Share all your writing methods and routines!

[Finchbearer]

My starting point is always research and note taking, but when it comes down to brass tacks, the actual writing part, my current ‘method’ if you can call it that is to write a framework with which to work around. I’ll write a very shortened version for each chapter and then go and essentially back fill. So far that is getting me closer to finishing a first draft more than any other method I’ve tried. I find simply writing from my notes a tedious task that feels like I’m grappling around in the dark, whereas when I plan out each chapter I can at least better visualise the framework in my mind.

What are your methods and routines for the actual writing part? (once assuming you’ve decided what to actually write about and have done all that research and back work).

 

[Karlin]

I have a general idea, start writing, and see where it takes me. Partly because I'm not that organized, partly because I don't know the characters that well at first.

 

[Rexenm]

I write a lot of short short stories, mostly about animals and their prey. Otherwise, I write segments, and see how I like them, with a critique or two. I used to be a more avid reader, but my life gives me more sustenance with mainstream media these days. There is the old days, where I would study on culture and superstition, but now my mind is heavier than stories, so I am more attuned to social nuance than using my time appropriately.

I do however find bouts of inspiration, and still reminisce on the old times, but I get headaches, and have a very short attention span, and my comprehension has gone completely haywire. I can’t remember much without encouragement, but there is still a story to it. Science doesn’t know much about memory retention yet, so it could just be my OCD playing tricks on me, I can be quite the perfectionist.

 

[Finchbearer]

I have a general idea, start writing, and see where it takes me. Partly because I'm not that organized, partly because I don't know the characters that well at first.

I am finding that I think I know my characters only for them to surprise me when I start writing!

 

[Malik]

Y'all are gonna hate this . . .

I write the ending first. Then, I plot it backwards with flow charts on an 8X11 landscape legal pad using 1mm black gel pens. And yes, I'm that anal about it. Specifically, the PenTel Energel Metal Tip 1.0 , or a Pilot G2 Wide in a pinch. Don't judge me. Yet.

From the plot notes, I write an outline complete with subtext and themes, character descriptions, and so on. As I go, I build a 1000-ish-word synopsis and start use that to write draft back-cover copy and hone an elevator pitch. This lets me know that it's a complete idea. Can I encapsulate the book in 200 words? In 20? Then, can I do it in one? (Theme. When asked what my first book is about, I say, "Atonement," before I start into the elevator pitch. My forthcoming novel? "Identity.")

I have all this ready before I so much as start writing the actual book. It's a hell of a lot easier to build a novel from a synopsis than it is to distill a novel down to one, to say nothing of an elevator pitch. I keep the synopsis, jacket copy, and elevator pitch handy--pinned to a wall, or on another monitor, sometimes even at the front of the manuscript. This way, when the story starts feeling like it's going off the rails, I can look back at it and ask myself, "does this fit?" "Is this what I want this to say?" "How does this affect the subtext, pacing, narrative flow, characterization, whatever? If I leave this in, can I still get the book down to those 1000 words? To 200? Can I still get it down to just one?" If necessary, I revise the outline, jacket copy, and elevator pitch. Things change.

My first draft is bullshit. It's usually around 40-50K, it has some sections that are in present tense, some parts that are all in caps THIS THING HAPPENS TO THIS PERSON HERE, and even pictures from my ideas folder that I just paste in with some notes: THIS HELMET BUT NOT BLUE, or whatever. The first draft is just me making sure the story works.

Then I take a few weeks off, and start again. I write 4-5 full versions, retyping everything and smoothing as I go, working on two monitors with the previous version on one and the new version on the other.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE EVER DO IT THIS WAY. It's entirely possible that I've chosen an art form for which I have no actual gift, and I need all these guardrails to make anything work.

 

[pmmg]

I do have a process, which in my earliest writings I could not say I had. Initially, I was on an inspired routine. If I felt inspired (or pressured), I would. If not...well...I'd play around on web sites and pretend I never worked well with a deadline, and I always had a very hard time writing by commission (such that a friend said...Hey, would you write a story for me... Errrr... No!)

When I start a story, I pretty much know the end, not just of the one I am writing, but of the whole series, and a lot of the scenes in between. I dont know 'All' the scenes though. Usually getting started is not hard for me, and here in book 4, I do have a kind of template I follow which makes it a little easier. (Prolog, Title, Opening scene... pages... pages... backstory scene... )

Since i have an idea of the whole story, its not hard to find an opening. Plus...I have the last book to work off of.

My actual routine looks like...

Think about story during long drive to work, and long drive back from work. Wait for everyone to go to bed, and write between 11:00pm and 2:00am ish.

This routine is in flux, cause I have a new job location, and I am not always busy as work, so sometimes I can write then.


I have one writing strategy which I stick to. Write one sentence a day (even if its bad and not a keeper).

This strategy allows me to do something small, and lets me go to bed feeling like I accomplished, even if I was not really feeling it. But of course, I never really stop at one sentence, I tend to get a bunch out if I write one. Its beauty in motion

Some other strategies I employ...

• Write it ugly. Cause words on page beats thinking about words on page.
• When writing, no internet, and no research. If I dont know, just put it down ugly and research later (like at work, when its slow ). No Thesaurus...nothing. Just spit it out.
• I shoot for 700-1000 words, or it starts to feel skimpy. I tend to get 700 words a day.
• Give the story what it needs, which is a way of saying, dont force stuff, dont be shy about letting it wander, or letting bad stuff happen.
• My general Modus Operendi is one of What is likely? If goblins capture the MC, what is the likely outcome---probably something bad. So...bad stuff happens.
• I also try to write in way that avoids reactions of "this is BS?". I think I get there.

I dont do anything like Malik does. For me, the rough is the outline. (Though, in fairness, I do pretty much have the outline in my head). And I do use Scrivener for keeping the notes.

 

[Finchbearer]

Y'all are gonna hate this . . .

I write the ending first. Then, I plot it backwards with flow charts on an 8X11 landscape legal pad using 1mm black gel pens. And yes, I'm that anal about it. Specifically, the PenTel Energel Metal Tip 1.0 , or a Pilot G2 Wide in a pinch. Don't judge me. Yet.

From the plot notes, I write an outline complete with subtext and themes, character descriptions, and so on. As I go, I build a 1000-ish-word synopsis and start use that to write draft back-cover copy and hone an elevator pitch. This lets me know that it's a complete idea. Can I encapsulate the book in 200 words? In 20? Then, can I do it in one? (Theme. When asked what my first book is about, I say, "Atonement," before I start into the elevator pitch. My forthcoming novel? "Identity.")

I have all this ready before I so much as start writing the actual book. It's a hell of a lot easier to build a novel from a synopsis than it is to distill a novel down to one, to say nothing of an elevator pitch. I keep the synopsis, jacket copy, and elevator pitch handy--pinned to a wall, or on another monitor, sometimes even at the front of the manuscript. This way, when the story starts feeling like it's going off the rails, I can look back at it and ask myself, "does this fit?" "Is this what I want this to say?" "How does this affect the subtext, pacing, narrative flow, characterization, whatever? If I leave this in, can I still get the book down to those 1000 words? To 200? Can I still get it down to just one?" If necessary, I revise the outline, jacket copy, and elevator pitch. Things change.

My first draft is bullshit. It's usually around 40-50K, it has some sections that are in present tense, some parts that are all in caps THIS THING HAPPENS TO THIS PERSON HERE, and even pictures from my ideas folder that I just paste in with some notes: THIS HELMET BUT NOT BLUE, or whatever. The first draft is just me making sure the story works.

Then I take a few weeks off, and start again. I write 4-5 full versions, retyping everything and smoothing as I go, working on two monitors with the previous version on one and the new version on the other.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE EVER DO IT THIS WAY. It's entirely possible that I've chosen an art form for which I have no actual gift, and I need all these guardrails to make anything work.

Fascinating.

I do also have a penchant for stationery, but I also like to be able to copy, paste, edit, delete!

Interestingly I am finding that writing the synopsis is incredibly helpful. One of my stories that I was so psyched about, I just could not write a clear concise synopsis for - so back to the drawing board. I think it’s a really useful exercise.

 

[The Dark One]

I am finding that I think I know my characters only for them to surprise me when I start writing!

That means you're doing something right.

I can see parallels in my own process with Malik's but kinda the other way around. I don't start with the end but always know what the end is when I'm starting. Funny thing is, in every case I had a much better idea when I got to the end of the first draft. My books tend to have a few big twists so that is a very cool thing to suddenly see a better ending hidden in plain sight.

Having a strong grasp of your synopsis very early is good practice. It keeps you close to the spine of the story and that (IMnsHO) is where new writers tend to go wrong - they lose contact with the plot and wander off on tangents that lose the momentum. Momentum is everything.

 

[Ban]

I start by pantsing, follow up with pantsing, and if something scrumptious or shiny hasn't completely distracted me, I finish by pantsing. I don't write ahead. All contiguous text is canon, but anything else I've scribbled is mere pretty prose I might or might not rein in at some point in time. A file (or more) with lore and character detail cheat-sheets grows and grows as the story pants on forth.

 

[The Dark One]

I used to wear pants but found them restrictive.

 

[Ban]

I used to wear pants but found them restrictive.

Between plotting and pantsing, few know of the third: Donald Ducking. It is an arduous writing road, but one that ought to put a feather in one's cap.

 

[Penpilot]

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...

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.

 

[Finchbearer]

I start by pantsing, follow up with pantsing, and if something scrumptious or shiny hasn't completely distracted me, I finish by pantsing. I don't write ahead. All contiguous text is canon, but anything else I've scribbled is mere pretty prose I might or might not rein in at some point in time. A file (or more) with lore and character detail cheat-sheets grows and grows as the story pants on forth.

Had you down as more a plotter! But I can see you getting distracted by food.

 

[Finchbearer]

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...

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 fairly normal back and forth creative process, and I’ve done a lot of that with my own writing in seeing how I want to best pin down a routine of sorts, what works, what don’t. Though I’m yet to declare something done and done!

 

[Ban]

Had you down as more a plotter! But I can see you getting distracted by food.

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.

 

[Prince of Spires]

It starts with an idea (or rather a few that feel like they could work together). Most often in the form of a few chapters from the start of the story. From there I come up with the different plotlines and what needs to happen in them. This gives me a list with something like 4 different plotlines and a dozen bullets per plotline.

From there I create a rough outline, which is more a chapter list really. Just 1 or 2 sentences per chapter and a note on who I think the viewpoint character for that chapter should be. For my current WiP I also created a longer synopsis, though I'm not sure it was worth the effort. I guess it helped clarify stuff a bit.

Once I have this, I work front to back, and I'm only allowed to go forward. I start at chapter 1, pick the 2 lines from my outline, and write a short (about 2 paragraphs usualy) summary of what that chapter is about. This makes sure I actually know what I'm going to write and why it's in the book. From there I just sit down and write. I aim for 600 words at a minimum (preferably 1.000), for 5 days a week. Which also gives me an evening with my wife and one where I do sports.

If at some point I realize that something's off and I need to make (sometimes major) changes to what I have written, I take a note and continue writing. Like I said, no going back during the first draft. If an event didn't happen, or happened differently, then I just note that down and pretend I already made the change. That way, I don't change anything unnecessarily.

I take notes in all stages of the process. Both on world building, and on the outline or written text. I find that the end of my outline tends to change as I go. Usually somewhere between the halfway and three-quarters mark my outline stops working and needs revision. If it's big changes that are needed I take a writing session to update the outline. If it's smaller, or later in the novel I just ignore the outline and write to the end.

I usually only have a vague idea of my endings. In my outline I've had climax chapters summarized as "and they win" or "and they abandon the city". It so far has always worked itself out.

When I'm done writing the first draft is where my process differs from most writers. I launch into editing immediately (or at least, I have a celebratory drink when I finish and start editing the next day). I usually know a lot of stuff that needs fixing, and I fix it better when I'm still in the book. I go through the story, taking notes as I go of stuff that needs changing. Then I go through it and make changes (using track changes in Word). Then I go through it and accept all the changes.

The reason it works for me is that I'm very good at forgetting details of my own writing (I can be very surprised by what I've written). And I don't grow attached to my own writing. I don't mind changing stuff or ripping stuff out. The one thing I do have trouble with is writing the same thing over. My brain hates it and refuses to do so. I could never do what Malik does and write the same novel 5 times... I'd go insane.

 

[Finchbearer]

That means you're doing something right.

I can see parallels in my own process with Malik's but kinda the other way around. I don't start with the end but always know what the end is when I'm starting. Funny thing is, in every case I had a much better idea when I got to the end of the first draft. My books tend to have a few big twists so that is a very cool thing to suddenly see a better ending hidden in plain sight.

Having a strong grasp of your synopsis very early is good practice. It keeps you close to the spine of the story and that (IMnsHO) is where new writers tend to go wrong - they lose contact with the plot and wander off on tangents that lose the momentum. Momentum is everything.

I do tend to lose that momentum if I do not plot my chapters, or have an idea of the ending. I hope this year to have at least one final draft completed.

 

[Mad Swede]

You're going to hate me for this. But...

I think the story through in my head, and then I sit down to write. I write the beginning and the end, then add the key scenes in between. Then I fill in the gaps. I do not outline. I do not re-draft. What goes down on the first pass is it.

Yes, I do sometimes (well, quite often) find that my characters surprise me as I write, in that they seem to have gone off and done things when I'm not writing so that I have to catch up. But this doesn't derail the main story.

I also think the backstory and setting through in my head, and the relevant details get added as I write the story. I do not keep a series of notes about people or places. I do think through timelines, in the sense that I think about how long it tales to do something or go somewhere, especially when things in the story happen in parallel.

And I always write when I sit down to write. I can write anywhere, at any time. I don't need to be sitting at a desk to do it, although these days that is so much more comfortable.

And the reason I keep so much in my head and don't outline or re-draft? I'm severely dyslexic.

 

[Malik]

The one thing I do have trouble with is writing the same thing over. My brain hates it and refuses to do so. I could never do what Malik does and write the same novel 5 times... I'd go insane.

I did too, for the longest time. What happened is, way back in the Dark Ages, my computer bricked my hard drive and I didn't have a backup for my manuscript. Well, I did--my backup was a printed copy. I had to retype that sucker into WordPerfect, page by page.

What happened, though, was two things: 1.) I took a couple of months off because I had to psyche myself up for the task; and 2.) When I revisited the manuscript with fresh eyes and started retyping, I immediately found things I could do better. On, like, every page. I fixed it as I rewrote, and when it was done, it was ten times stronger than the copy I'd lost, which wasn't much different from the copy I was working from.

Being me, I tried an experiment: I did it again. I waited a few weeks this time, then retyped the whole thing. Again. It was much faster this time, and it came out far, far stronger than even the last attempt. The tone, the voice, the pacing, everything was a lot smoother. My writing group--back then, you gave your writing friends copies of your manuscript--agreed unanimously that for me, rewriting produces an objectively better book on every level.

That's how this became my process. It's like hand-sanding. You start with chisels on a lathe, then you do the detailed carving, and the first pass is 60-grit, the next is 100, then 150, then 200, and so on, until you get down to 1000 or even 2000 grit and the thing you've been building starts to glow on its own.

And I also made peace with my books taking me two or three years to finish. That's just how it has to be for me. Some people can turn out readable first drafts that require minimal editing. I'm not that good.

 

[Malik]

I write the ending first. Then, I plot it backwards with flow charts

Also, when you do this, everything resolves. It can't not.