writing meta

[silentdescant]

Okay, so as some of you probably know, I'm in a playwriting class right now (and it is awesome), and we basically bring in scenes every class period and read them and critique them, and talk about writing processes and techniques and do some workshopping and basically it's the most fun class ever. BUT anyway, today we were talking about an article

Comments

[tabula_x_rasa]

When I write, I start with a scene that just shows up, or is trigged by who knows what, and build on it in my head-- like you, I go over and over and over stuff in my head first (not for all scenes-- some just happen when I'm writing because they need to, but definitely for key scenes). Telling myself a story, usually when I'm trying to go asleep or before I get up in the morning or in the car or whenever I'm bored. I find it definitely helps to work a scene out, so I know what happens and where it's going. Much easier to write that way.

But I see it all like a movie, so when I'm writing I'm trying to describe what I see in my mind's eye, in terms of actions, scenery, sets, tone of voice, and lighting even.

Things don't always go like I plan them in my head-- things somehow change when I write them down. I know exactly what you mean by interrupting the flow of the writing, and reluctance to do that.

I think the trick to writing controversial topics is to be true to your characters-- it's not me saying these things, it's the

[silentdescant]

Mmmmm, yeah, sometimes it's good for me to tell myself a story right before bed too; sometimes it leads to interesting (and occasionally useful) dreams. I like to play in my fic universes as I try to go to sleep, but it's usually stuff I'd never actually write or post, lol. It definitely helps me brainstorm, though.

So since you see it like a movie, do you find it really easy to get detailed in your descriptions, or is it kind of a pain to write it all out because it's just so obvious to you how it should look? I get that way sometimes, when it's just so easy for me to see it, and I don't quite know how to explain or describe it properly to get the reader to see it the same way

[anonymous]

I've never been someone who does edit. I don't think that hard about it, I don't care if people like it, I write to improve my art and the only editing I generally do is typos and a few restructuring of sentences. I may re-read one time and add a little something here and there, but I wouldn't consider it done until I knew the story had been told the way I wanted it to be. As for telling the story... I get a general idea and procrastinate hard, but once I start typing, I let it tell itself. I'm very much about the flow. As long as I'm flowing, I'm good.

And writing partners, for me? I've always written one character, they've written another and we bounce off each other. It's a lot more inspiring to have someone keep you on your toes, but the story is told very differently to how you saw it in your head.

[silentdescant]

I'm usually this way if it's something relatively short. For the most part, I'm happy with what I write as I write it, and I don't really think too hard about changing it unless, like, I'm going for a specific sort of thing, like I want to change the mood of the whole piece or something. But yeah, flow is a big deal for me, too.

That's basically how I did it with my main co-writer! It was so interesting, and yeah, we definitely wrote some stuff that I never would've written just by myself. It was good to kind of hand it over whenever I was feeling stuck, too, although I will admit that I had a slightly bigger issue letting go and passing it off without writing a TON first. :P

[rude_bunny]

I've always wanted to do proper screen writing classes. I am definitely no writer but I did take a script writing class for animation for two years as part of my course. The technique is so different and the way in which I'd visualise a concept is so very different since it's based almost entirely on the visual concepts. I've gotten a lot of praise for my scriptwriting but at times it feels isolated to the realms of short animation since that's what I mainly write for and I don't know how that would transfer. I love plot, love crafting how things will unfold and the pacing, not so much up on dialogue since I prefer to avoid using it. I am also obsessed with subtext and often have it all planned out and crafted so it can be read multiple ways ^^ I had considered doing a comic/graphic novel idea in fandom since it would tie in my storyboarding skill (I love storyboarding!) and allow me to tell a story visually but I definitely won't have the time for that until after I finish up college. My main experience with co-writing is

[silentdescant]

This is super interesting to me, how it differs across media platforms like animation and film and books and everything. I sometimes see a story visually as I'm writing it, but that tends to lead me towards screenwriting rather than prose, but it's still nowhere near the amount of visuals you probably need for animation, or even for storyboarding or comics. Artists' processes are totally fascinating to me, because it can be so similar to writers' processes, but so different at the same time. And oh man, if you ever get around to a fandom graphic novel, I would soooooo be into that, hahahaha. So I'll hold out hope. :D

Writings hmm?

[thefinished]

My writing process is sort of weird. But also isn't. Sometimes I just FEEL the need to write. And sometimes I turn my poetry into a story. And I always try to write the dialogue in a way that seems realistic. Things that I think they, the characters I write, would say and do. I always do this with the fanfics I write.

But sometimes I feel like writing in a sarcastic tone, mostly essays at school. Or I'll feel the need to write something SCARY or BLOODY.

But that doesn't happen often.

So yeah! xD

Re: Writings hmm?

[silentdescant]

Oh, totally, I understand exactly what you mean by just feeling it. And omg, I was just complaining about this on twitter the other day, but I just cannot wrap my brain around poetry. It boggles my mind, and I always have so much respect for anyone who's main thing is poetry. It's just such a foreign medium to me, for some reason, like composing music. I love playing music and listening to music, but composing it is so far over my head. lol Thanks for responding!!

[my_silent_hour]

I love talking about the process because, like writing, you never stop learning about it

[silentdescant]

Yes! And it's so interesting to hear from people who do it similar to you, or totally and completely different from you. I love it.

Oooh, that's super cool about hearing the voice of the character. That is really interesting. I think I tend to (if I'm trying to force myself to start writing a story I've been planning out) come up with scenes or situations and I just push the characters into them and feel them out that way, if that makes sense?

And I'm exactly that way with writing outlines. I usually write write write write write, and then I get hit with it like a bolt of lightning about halfway through, like oh, that's what I'm writing about, that's where this story's headed. I used to really hate outlining, but man, my LBB would NOT have been written without an outline. I had to go through that basically scene by scene, sometimes all out of order. It does help a lot to kind of edit beforehand with the outline, and it also makes it easier to rearrange scenes that way