Author Topic: Writers' thread  (Read 28286 times)

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Offline Jarlaxle

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #210 on: January 29, 2018, 09:54:23 AM »
I go in spurts. While at university I find it difficult to A) find time to work on it, and B) actually work on it when I do have time, because I usually just want to relax and listen to music or play video games when I have free time.

I set a word count goal this year of 50,000. It's not a lot, but it's a goal that should be easily attainable to give myself a sense of progress and accomplishment that I need  :lol Normally, when I'm writing my "rough" draft I spend way too much time trying to make it perfect the first time rather than just getting as much on the page (screen) and figuring out what's good and bad later, but lately I've been focusing on doing just that, and the last few days I've been able to write 500-700 words in under an hour.

Offline WDADU

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #211 on: January 29, 2018, 04:24:02 PM »
Working on a novel very, very, very loosely inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. That's all I can say about it right now. It is not going well. But I am confident I can get the first draft done in a couple more months. I think I'll trunk it, write another book, and then come back to this one once I have a better understanding of the beats I wanna hit with this one.

This book aside, I average 1,100-1,500 words a day. When I was working, I was still hitting those numbers on a daily basis (cutting out a social life and staying up late really helps). I got over 1,200 yesterday and a little over 1,100 today, so that puts me in a good mood (if I don't write for a couple days, or if I don't hit the quotas I like, I turn into a gigantic asshole and feel like a slacker). I try to write from two to three hours a day. That's average. Today, I hit those 1,100+ words in, I think, two hours. The majority of the rest of my day will be spent reading.

I'm hoping I can keep those numbers up and have this first draft done soon. This is my fifth novel, and it's like pulling teeth.
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Offline SystematicThought

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #212 on: January 29, 2018, 08:28:51 PM »
Normally, when I'm writing my "rough" draft I spend way too much time trying to make it perfect the first time rather than just getting as much on the page (screen) and figuring out what's good and bad later
That's my problem too. I'm too self conscious about it, instead of just letting it flow and getting my thoughts onto paper. Another issue I have is letting my ego go and writing something even if it doesn't sound like something I'd say. I have to keep telling myself: Just Create!

How do you guys start out writing a novel or short story? Do you outline and get everything sorted, characters and all, or just get a basic outline and some characters and just see where it all takes you?
God have mercy on a man
Who doubts what he's sure of.
-Bruce Springsteen

Offline WDADU

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #213 on: January 30, 2018, 11:21:20 AM »
I've had to take a different approach to this book and do some outlining, as well as a good amount of research notes. But usually, I don't plot or outline. I don't like it; I like finding out in 'real-time' all the little surprises that the characters discover. When it comes to ideas, I don't sit down to write until I have some room to run. Ideas, for me, have to bounce around in my head for a little while---could be weeks, months, even years---before I even sit down to start writing the first draft. I usually know something that's gonna happen in the beginning, I know something that's gonna happen in the middle, and I know something that's gonna happen in the end. Everything in between, I am completely in the dark, and it's then my job to take my characters and my idea and find out what those answers are.

As far as writing the first draft and how 'clean' it should be: Look, it's called a first draft for a reason. Nobody should be reading it but you. The point of the first draft is to just get the story down. You're gonna have to edit, anyway. I spend about four months on a first draft and then I spend another eight months (at least) going over the story, cleaning it up as much as I can. So when it comes to your first draft, write wht comes to mind, get your thoughts down, throw everything you can at your manuscript, and then worry about cleanliness and perfection later. That's what rewrites and revisions are for. If you always try to blow your wad on your first draft, chances are, you're never gonna get anything done.
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Offline BlackInk

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #214 on: January 30, 2018, 10:00:33 PM »
I came up with the characters to the story I'm currently working on when I was 12, more than ten years ago, and the story itself has sort of grown and matured around them since then. So I don't really have a system for how I plan a story since this is the only major one I've taken on and it just sort of happened by accident. This one began as just me and my childhood friends playing around and overtime just grew into a lot more.

I do write a lot of notes about moments throughout my planned series, probably planning out the story ahead of time more than WDADU does. I just don't like forgetting ideas, even small ones, so I write them all down. Like, I'm a bit more than a quarter done with the first book, but I have like 10'000 words of notes for book six, which I probably won't get to for many many years. The story changes all the time though as I write it, so I'm not completely restricting myself with the notes, so I'm sure much of the book six notes will be irrelevant once I get to it.

I've soon spent four years writing this version of the first book though, so I'm not sure my way of doing things are especially good or something to emulate. It's just a passion project I do in my spare time, so it'll just have to take the time it needs to naturally become what it's supposed to be.

Offline BlackInk

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #215 on: February 06, 2018, 10:43:17 AM »
Finished episode 2 of the first book! Only 5 more to go. I now have 113'000+ words down so I'm starting to feel that I'm getting somewhere.

Offline WDADU

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #216 on: February 09, 2018, 11:59:06 PM »
Been on a pretty good roll these last couple days. Probably got around five thousand words done this week, if I could ballpark it. I wish I'd been able to get this thing rollin' back in November when I first started it, but whatever. I'll take what I can get. I still think I'm gonna let it sit for way longer than usual once the first draft is done. From first draft to the agent hunt it usually takes me about a year to complete a novel. But when I'm done the first draft, I usually let it sit for a month. This book is not turning out very well, at all. And I get the feeling that the vast majority of it is gonna have to be re-written from scratch. I'm not doing that right away. I'll end up eating my own head out of frustration. So what I think I'll do is try to write another book and come back to this one in another few months, or maybe even a year.
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Offline BlackInk

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #217 on: February 10, 2018, 07:03:29 AM »
What do you do once you've finished a book and it's time to publish? How does that even work?

Asking because it's a bit of a dream, of course, to get my work out there one day and am interested in how the process works.

Offline WDADU

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #218 on: February 10, 2018, 11:08:09 AM »
Well, when I'm done a book, it's time to hunt for a literary agent. So I have to write a query letter and offer the first five or ten pages (or whatever the agent prefers), and then see if they're interested. I've only gotten so far as to have a literary agent ask to read more material, only to turn me down.

I know a couple of the steps after that point, but nothing concrete, of course, since I haven't been represented by an agent yet. If you're looking for an agent to represent you, here's where you can look:  https://www.agentquery.com/default.aspx
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Offline Super Dude

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Re: Writers' thread
« Reply #219 on: August 09, 2019, 07:05:15 PM »
Sooo...anybody still writing? I've started up again (yay).
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As frequently happens, Super Dude nailed it.
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