Ask Dr. LJ: Writing Fiction
Jan. 27th, 2006 05:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
allizonSo 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?
• 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?
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-27 03:37 pm (UTC)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. :)