So, someone at Yahoo Answers...
just asked about writing process. *snort*
Process? I'm supposed to have a "process"? Okay, here's what happened for the last short story:
1. Either (a) decide I hate everything I'm currently working on, or (b) run up against a contest deadline. Either of these circumstances require me to come up with something new, stat.
2. Poke the Plot Bunny Hutch to see what hops out. Catch the Bunny and scribble the first line that comes to mind--which in this case came from my list of first line prompts. The first line may not survive the last edit, but I'll worry about that later.
3. Zombies? Really? Crap, I hate zombies. *sigh* FINE.
4. Realize that I'm using Robert and Susan as first names. Anyone who knows me remotely will know instantly where that came from. No can do. Besides, first person will work a lot better with this. And present tense will be even BETTER. What's that? We haven't done first/present in original fiction yet? First time for everything. Change "Susan" to "Susie."
5. Get a horrible mental image for the last scene, because damned if I outline. No. Bad brain. I hate you. Stop that. Eh, what the hey, we'll write in in the little notebook and file it away for later. You never know.
6. Scribble. Scribble some more. Wait, stuck? STUCK? On SCIENCE? In a ZOMBIE STORY? Oh, for the love of...
7. Realize that the story might change drastically if the protag is female rather than male. NO. MAKE IT STOP. It doesn't matter, because no matter who it is, they have no resources. Keep the Dad. In retrospect, keeping the Dad turns out to be an excellent idea.
8. Noodle more ideas. Rant. Cry. Whine on LiveJournal. Which actually kicks something loose. Scribble some more.
9. Oh, hey, THERE's my theme. I hope it makes sense by the time I finish this.
10. Talk it over with my Writing Buddy. Nearly kiss him, because now I have an ending that actually works. Yay. All I have to do (cue hysterical laughter) is get there from here. I'm still massively stuck. Beginning to hate this thing. Where's a handy bridge when I need one?
11. Research. Why do the building names at the University of Texas at Austin give you absolutely no clue what they're actually used for? Create a new building from whole cloth, because I'm the writer and I can and this is Future!Fic.
12. Hey, wow, is that ALL the cerebrospinal fluid the human body has? Huh. Wonder how much of that you can lose before you die... Nevermind. I'll just take it ALL, and it won't matter. And that sends me skittering off in another, even more Evil, direction. Mwahaha. I don't hate it anymore, although my family is backing slowly away from me.
13. Oh, hey, and that turns on its tail and goes even MORE evil. *twirls imaginary mustache* My family's speed, in backing away, has increased.
14. THE END OMG FINALLY. Oh, yeah. Mine is an evil laugh. My id, let me show you it. My family has fled precipitously, and the cat is eying me with her tail poofed.
15. Edit? I have to edit it now? Well, yes, because it's too long. Let's try and get it under 7,000 words, shall we? Fine...
16. Let it lie fallow for most of two days. Still don't hate it on a re-read. This is good. Something bugs, though. Not sure what.
17. Whack words out left and right. Add some here, subtract some over there. Dude, that part goes nowhere. KILL IT. But I like it! Kill it anyway. Fine. Still something bugging.
18. Post it for the Usual Suspects. Bite nails, hope they don't hate it.
19. They don't hate it, and they have good suggestions. Incorporate them. Still something bugging, and they didn't catch it.
20. Realize what has been bugging me ALL ALONG about this thing. Passive voice! ARGH. An hour and a half later, that is fixed. Whew. That's better. Way better. HAH.
21. Give it to the Writing Buddy for one more pass. Once he's torn into it, I will edit it one last time, read it over for typos, format it, and ship it off to Writers of the Future.
You had to ask, didn't you? It's like making sausage. You really don't want to know.
And that's just for a short story...
Process? I'm supposed to have a "process"? Okay, here's what happened for the last short story:
1. Either (a) decide I hate everything I'm currently working on, or (b) run up against a contest deadline. Either of these circumstances require me to come up with something new, stat.
2. Poke the Plot Bunny Hutch to see what hops out. Catch the Bunny and scribble the first line that comes to mind--which in this case came from my list of first line prompts. The first line may not survive the last edit, but I'll worry about that later.
3. Zombies? Really? Crap, I hate zombies. *sigh* FINE.
4. Realize that I'm using Robert and Susan as first names. Anyone who knows me remotely will know instantly where that came from. No can do. Besides, first person will work a lot better with this. And present tense will be even BETTER. What's that? We haven't done first/present in original fiction yet? First time for everything. Change "Susan" to "Susie."
5. Get a horrible mental image for the last scene, because damned if I outline. No. Bad brain. I hate you. Stop that. Eh, what the hey, we'll write in in the little notebook and file it away for later. You never know.
6. Scribble. Scribble some more. Wait, stuck? STUCK? On SCIENCE? In a ZOMBIE STORY? Oh, for the love of...
7. Realize that the story might change drastically if the protag is female rather than male. NO. MAKE IT STOP. It doesn't matter, because no matter who it is, they have no resources. Keep the Dad. In retrospect, keeping the Dad turns out to be an excellent idea.
8. Noodle more ideas. Rant. Cry. Whine on LiveJournal. Which actually kicks something loose. Scribble some more.
9. Oh, hey, THERE's my theme. I hope it makes sense by the time I finish this.
10. Talk it over with my Writing Buddy. Nearly kiss him, because now I have an ending that actually works. Yay. All I have to do (cue hysterical laughter) is get there from here. I'm still massively stuck. Beginning to hate this thing. Where's a handy bridge when I need one?
11. Research. Why do the building names at the University of Texas at Austin give you absolutely no clue what they're actually used for? Create a new building from whole cloth, because I'm the writer and I can and this is Future!Fic.
12. Hey, wow, is that ALL the cerebrospinal fluid the human body has? Huh. Wonder how much of that you can lose before you die... Nevermind. I'll just take it ALL, and it won't matter. And that sends me skittering off in another, even more Evil, direction. Mwahaha. I don't hate it anymore, although my family is backing slowly away from me.
13. Oh, hey, and that turns on its tail and goes even MORE evil. *twirls imaginary mustache* My family's speed, in backing away, has increased.
14. THE END OMG FINALLY. Oh, yeah. Mine is an evil laugh. My id, let me show you it. My family has fled precipitously, and the cat is eying me with her tail poofed.
15. Edit? I have to edit it now? Well, yes, because it's too long. Let's try and get it under 7,000 words, shall we? Fine...
16. Let it lie fallow for most of two days. Still don't hate it on a re-read. This is good. Something bugs, though. Not sure what.
17. Whack words out left and right. Add some here, subtract some over there. Dude, that part goes nowhere. KILL IT. But I like it! Kill it anyway. Fine. Still something bugging.
18. Post it for the Usual Suspects. Bite nails, hope they don't hate it.
19. They don't hate it, and they have good suggestions. Incorporate them. Still something bugging, and they didn't catch it.
20. Realize what has been bugging me ALL ALONG about this thing. Passive voice! ARGH. An hour and a half later, that is fixed. Whew. That's better. Way better. HAH.
21. Give it to the Writing Buddy for one more pass. Once he's torn into it, I will edit it one last time, read it over for typos, format it, and ship it off to Writers of the Future.
You had to ask, didn't you? It's like making sausage. You really don't want to know.
And that's just for a short story...