On Writing

[pensnest]

"Plot is, I think, the good writer's last resort, and the dullard's first choice."

Well, that's what Stephen King says. I've been reading his 'On Writing', and it's very interesting indeed. He has the idea that a story isn't so much made up as discovered, and that strikes me as very true. Sometimes you need plot, but it's a lot harder to write something 'true' when you have to keep to the plot. I don't know how people who do terribly complex stuff with immense amounts of foreshadowing and cleverness manage to do it. It's much easier to have a reasonable idea where things are going, and let the characters take you along. What do you guys feel about writing this way?

Anyway, I've been discovering a story for a couple of weeks now, having put my poor boys into a nasty situation I'm now finding out what they make of it. It's very interesting. I'm creeping towards completion, but I kinda don't want to finish because it's fun. Yesterday, I thought they ought to do something, but as I was writing, I felt it was awfully contrived... anyway, they didn't want to, and today, they've done something much better. You'll see soon, as I'm down for the August challenge on Monday. I hope I will have figured out a title by then.

I never did get round to talking about this year's Remix challenge, for which I was assigned phaballa as my mixee. Naturally I thought at once that it would be ideal to do the dark, sexy, serious version of now that's what I call a motherfucking oedipus complex. I knew exactly what I wanted to write... and I couldn't. Couldn't do it at all. In the end, rather than being sane and going to check out her other stories, I ended up doing the "so tell me about your mother" remix with batshit insane Justin telling his shrink how it was all everybody else's fault. I enjoyed writing it, but. hmm. I feel a bit guilty, as it means (presumably) that whoever gets phaballa next year won't be able to have a go at it then.

Getting her revenge for last year, topaz119, and what a gorgeous job she made of it, putting my "AJ as Lance's sex slave" story into a New Orleans period setting, and YUM! It's wonderful.

I still haven't read all the remix stories, sigh, but I hope to get some feedback sent to the very worthy authors really soon. The first few I did manage to read were excellent, yet again showing how this challenge attracts authors who enjoy the craft of writing.

Comments

[paperdollkisses.livejournal.com]

I never start with a plot. I know there's a beginning and an ending and usually have some idea of where it's going to go after a little while into it. But, that usually changes up about 8 times before I really get going. Somehow... if I can write a longer piece... there ends up being some plot. The story writes itself though. If I try to force it another way it comes to a dead stop.

[pensnest]

Sounds almost exactly like the way I write. :-)

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

I don't know how people who do terribly complex stuff with immense amounts of foreshadowing and cleverness manage to do it.

They write in multiple drafts and put the foreshadowing and stuff in after they've figured out where the characters are going in the first draft?

[pensnest]

I think so. Scary. I hate revising in that quantity/depth, and it's particularly tiresome with the kind/length of story that most needs it, too. I tend to find that what I've written *becomes* 'what happened', so it's very hard to pick it up and shake it into better shape.

Dammit, I need a writing icon!

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

a combination of that and your subconscious doing it for you - I find that kind of stuff really hard to write on purpose, but when I'm not stressing on it, sometimes the threads are just *there* when I need them later. (not that I write _that_ long)

[pensnest]

Yes. Usually I know what is going to happen in a story, if not necessarily *how*, and I write with an awareness of whatever it is, so - with luck - some of it at least does end up in there. Occasionally, this even means that random stuff I tossed in early turns out to be exactly what I need later!

[nopseud]

I love Stephen King On Writing, and he says a lot of very smart things in it (possibly I just think that because he seems to have a pretty similar process to me), but I don't think he always sufficiently acknowledges that people really do write in very different ways.

[pensnest]

I think that's true - he does mention possibilities, but not in any significance. I really like the way he conveys how much he enjoys writing, though!

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

I usually at least TRY to have a good idea of where the story is going, certain plot points that need to be hit, but everything in between? Oh yes, definitely waiting to be discovered. ;-)

[pensnest]

I find there are certain scenes I want to write - but I have to write the story chronologically or the scenes may not actually belong by the time I get to them...

[raynedanser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have that problem, too. Sometimes I may do a rough draft of a scene, just to get it out of my system, too.

[paperdollkisses.livejournal.com]

I have to write start to finish too! Usually a "insert sex scene here" note will suffice if I have to skip an area.

I tried to write from an outline once and it was horrible. Stream of consciousness is good.

Blank page starts? Yeah... I usually write gibberish like HKHIUYPIEHR:SEUIEP:HDJ?

and it works. Most times.

[pensnest]

I love the idea of writing gibberish just to have *something* there!

[turps33.livejournal.com]

What do you guys feel about writing this way?

I like it. I have three stories I'm jumping between at the moment and while I know how all will end, I've no idea how they're going to get to that point. I've pretty much pointed them in the right direction and said, go.

[pensnest]

Ooh, how do you manage that? I hate having more than one story on the go, which is why I'm in a bit of a quandary at the moment, because I have two probables lined up for bittybang and I have a feeling I shall need to write them both... I don't *like* writing two at once!

[turps33.livejournal.com]

It helps that they're all in different fandoms, so it's easy to keep them separate.

But mostly, like you I only used to write one stiry at a time. Then I decided to actually use Google docs. It means I can just click on what story I want and it's instantly there. No loading up of Word and finding the right file, which always used to cement the mind set that I was writing that one particular story that day.

I know it won't work for everyone, but for me it really does.

[paperdollkisses.livejournal.com]

How do you use google docs? It sounds interesting.

I've written multiple stories together too, not counting drabbles, but they had different 'tones' to them and that's how I kept them straight. It's hard to do that all the time because I'm angst queen extraordinaire. I only write sparkly and sparkly dark... except for that one Gerard/Mikey that one time that could have been anyone.

[turps33.livejournal.com]

Google docs is like an online word programme. You can save stories there, open them up, add more, edit, have it set up so you can see every different version of edits that you've done. I just find it so cool.

Right now I have two different stories open and I just go back to the one I'm feeling at that moment. Sometimes I'll only add a handful of words, other times thousands, but the pages are there waiting for when I have that urge.

[paperdollkisses.livejournal.com]

OOH, I just looked it up and it looks neat. I may have to try it out.