Your writing process

[Grit]

Hey there,
I've been a member of this site for a while but it recently occured to me that this would be a fantastic place to ask some of the questions that have been burning at me.

I'm very interested in the creative process the members of this forum use to write. I created this thread in a hope that we can share and brainstorm interesting ideas about the creative writing process and, as a result, expand and improve our skills as writers.

I'm a writer of short stories, novellas and screenplays. I want to write and direct screenplays as a living but I have an undying and insatiable love for literature and feel that the two hobbies complement one another quite nicely. The writing process, for me, is the same whether I am writing a script or a short story. I usually get a crazy idea during the day but it's often very rough. Maybe a weird thought or a weird idea. Then, my writing process is basically just sitting down, putting in some headphones and listening to music that I feel fits the mood of the piece I'm writing. Then I just see where the piece takes me. Music, for me, is definitely my muse and is the heart beat of any piece that I write.

Please share your writing process in this thread so we can all learn and improve as writers! :thumbsup:

[Alexander III]

1) headphones in, music on
2) wander outside for several hours
3) ocasional influence use
4) focus on a particular emotion, till one drowns in it
5) after focusing on said emotion, take a nap
6) If when woken up, feeling emotionally numb write down every image of the mind
7) leave it at rest for a couple of days
8) look back on it and edit from a more sober perspective

[hillwalker]

Alexander makes some good points - especially setting the writing aside for a few days and letting it rest before re-reading it when it is no longer as fresh in your mind and giving it a final polish.

As for the writing process itself - I try to write something every day to keep in practice (anything will do - stream of consciousness more than anything) - like a musician practicong scales, but with the bonus that if you do stumble on something worth exploring further the framework is already on record (i.e. you have written it down on paper).

Then if I get a phrase or line (or passage) in my head that came out of the blue I have to write it down before it's lost (so carry scraps of paper/card and a pen wherever you go - and keep some beside the bed!).

Finally, when it comes to writing a poem or short story, most of it has already been planted in my head by some feeling or memory or observation. And my subconscious has been working on it often without my realising it. Then it's a case of sitting down and letting it write itself. You will know when that moment to get it down on paper has arrived - don't try to force it. And don't say to yourself - 'today I'm going to write about the autumn' for example. Writing to order rarely results in anything worthwhile.

There will be days when you don't write anything worthwhile - other days you might come up with two or three pieces one after the other. Again, don't try to force the process purely because you feel you are having a dry spell. It will pass.

Oh, and finally. Some stuff will end up failing the final test and finish up on the scrap pile, But never throw it away. A few months down the line you might decide it can be recycled.

H

[D.P.Trottier]

I think about the "creative process" pretty frequently. i write but my girlfriend is a visual artist- we are two complete opposites when it comes to creating.

my girlfriend knows how ridiculous her ideal circumstances are: she has to be completely content, with friends around, in a public place, probably in the middle of doing something important; that's when she'll pull out her sketchbook and dive into an idea. she maintains one book at a time and never doodles in it, all of her pieces in her sketchbooks have to be perfect.

when i write, i tend to lean towards darker, tormented content. after days of watching 60s and 70s gore and exploitation films, i lock myself in a dead-quiet room, blank walls. hunch my back and contort my face in angsty ways trying to get into the mindset of something like a hallucinating transgendered narcissist. then i write as much as i can about whatever weird scene comes into my head. sometimes i write one paragraph a day and sometimes i write tons of pages. i compile them all in order and fill in the less "weird and interesting" things like conversation and enviornment descriptions- the small stuff that makes a storyline coherent and fluid.

its the only way that works for me.

[dafydd manton]

Follow Hillwalker's advice, and you won't go far wrong. Always have a pen and some scrap paper with you, especially by the bed - otherwise you'll be lying awake half the night trying to remember something, then promptly forget it when you wake up. And, as he so wisely said, don't throw anything away.

[zoolane]

Recently had few stories going round in my head for few months and fine got down on here.

Poetry general get idea from object or something that remind certain emotion. From there few lines or all poem. Will draft on notepad, spelling check and post on here.

[Aragorn Elessar]

Hmm, good question. It's not really a sufficient answer to say, "I just write." but that is basically all I do. Being creative doesn't require a specific process; it's very spontaneous. Creativity is about making things when and how you feel like doing it. It's just like art...actually, it is art, and it can be either concrete or abstract. Abstract tends to be more spontaneous, of course.

As for getting ideas about writing and forming a foundation for a story, you can get those almost anywhere, depending on what you're writing. For example: Open a dictionary to a random page and choose a word or two; then think. What do the words make you think of? You'd be surprised what you can do with only a few words. It's like music: you'd be surprised what you can make using only a few notes. Or painting: ...what you can paint with only a few colors.

So I have no particular process. But if you enjoy writing, you shouldn't need one.

[Thom Holliday]

There's some really good information here. I need to get in the swing of writing more regularly. At the moment, I only really write for my college assignments. I'm hoping to start writing for myself from now on though, starting by practicing every day!

Every writer I've ever spoken to asserts that the two main skills involved in the writing process are practice and meticulously editing drafts to the point where all you're left with is the pure, perfect pulp of great storytelling!

[minstrelbard]

Re: that thing about keeping pen and paper always handy:

Tech comes in handy here! I invested in one of those pocket recorders. It's great when I'm driving (I do a lot of thinking when I'm driving) and away from home generally. I just pull it out, press the record button, talk, and my new idea is safe until I get to my desk. It's also pretty good for recording musical ideas.

[Little Sister]

I need special conditions in order to write, especially a calm, undemanding atmosphere. I like to sit in a cafe when I write, knowing I have ample time to develop an idea fully. Long walks on the beach connect me to god and than Im open to what ever has to be writen. Worry, doubt and jelousy are my greatest creative enemies. Meditating at least once a day keeps my mind clear and open. Going new places inspires me to write. I love exploring new places with unfamiliar situations and people and then writing down dialogues I heard and impressions I collected.

[blazeofglory]

When I think about writing I try to isolate myself from the rest and when there are too many people I feel unfocused. That said I am not I am not a misanthropist. Yet creativity is totally a private affair and I cannot write in society and even I distance myself from my family members. Solitude can be my best friend and setting in point of fact wherein I can get lost to a new world. I always choose to meditate over the extraordinaire. Let the reader have totally a different experience and if I simply communicate what one comes across in everyday life that does not become a creative work. I need lot of inspiration so that my creative works will have elements of otherworldliness, something inventive.
As such I try to source my ideas to books of mythologies, to exotic sites and people and that differentiate my writing from the rest of genres

[Jassy Melson]

I try to work out the entire thing in my head before I write it. I find that it saves time and effort.

[xtianfriborg13]

I don't have a process since I was just starting to write a week ago. I'll make sure to come up with one soon enough. :)

[cacian]

I write to imagine and therefore it can be anytime anywhere I don't plan anything but one thing I know I do and it is this: writing does not interfere with my daily life.

[WolfLarsen]

The best time to write is when you're manic and horny. Lots of crazy loud music. Even better if there's crowds of people swirling all around you. Just throw everything down on the page that flies off out of your head. Lots of coffee is good. Lots of alcohol not so good, although a little bit might destroy inhibitions. The best thing to do is to throw all your inhibitions in the garbage can and just write whatever the hell you want to! To hell with everybody else! Writing is a dictatorship of the Writer/Poet. You are the god of your writing.