How Do You Write??

[Aimz]

I have realised I have a very strange writing style - and I'm keen to find out how you all write.

I used to think you had to write from start to finish - to plan the beginning, middle and end and write in that order. That never worked for me because I have NEVER in my whole life written a story that has an ending. Don't get me wrong - I have written so many things but nothing has ever been finished.

With my latest work, I have been writing in "scenes". I come up with an idea and I write out that scene, exactly as I imagine it with my characters according to their storyline. At the moment I have a jumble of scenes, some of which are at opposite ends of the scale and don't really fit with each other - YET

So what is your writing style?

[Lolli]

Amy- same as you. In bits and blobs. Sometimes they will 'mesh', sometimes a scene will break out a bit and become it's own short or long story. Sometimes i will just write a bit of something that's been going around in my head and will discover a 'spot' for it to go into a longer piece at a later date.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does that!! My current fave writer is Jodi Piccoult and she says she writes from start to finish. But my other long term fave- the dependable Stephen King- writes in bits, pieces and scenes too.

[missymiss]

I write poetry, but I write the same way, in bits and pieces. I will generally write a poem over a week or so, and parts will come to me at random points throughout the day, or when I'm lying in bed. I will write these parts down, and then over time, piece them together in the correct order and fill in the blanks.
My draft will always have asterics and stars, showing how one verse should be pasted here, and one moved over there.
If I get stuck on a part, I just move on because it always seems to come together. I always know what I want to say, so it's just a mater of coming up with the poetic way to say it.
I only write rhyming poetry, so I often need to stop and wait for the correct word/phrase to come to me, and think up that rhyming word.

[AnyDream]

Aponi I've spoken to a couple of novelists and it's very rare to start at the beginning. They tend to start at the bit that is clearest in their mind. One of them even writes on index cards, then tiles them out all over a wall in her study, and rearranges them. That way she can change the order things happen in the book.

Just bear in mind that things tend to get re-written quite markedly before they make it to publication.

[missymiss]

Aponi I've spoken to a couple of novelists and it's very rare to start at the beginning. They tend to start at the bit that is clearest in their mind. One of them even writes on index cards, then tiles them out all over a wall in her study, and rearranges them. That way she can change the order things happen in the book.

Just bear in mind that things tend to get re-written quite markedly before they make it to publication.

I like the index card idea.