{"id":1175,"date":"2013-10-09T08:17:05","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T12:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vg-ford.com\/?p=1175"},"modified":"2013-10-08T22:41:38","modified_gmt":"2013-10-09T02:41:38","slug":"writingprocess-thoughts-as-we-head-towards-nano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/?p=1175","title":{"rendered":"(writing\/process) Thoughts as we head towards NaNo"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, I’m working on my outline for the third Advent story for NaNoWriMo<\/a>, since that’s that project that’s next on my list (and the story needs to be written), and I’m thinking about my writing process. \u00a0And since we’re coming up to NaNo, I thought I would share my thoughts on process with you all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I”m not a panster. \u00a0Not even remotely close. \u00a0Actually, that’s not entirely true. \u00a0I have pantsed several flash fiction pieces. \u00a0But anything more than 1000 words and I need an outline. \u00a0Yes, even for short stories. \u00a0(For those who are not familiar with the term, a “pantser” is someone who writes without an outline, or with a very minimal one. \u00a0They are also called “discovery writers.”) \u00a0I have found that unless it’s a very short flash\/vignette, my stories tend to wander and peter out, or walk straight into a corner and sit. \u00a0I need a map, and I’m not ashamed of that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I also need the right atmosphere when I write. \u00a0I prefer music, although I can write with the TV on, as long as it’s not something that I need to follow closely. \u00a0If I leave the TV on, it’s on baseball, or paranormal reality shows, or science shows. \u00a0If it’s music, I prefer Christmas carols, believe it or not, even for non-Advent stories. \u00a0I can’t explain why. \u00a0And there must be a candle lit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My prewriting takes me about a month, all told, and it’s pretty extensive. \u00a0Because of the amount of prewriting I do, I’ve fallen in love with Scrivener, and its ability to organize a large amount of files. \u00a0I have character sketches, plot summaries, outlines and random worldbuilding notes that I consider prewriting. \u00a0This is generally how I approach a new story:<\/p>\n

1. I start with a general plot summary. \u00a0This is almost freewriting – it’s anything and everything that pops into my head about the story. \u00a0I tend to start with a character and a situation, and worldbuild around that. \u00a0By the time I finish the plot summary, I’ve felt my way through the story and the plot.<\/p>\n

2. Then I make a list of characters and, if it’s a complicated world, places too.<\/p>\n

3. Next comes the actual story outline. \u00a0This is when I go “This happens, then this happens, then this happens.” \u00a0It’s the beginning of the details.<\/p>\n

4. Now I do a detailed outline. \u00a0In the case of Advent, I take each day and write up what is going to happen on that day. \u00a0In the case of novellas and novels, I do a detailed chapter outline.<\/p>\n

Depending on how well I’m feeling the characters, I’ll do character sheets in between the second and third step. \u00a0I’m starting to incorporate a style sheet at that point too, so I can keep track of everyone (I tend to have a “cast of characters” problem).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that’s what I do. \u00a0By the time I’ve finished all this, I’ve got a good enough handle on the story that I can put my head down and plow through. \u00a0This doesn’t mean I don’t run into issues – my outlines all tend to change during the first draft, but that’s okay. \u00a0The stories tend to be stronger because of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What’s your process like?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, I’m working on my outline for the third Advent story for NaNoWriMo, since that’s that project that’s next on my list (and the story needs to be written), and I’m thinking about my writing process. \u00a0And since we’re coming up to NaNo, I thought I would share my thoughts on process with you all. …<\/p>\n

>>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[58,66],"class_list":["post-1175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","tag-nanowrimo","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1175"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1176,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175\/revisions\/1176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}