did quite a bit when I participated in flash challenges, and got a good deal of random writing out of my head. I only have one that really gelled enough to be in the future novel category, but most of them were fun to do. Short stories is where you learn to focus more. Those require more attention and dedication to finish. Unlike a novel, a short story can be finished more quickly and is still a decent bit of writing.

So, if you are having problems getting much done, start working your stories into complete short stories. That will focus you in the direction you probably are ready to go in, and you can start learning to craft the stories into complete ones. They are also the one place I allow myself to roam more freely, since I can play with ideas without the dedication a novel would require.

As for your question, I used to write whatever came to mind, now I weigh each idea and put it through a grinder to see if there might be enough substance to have a whole story. The stories I write get far more thinking through and planning than I used to do. Mainly because I have less time to write in.

 

[Sinitar]

So, if you are having problems getting much done, start working your stories into complete short stories. That will focus you in the direction you probably are ready to go in, and you can start learning to craft the stories into complete ones. They are also the one place I allow myself to roam more freely, since I can play with ideas without the dedication a novel would require.

This idea can backfire on the less experienced authors, and it certainly did in my case. Short stories have to be concise, and they will most likely deter the writer from seeing the big picture in case one wants to write a novel. The only time I did this experiment, my short story was unfinished and the novel had a bad, cliche start. I'm not saying it cannot work for others, but unless the author knows what he wants to follow, the story is going to move in circles(aka filler chapters).

As for your question, I used to write whatever came to mind, now I weigh each idea and put it through a grinder to see if there might be enough substance to have a whole story. The stories I write get far more thinking through and planning than I used to do. Mainly because I have less time to write in.

That's what I'm doing when I have the plot ready. For me, it's always better to start with something than check the little you have obsessively because you don't want the novel to suffer because of bad planning.

 

[sashamerideth]

Amanita, I am a lot like you, I tell myself stories to entertain myself when I am alone or in a group and just don't feel like socializing. Sometimes small stories, sometimes epic LOTR stuff.

I write it when I can and make it better, or try to. What is on paper is rarely what I imagined, this isn't to say I like it any less.

 

[Lord Darkstorm]

This idea can backfire on the less experienced authors, and it certainly did in my case. Short stories have to be concise, and they will most likely deter the writer from seeing the big picture in case one wants to write a novel. The only time I did this experiment, my short story was unfinished and the novel had a bad, cliche start. I'm not saying it cannot work for others, but unless the author knows what he wants to follow, the story is going to move in circles(aka filler chapters).

Yes, it can. I admit it took some effort to allow myself to expand my writing back to a more informative level when doing a novel. Short stories by nature are short, and you can't add in all the things a longer story would allow. The hurdle for switching gears, for me, wasn't that difficult. I can still go back to short stories and get pretty close in the first draft, and trim the excess in an edit. So, while a novel writer might not need to do short stories, they are still a good writing form for experiments, ideas that may not have enough substance for a novel, and can just be fun to do. The reward for completing a short story is faster, and can be polished in a far shorter time period. They are the tool I use to give myself a sense of accomplishment so I can get back to the longer writing that doesn't happen quickly.

So while it might not be something anyone needs, it is still something people can use to learn and explore different forms of writing with a lower commitment factor.

 

[CicadaGrrl]

The big magnet board. So I come up with ideas all over the place. Sometimes I have something to jot them down on and sometimes I don't. Anyway, idea that last till I'm home, I write a word or two labelling it and stick it on my gigantic magnet board. I move the pieces around to see how and where they fit together. So I don't work linearly, but by the time I'm done with the magnet board, I have a skeleton of a book.

 

[Dragonie]

Normally I get hooked on some aspect of another book/TV show/whatever and I obsess over it for a few days. Normally then it gets sucked into my dreams where it goes all wonky-- and then I wake up, write down what I can remember, and start from there. A little weird, I guess, but it works for me!

 

[iskavele]

What helps me in coming up with ideas is i like to draw maps, it sounds strange but if im drawing a particular area i ask myself, is the landscape barren or full of life? What race or culture calls this particular area home? Does it have a huge population or not? What kind of relationship does it have with its neighbors? etc etc.

 

[SteveHolak]

Amanita,

I had similar story organization and structural issues, but a post on a site by "The Snowflake Guy" (Google it) really hit home,and using his approach -- which is basically growing an outline and writing down to deeper and deeper detail -- really worked for me. Give it a read -- the "Snowflake Method." A bit of a warning: he does some shameless self-promoting of himself and friends.

Regards
Steve

 

[boboratory]

for all the technology we have, I still cannot seem to record a great idea that I get driving or otherwise occupied that I tell myself I need to remember.

I never do.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

for all the technology we have, I still cannot seem to record a great idea that I get driving or otherwise occupied that I tell myself I need to remember.

Dictophone? Although, I wouldn't be comfortable playing the sound of my own voice back.

 

[RedRidingHood]

I usually get a line in my head and then start writing. I find that if I sit down and think "I want to write a story about this..." it just won't go anywhere. The best thing I can do is just let the world around me spark something.

 

[Hëradïn]

well my first major world I had the idea for I was just lying in bed trying to sleep when I get this image of a battle field, I was looking down from a hill, there was a city in the background and rotting corpses in the foreground. That city became Gëldïs Galhëm and it just snowballed from there until I had li'l Alzio in a sea of not-so-benevolent gods and sometimes hostile humanoid creatures. I don't know, it took about a year of just going over things adding random ideas and a few maps of differently shaped landmasses.

 

[Deleth]

Not really sure how to answer this, my ideas just sort of come to me.

No real explination it just happens, alot, which can get annoying when I'm trying to focus on one story.

Also first post.
YAY!

But back on topic things just sort of flow into my head -- but I am also riddles with ADD so that may have something to do with it...Ooo Shiney...

 

[mythique890]

Mine start out with an idea that strikes me as interesting. Then I add characters, which has always been easy for me. Characters and beginnings, no problem. Then I get past the opening and get stuck. The only way I've found to get beyond the beginning is to force myself to sit down and make up a plot. Then I let it sit for a while and make changes to it as better ideas come. Usually the most changes to my outline arise from actual writing... something will happen in a scene I didn't plan, but it turns out better that way, so I revise the rest of my outline to match. As I go along, I usually come up with more ideas that apply to the story, so I add them, too. Sometimes I feel like my stories are idea equations.

 

[Xanados]

The ideas I've had so far are usually things that I have great passion for. Yesterday, I woke up in the morning and all of a sudden an idea popped into my mind. I told myself I'd type it down, and I did. I'm going to be writing a short story on it soon.

 

[EParadise]

My dreams that intrigue me take over my waking state. This process is unavoidable. I sometimes wonder if other people spent one day in my head if they would go mad. I day dream for hours and hours until I am so obsessed that I have to write it down before I drown in it.