Net Work Book Club discussion

Hey All,

I'm new here (and to novel-writing), and I don't know many authors other than myself. One thing I always wondered was about everyone else's writing process, specifically as you really get into the zone of getting the story out of your brain and onto paper.

For me, I would start each day with a very broad idea and then suddenly end up with 5 chapters at my fingertips not knowing where they possibly came from. My fingers had a mind of their own, and I just continuously typed without really thinking about it.

When I went back to read what I wrote, it was as if I had never before laid eyes on those words strung together. Such a fun surprise! I had no idea the story would take such turns or end up where it did.

That's how my writing addiction set in. I ended up getting my entire story out in less than 3 months because I could think of nothing else until I wrote 'The End'(though it took about a year to smooth out all the rough edges).

If you're a writer, what was it like for you? How did you get your story out on paper?

~Ash

Exactly the same, except you forgot to mention the months of research on every conceivable issue that readers might pick up on, the months of editing, tightening, re-editing and so on. Then pushing the draft out to friends for comment and trying hard not to defend your book but rather listen seriously to what they have to say. Then back to the editing cycle again.
Yeah- writing's easy. Producing a polished story isn't!!!
~Pete

Pete wrote: "Exactly the same, except you forgot to mention the months of research on every conceivable issue that readers might pick up on, the months of editing, tightening, re-editing and so on. Then pushing..."

What Pete said about research and editing. Because my interest is historical fiction, I need to plan out the historical direction of the story. My historical characters must stay true to actual events. My fictional characters have more room to roam, but their actions also must not violate historical events. I determine before writing anything my fictional characters' flaws and attributes and narrate at least one character's conflict in every scene that I write. I also decide beforehand what theme or themes I wish to convey. What I write anywhere during the process is always subject to change.

I've often said I travel to the Upper Aren, come back and write about it. I feel like that most of the time.

Though I have a general outline, I am a "pantser" and definitely let the characters guide the story. They do have lives and personalities of their own after all, and though I can suggest what they should do, they often go against my ideas...

Makes it fun trying to get them all back headed in the right direction for the end of the book.

Timothy wrote: "I've often said I travel to the Upper Aren, come back and write about it. I feel like that most of the time.

Though I have a general outline, I am a "pantser" and definitely let the characters gui..."

I totally agree.

I'm pretty old school--I find it hard to create at the keyboard. So all my first drafts are done with pen on paper and my first rewrite coincides with transcribing the hand-written work into the computer. Research is done constantly, as necessary, and some stories take a lot more than others. After I think my work is done, I let it rest for a month or more, then go back and fine tune it some more. If possible, I try to edit on the printed page--I tend to miss the little things when reading on the computer screen. And I read every scene aloud at least once.

L.F. wrote: "I'm pretty old school--I find it hard to create at the keyboard. So all my first drafts are done with pen on paper and my first rewrite coincides with transcribing the hand-written work into the c..."

Yes - spotting typos on paper is much easier than on screen - but always get another 2 people if possible to check it as well - the author tends to 'see' what they 'think' they wrote!!

Thanks for all of your comments on this thread! It's really interesting to see how others turn out a story. I'm getting some good ideas. :)

I think I fall in line mostly with Timothy! I set out with an idea in my head about my characters, but they normally end up on completely different paths as their personalities develop. The challenge (and what I believe makes a good read) is imagining the events which will lead the personalities to come together and tie up the end of the book.

I also think what L.F wrote is also great advice! Something I learned at the very end of the publishing process when I was editing my proof... It was the first time I edited on actual paper, but it made all the difference! That and reading aloud is so helpful. Sometimes I don't realize how odd a sentence is until I hear it.

How many drafts do you all normally go through before calling it FINAL? I've honestly lost count, but I think I've had at least 20 different drafts of my first novel. I've cut chapters, added chapters, killed people off, etc. I always feel like something can improve... even as its sitting here published! :P

~Ash

Belvedor and the Four Corners

As with artwork, there comes a time in writing where further 'improvements' become regressive. Once you are satisfied that the story flows, that all chapters are relevant to the story, and all ambiguities and typos corrected, you have a finished story.

I have a folder full of 'deleted scenes' - chapters or chunks of narrative which were unnecessary to the story line. I keep them, hoping that they'll be usable in another scenario one day....

The number of drafts you get through before being satisfied surely depends upon your writing ability, and the manner in which you write. Some advocate 'get it all on paper any way you like, then go back and edit'. I can't do that. I'm always flashing back over the previous paragraph and correct anything I don't like before proceeding.

Pete summed it up nicely. And it depends a lot upon the work itself. I've had a few books that practically wrote themselves and others that I've worked on for years. I usually stop when my edits consist of a simple word change here and there---when I stop any major overhauls of scenes or sentences and just keep fine-tuning. There comes a point when you have just "stop" and say it's done. I could edit my work forever if I didn't do that :)

L.F. wrote: "I usually stop when my edits consist of a simple word change here and there---when I stop any major overhauls of scenes or sentences and just keep fine-tuning. There comes a point when you have just "stop" and say it's done. I could edit my work forever if I didn't do that :) ..."

I totally endorse these comments.

My process is to sit down with all my materials, then procrastinate like hell on facebook and failblog. I then achieve nothing that day.