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llywelaOf course, I don't really write fic these days. I'm not sure why. Just...lost the urge. I'm hoping it comes back some day. I still have a WIP folder stuffed full of notes waiting to be turned into actual stories!
But anyway, this meme was interesting.
1. Do you outline?
Yes and no. I tend to work from notes, sometimes copious, sometimes sparse. It really depends on the length of the fic. I've written a lot of little ficlets that really aren't long enough to need an outline! But I've also written a good number of long stories that, yes, benefit enormously from having some kind of plan beforehand, no matter how vague or flexible.
2. Do you write straight through a story, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?
Both. It's a very organic process. The majority of actual scenes are written in order, but I'll work on plot notes on an entirely ad hoc basis, moving scene ideas and dialogue fragments around until it feels like they are in the right place.
3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?
Computer. My little fingers are deformed - the 'pinkies' - which makes writing longhand uncomfortable after a while. Plus, my fingers can never keep up with my brain, and the scrawl ends up completely illegible when I try! Plus, I self-edit constantly, which would get pretty messy longhand. Copying, pasting, overwriting and deleting is so much neater in Word!
4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third?
Usually third person, especially in fics with multiple characters.
5. Do you listen to music while you write?
Sometimes. Or I'll have the TV on in the background. But if I'm really getting into the writing, I'll often turn them off and work in silence.
6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your original characters?
With great difficulty! And I'm never sure I have found the perfect names for them.
7. When you're writing, do you ever imagine your book as a television show or movie?
Only in the sense of picturing the action unfolding in my head as if it were on-screen, as a tool for deciding if the story works or not.
8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn't want him/her to do?
It isn't unheard of!
9. Do you know how a story is going to end when you start it?
I usually know where I want it to go. The process of getting there isn't always so clear, though!
10. Where do you write?
Wherever I have access to a computer and my notes, plus time and leisure to work.
11. What do you do when you get writer's block?
Distract myself with other projects, usually, although what I should probably do is try to push through it. My writing discipline has abandoned me completely.
12. What size increments do you write in (either in terms of wordcount, or as a percentage of the story as a whole)?
I tend not to set myself wordcount targets. I just write bits and pieces here and there, depending on how much time I have available or how smoothly the process is working out at any given time. Sometimes I'll get loads done in one sitting, other times I'll have the document open for an hour and only manage one new sentence! Still more times I'll have the document open for an hour and do nothing but re-write what I've already done...
13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?
Oh, impossible to count. I edit and re-draft constantly as I work, rather than completing one full draft and then re-working it. When working on a story, I usually find that I spend far more time polishing what I've already written than completing anything new.
14. Have you ever changed a character's name midway through a story?
Not their given name, I don't think. I have changed a character's surname midway through a project.
15. Do you let anyone read your story while you're working on it, or do you wait until you've completed a draft before letting someone else see it?
I usually wait until a full draft is completed before asking someone else to give it the once over. But I have been known to pass an unfinished draft over to a beta reader with accompanying scream for help, having plotted myself into a hole I couldn't see any way out of!
16. What do you do to celebrate when you finish a story?
Huge sigh of relief, get it beta'd and revised, eye it suspiciously for a while, then press post. Then another huge sigh of relief, followed by deep, dark anxiety over all the many, many errors and plotholes I'm certain to immediately believe I have overlooked during my many editing sessions, that will of course be obvious and appalling to anyone who actually reads! Paranoia, ahoy.
17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?
Usually only one project actively in progress at any given time, but I generally have stacks of notes or WIPs stashed away clamouring for attention. Still have, even though I don't really write that much any more. I still have those notes and WIPs sitting there waiting for my attention.
18. Do your books grow or shrink in revision?
Books? Stories, not books. They tend to grow with revision, as a slightly thin scene will have greater depth and description added. There is some pruning, as well, but revision usually adds depth rather than subtracts.
19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?
I haven't written any joint fics, but I do have a selection of very lovely beta-readers. One in particular, whose help and support has been invaluable over the years. :)
20. Do you prefer writing or revising?
Ah, such a good question. Probably revising - there's something satisfying about improving work I've already done, while creating that work in the first place is often an exercise in frustration!
But anyway, this meme was interesting.
1. Do you outline?
Yes and no. I tend to work from notes, sometimes copious, sometimes sparse. It really depends on the length of the fic. I've written a lot of little ficlets that really aren't long enough to need an outline! But I've also written a good number of long stories that, yes, benefit enormously from having some kind of plan beforehand, no matter how vague or flexible.
2. Do you write straight through a story, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?
Both. It's a very organic process. The majority of actual scenes are written in order, but I'll work on plot notes on an entirely ad hoc basis, moving scene ideas and dialogue fragments around until it feels like they are in the right place.
3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?
Computer. My little fingers are deformed - the 'pinkies' - which makes writing longhand uncomfortable after a while. Plus, my fingers can never keep up with my brain, and the scrawl ends up completely illegible when I try! Plus, I self-edit constantly, which would get pretty messy longhand. Copying, pasting, overwriting and deleting is so much neater in Word!
4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third?
Usually third person, especially in fics with multiple characters.
5. Do you listen to music while you write?
Sometimes. Or I'll have the TV on in the background. But if I'm really getting into the writing, I'll often turn them off and work in silence.
6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your original characters?
With great difficulty! And I'm never sure I have found the perfect names for them.
7. When you're writing, do you ever imagine your book as a television show or movie?
Only in the sense of picturing the action unfolding in my head as if it were on-screen, as a tool for deciding if the story works or not.
8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn't want him/her to do?
It isn't unheard of!
9. Do you know how a story is going to end when you start it?
I usually know where I want it to go. The process of getting there isn't always so clear, though!
10. Where do you write?
Wherever I have access to a computer and my notes, plus time and leisure to work.
11. What do you do when you get writer's block?
Distract myself with other projects, usually, although what I should probably do is try to push through it. My writing discipline has abandoned me completely.
12. What size increments do you write in (either in terms of wordcount, or as a percentage of the story as a whole)?
I tend not to set myself wordcount targets. I just write bits and pieces here and there, depending on how much time I have available or how smoothly the process is working out at any given time. Sometimes I'll get loads done in one sitting, other times I'll have the document open for an hour and only manage one new sentence! Still more times I'll have the document open for an hour and do nothing but re-write what I've already done...
13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?
Oh, impossible to count. I edit and re-draft constantly as I work, rather than completing one full draft and then re-working it. When working on a story, I usually find that I spend far more time polishing what I've already written than completing anything new.
14. Have you ever changed a character's name midway through a story?
Not their given name, I don't think. I have changed a character's surname midway through a project.
15. Do you let anyone read your story while you're working on it, or do you wait until you've completed a draft before letting someone else see it?
I usually wait until a full draft is completed before asking someone else to give it the once over. But I have been known to pass an unfinished draft over to a beta reader with accompanying scream for help, having plotted myself into a hole I couldn't see any way out of!
16. What do you do to celebrate when you finish a story?
Huge sigh of relief, get it beta'd and revised, eye it suspiciously for a while, then press post. Then another huge sigh of relief, followed by deep, dark anxiety over all the many, many errors and plotholes I'm certain to immediately believe I have overlooked during my many editing sessions, that will of course be obvious and appalling to anyone who actually reads! Paranoia, ahoy.
17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?
Usually only one project actively in progress at any given time, but I generally have stacks of notes or WIPs stashed away clamouring for attention. Still have, even though I don't really write that much any more. I still have those notes and WIPs sitting there waiting for my attention.
18. Do your books grow or shrink in revision?
Books? Stories, not books. They tend to grow with revision, as a slightly thin scene will have greater depth and description added. There is some pruning, as well, but revision usually adds depth rather than subtracts.
19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?
I haven't written any joint fics, but I do have a selection of very lovely beta-readers. One in particular, whose help and support has been invaluable over the years. :)
20. Do you prefer writing or revising?
Ah, such a good question. Probably revising - there's something satisfying about improving work I've already done, while creating that work in the first place is often an exercise in frustration!
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no subject
Date: 2008-04-19 02:27 pm (UTC)You put a lot more thought into things than i do. Which is a good thing, i just dont have the disapline.
Most of my stuff comes from one scene i want to see, and the rest of the story builds up to or sprouts from that original idea.
I once had in mind a tiny fluffy Dr Who/Casanova crossover fic. 2000 words kind of thing, nothing deep. Nearly 30,000 words later, i was done! I call that my Teenage Mutant Ninja Plot Bunny.
I caught the book reference too. I think this was probably originally for real authors (you know, the kind that get paid) rather than fanfic-ers like me.
What sort of stuff do/did you write?
no subject
Date: 2008-04-19 03:11 pm (UTC)*G* I think most fics start out from one scene idea that then sprouts!
I wrote a variety of stuff. Can all be found here (http://randomness.liquid-deception.net/fiction.php). Started out in the Professionals fandom and learned my craft there, so to speak - mostly little one shot wonders, but a couple of longer, more plotty stories too. Then I wandered off into the buffyverse and became enamoured of the character Oz, who was very underused and left just when his story had potential to become really interesting. So I used that as an opportunity to experiment with semi-original material, taking that one character and creating a whole new scenario for him - what happened next, kind of thing. It's a mixed bunch, in terms of quality, being the first time I'd tried to write anything like that: longer stories, episodic, with continuity and plot to weave together.
Most of my BtVS fic is that spin-off series, really, but a couple of random ficlets as well. And I wrote a couple of SN ficlets, as well, plus a longer Doctor Who/Rome crossover just because someone challenged me to. And then...I just kinda stopped.
Maybe I'll get back into it if this downtime really drags out.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-19 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-19 04:38 pm (UTC)Nah, my plots are usually flexible enough to allow the characters a bit of leeway. Can be very interesting at times to see where they take me!
The Who/Rome crossover was the most recent fic I wrote (last summer!) and I had no plot for that at all. One of the most unstructured fics I've ever written. I just had a mental checklist of Rome characters I wanted the Who folk to run into, and allowed them to wander around randomly sightseeing until they'd encountered them all! It was tremendous fun.