by jasmydae » Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:18 pm
Hey. I just started my own fic and am a terribly slow writer. When I'm having trouble with a chapter, I do this:
--- on PAPER ---
1. Write down a whole list of ideas for things that could happen. Whatever comes to mind, I write down.
2. Cull the list down to a few 'winners'
3. Put them in order, and try to figure out how they'll fit in with the major story arcs.
4. make a *very* rough draft, including general timeline, who talks with whom (and when), who thinks about what, etc. No specifics, yet.
5. double check foreshadowing/consistency.
6. Write out the dialog, in play form. I'm much better at writing dialog than I am at writing descriptive passages, so when I'm stuck, I stick with my strong points. I write out most of the talking parts on paper before I even think about sitting down at the computer.
Example, taken directly from my notes, copied verbatim:
G: Tempests
T: I'm sorry, what?
G: The name of the painting is Tempests
T: Did you do these?
G No. They are by a student in Mr ___'s class
Note: at this point, I don't bother writing in the characters quirks/inflections. It's just very very rough ideas for how the conversation will go. If you compare that bit to the actual discussion the two have in my fic, you'll see the difference. I polish it all when I sit down at the computer.
--- on the computer ---
Once I've got the whole chapter sketched out and the dialog drafted, I'll start writing, usually at the beginning. If I get stuck on a part, I start a timer. If I haven't written a paragraph in fifteen minutes, I'll just put a big flag in its place, and move to a different part, then come back later.
Hope this helps, somewhat. Feel free to drop me a line.
*peace*
~ Megan
