Ask Dr. LJ: Writing Fiction

[allizon]

So a couple of questions for those of you Out There who write fiction:

• How much or how little do you know about your characters or story before you dig into the actual writing? Do you allow yourself to make them up on the page or do you do significant amounts of pre-writing?

• How many different projects do you generally have going at one time? Do you tend to focus all of your energies on one story at a time or bounce among your projects?

• Do you write your stories in chronological order? In the order in which the events will be read? In whatever order the events occur to you? Alphabetically by chapter name?

I know where my answers to these questions come down (Not enough; too many; starting from Page 1 and moving forward) but I'd like some different perspectives 'cause I don't feel like the way I've traditionally tried to do things is working out all that well for me. Time to try some new approaches, I think. So what works for you guys?

Comments

[badlittlemonkey.livejournal.com]

You should do some character snapshots!

Very, very high on my list of things to try, specifically with the main characters from my YA book that's been gnawing at me. Those are the characters I know the least and want to get to know most. Maybe once I have a chance to do that I'll even post the results (if they don't suck incredimuch). :)

Question that just occured to me: does the fact that you post these snapshots and other bits of your projects onto your various LJs help keep you going with them? Does having some sort of public demand, even just LJ friends list demand, help motivate you? I know that even just with my blog, I feel guilty if I go too long without putting something up; maybe that would help me out. Hmmm.


Though again, I think the YA fantasy story that's been kicking around for awhile has potential.

Tell me about it!

Mmm, I don't want go get too much into the details here just yet, but I'll tell you that it's a modern-day urban fantasy sort of thing dealing with (hold onto yer hats!) a teenage girls who discovers that she's more than she appears. And yes, I realized that I probably just described at least half the books in the YA section at your local Barnes and Noble. Rest assured that the details will hopefully make it seem less clichéd than that one sentence made it sound. ;)

I'll also spill the fact that the concept and execution have been influenced by Joss Whedon more than anyone else, which means I'm specifically fighting against making it too Buffy-like at every turn. That gets back around to the character snapshots... the more I know about my lead character, the more I'll discover all the ways in which she's not Buffy. I'm very cognizant — perhaps a little too much so, honestly — of that influence and want not to be ripping His Jossness off too much.


it was at that point that I officially decided the NaNoWriMo "just do it" method Didn't Work For Me.

Me either, really... I keep trying it! But it doesn't work.

Yup. I wish it had taken me fewer attempts to learn that.


Omigosh, it was terrifying. The weeks leading up to the release? Terrifying. Everyone around me had to put up with my constant mantra of "What if I suck?"

Getting the actual comic, though, and seeing my stuff in there - in something that people can pick up off the shelf and buy - wow. It's an almost indescribable feeling. *hug*

I hope someday also not to be able to describe that feeling. :)

I've gotta tell you that this conversation with you has been pretty damn inspirational. I think I tend to keep my energy/excitement/interest level about writing up best when I'm able to talk to other people about the process and how they deal with it. And that doesn't happen as often as I might like. Though a friend of mine is organizing a "creative night" where a bunch of people gather at her house, all spread to different parts of the house and work on their creative pursuits — in theory, the camraderie helps exactly that problem I just described. Anyway, rambling, sorry. Thank you so much for all of your words! *hugs*

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

does the fact that you post these snapshots and other bits of your projects onto your various LJs help keep you going with them? Does having some sort of public demand, even just LJ friends list demand, help motivate you?

Yes! Very much so. It helps to get the feedback - both to get audience pressure (the demand for more) and to get some feedback that my writing doesn't suck. I'm not writing into a vacuum.

Though a friend of mine is organizing a "creative night" where a bunch of people gather at her house, all spread to different parts of the house and work on their creative pursuits — in theory, the camraderie helps exactly that problem I just described.

I look forward to hosting stuff like tht when I get up there. :)