Wrting advice and planning

[louiselux]

To paraphrase matociquala, don't worry, you're probably not doing it wrong. She says lots of wise things, but I liked this:

"if you consistently find yourself pausing a third of the way into the book to rearrange the first hundred pages, and then moving on, that's okay. It's fine. Go ahead and do it."

I do this all the time with stories: start them and then about a third or halfway through have to stop and reconsider everything. It's always do it with a sense of guilt, like I should've thought things through better before I started. But hoorah! It's okay! I don't have to feel guilty any more.

It makes me feel a bit better about the pile of unfinished stories where I got confused about halfway through, then got too guilty about my failure to plot properly and gave up. It's not plotting that's a problem, it's allowing myself time to think things through and to tell the story how I want to tell it.

emungere showed me this cool to-do list site called remember the milk. My fic to do list is a little bit scary, but I whittled it down. Prioritised for the coming month:

1. Saiyuki livelongandmarry story
2. Fedal holiday exchange story
3. Rafa's diary
4. Vampiro!
5. To be confirmed

Comments

[puddingcat.livejournal.com]

No. 1 can swap with no. 2, because there really is no deadline for it :)

I've decided that my

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No. 1 can swap with no. 2, because there really is no deadline for it :)

I've decided that my <i<>everything</i> style is akin to an octopus/cheetah hybrid going hunting. No, really. I'll be a big lazy feline layabout until I really, <i>really</i> need to get stuff done. Then I'll dash about at 90mph and do 8 things at once. Then I'll fall over.

I like being told not to write every day unless I want to, though.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

It's good advice, right? I feel all free! I don't have to write every day!

Some people need to have deadlines to get anything done at all. I think I'm the same as you, basically, except that by sheer habit and long practise I've managed to actually finish things before deadlines. Sometimes.

You will forever be octopus/cheetah in my brain now.

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Your list looks intriguing!

What is Vampiro! Those of us who are vamp-ho's are curious! :D (Is it a continuation of your Nikola/Thomas story, "An Air That Kills" ? )

[fedal-fangirl.livejournal.com]

oh, squeeeeee! wouldn't a continuation of that story be great??

~ is giddy with anticipation ~

[avierra.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmm yes, it would be so very very good.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I would actually love to write more of Thomas and Nikola. I had this whole story arc planned out for them, where Thomas spends years in America and begins to hunt vampires, then comes back to London and meets Nikola again, and there is adventure and mysteries.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

No, it's Roger Federer as a vampire.

*hides face in shame*

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I do the same thing--it takes me about 1/3 or half of a story to see things. Sometimes I think it's just that I plot as I go and it's better that way for me; I've tried writing everything neatly in advance and I always end up hating those stories. There is nothing wrong with us doing it this way. In fact, we should get gold stars and a club with a treehouse.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I LOVE being told things like this. It explains so much about my process. If I begin without a plot, then yes, it's very likely I'll need to stop and rethink part way in. We don't need to feel bad about it, yay!

[cicer.livejournal.com]

It makes me feel a bit better about the pile of unfinished stories where I got confused about halfway through, then got too guilty about my failure to plot properly and gave up.

Glory hallelujah, it's not just me! *dances with relief* I have a truly embarrassing number of unfinished stories, because I always hit that point in the story, usually about halfway through, where I go, 'Oh crap, I don't know what the hell I'm doing', and then I panic, feel embarrassed about my inability to plot, and give up. Clearly, I need to stop doing this.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

It's great to know that other people share this exact same problem. We don't need to feel guilty anymore!

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

That was a lovely list.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Yay! I love a good list.

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

I'll skip ahead to write something I know I have if I'm bogged down in the bit of story I'm currently working on. I also go back over old stuff to edit or add something new. Word processing really is the best way for me to write.

My current problem is that I'm adding tiny bits to a few different fics instead of finishing anything. *g*

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I agree about the word processing - with my style of writing, where I chop and change quite drastically sometimes, I don't think I could do it on paper. I'd have to develop far more patience *g*

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

I used to write in pencil and do a lot of erasing. Sometimes I'd literally cut the pages up and tape the pieces in a new order. *g*