Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Where Does the Greatest Satisfaction Lie For You

in your writing? Although I greatly enjoy going back to a section already written and fleshing it out more, adding more detail, editing it, I never feel I am making real progress on the days I do this. I feel like I'm cheating a bit.

Plotting is my greatest hurdle so when I am able to move the story forward, find the next piece in the puzzle, I feel the most productive. Even when I know exactly what's going to happen, getting it down is always a struggle. Whereas going back to page 10 and adding more dialog or describing the place or people a bit more is pure joy. Is it like this for you?

Maybe for some people, the plot comes easiest and it's those details and honing the dialog they dread. What comes easiest for you? Would you rather add three pages at the end of the manuscript or scattered about? Or perhaps any increase in page count amounts to the same thing?

Today, I've got to move forward though. There's only so many ways you can rewrite those first scenes.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love when I get into moments of white heat, when the world disappears, and I am so totally into the scene that I'm barely aware I'm even writing.

Not to be crude about it, but it's almost like sex.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Yes, that's the best of all and you never know when it's coming. Much like sex when you're newly weds, I bet.

Terrie Farley Moran said...

I am a "beginning to end" writer. I start and continue without edit or adding detail. If I think of a plot point that would fit nicely in a past section, I go back and write a reminder for the edit in bold: put whatever here.

I edit and revise the same way: start to finish. Of course when I start, I don't always know what the finish will be and sometimes it turns out to be something quite different that what I originally thought.

Terrie

pattinase (abbott) said...

TFM-My exact opposite. I rewrite and edit constantly. Moving forward is tough for me. I think it comes from starting with poetry.

Anonymous said...

I am more like Terrie as I write from beginning to end. My process involves me sitting in front of a stack of 4x6 cards, closing my eyes, and 'seeing' the movie in my head. I write one card/scene and write out the entire book. This works for me because at those designated writing times, I don't have to ponder the white screen. I pick up the next card and write that scene. My greatest satisfaction is when the characters take on a life of their own. For example, when I pick up a card, I know what has to happen. What I thoroughly enjoy and don't see coming are those special moments when a character says to me "Yeah, I know I have to do what you said but how about if I do it this way?" And, usually, it's a winner. The notecard technique is also helpful for those nights when I just don't feel like writing. I have no excuse with a notecard staring me in the face. One night, while writing my first novel, I didn't want to write but I did. And one of 'those moments' happened that ended up being a crucial step toward character development...and I didn't plan it or see it coming. Those are moments when writing is a bit like sex.

Linda McLaughlin said...

I love it when I "get in the zone" and just rack up the word count, but that doesn't happen every day. Dialog comes easiest to me.

Linda

pattinase (abbott) said...

Not in "the zone" today. Oh, well.

Melissa Amateis said...

Wow. You sound just like me. I have plotting problems, too, and I feel the most productive when I get can the next scene down because I'm making progress - and even if that scene has to be edited out at some point, at least it got me going where I needed to go.

I can't write scenes out of order - drives me completely batty.

I love to go back and edit - the hard part is done. Now it's time to play!

pattinase (abbott) said...

Me, too. Can't write scenes out of order either although sometimes I move it around later. I also can never skip around when reading a book, even a non-fiction book. What the hell.

David Cranmer said...

I get the most enjoyment from plotting the stories and finishing the rough draft straight through, much like Terrie. The details are my hurdle. Recently, a short story of mine was accepted and it took a month of re-writes before becoming print-ready. That was a bit painful, but now that it's done, I have that great feeling of satisfaction.

John McFetridge said...

I'm still not clear on what exactly a "plot" is.

I used to take a lot of notes while pushing my kids on swings and stuff like that and then typed them up when they'd gone to bed. Then I started just writing the scene instead of typing up the notes. Then I started assembling the scenes into some kind of order - plugging in the ones that were already written when I got to the point in the story I thought they'd fit. Sometimes I have to change the scene quite a bit, sometimes it fits right in.

So, pretty much, I'm superstitious so I stick with that method.

The greatest satisfaction comes for me when I'm writing a scene and it feels like it's really working - it's saying exactly what I want it to say how I want to say it.

The worst thing for me has been when I've written a few of those scenes and then been unable to fit them into the book. I figure I can always turn them into something else, maybe a flash fiction, maybe a short story or maybe rework them for another book, but I've learned enough not to try and cram them in where they don't fit.

pattinase (abbott) said...

David-Congrats. Let me know when it appears. John-You are a master plotter. You just don't realize that's what you're up to, I bet.
I guess we all work differently and perhaps me the most different of all. I never think of myself as rigid until I realize I am in this.

James Reasoner said...

Sometimes I'll be writing along and then stop suddenly, read what I just wrote, and say to myself, "That's a good line." That's fun. So is getting so caught up in the story that I realize I've written more pages than I thought I had.

I like the part where I deposit the check, too.

Clair D. said...

Shiny. I like when it's shiny! I like when the words slide effortlessly across the page telling a scene that is sharp, witty, productive, and pretty. I especially like when those words are mine. ;-)

I really just like well-written pieces (shiny!) Sometimes that happens fresh from my fingertips, while more often the rock needs some more polishing. I prefer writing to rewriting, but the joy in rewriting comes from knowning I've made it better. Shiny.

(The part that gets me is being STUCK! Like right now. I don't know what to write next. I think I have to kill someone... but I'm not sure who. Or how. And I can't really move forward. 2k forward, 3k back... =)

pattinase (abbott) said...

James. Someday I may find the joy of cashing a check for more than $200. That's my largest one so far.
Clair-Shiny is good. A good sentence is a joy forever. Even a good word works.

Cormac Brown said...

Overcoming a major plot hurdle and coming up with a satisfying ending...one which suprises myself as a writer. The lack of the latter as of late, has been taking the fun out of writing.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Boy, I'm with you CB. If you're using a true story, you can get hammered by the idea you've gotta go with it too.