Day 8: Changing my technique

I apologize in advance if this entry is not perfectly written.  As I write this, I'm lying on my couch where my cat has decided that my right arm would make a cozy resting spot.  I don't have the heart to move him.

 My last writing session was a little more productive.  I suppose I've had to retrain myself to sit down and do it and also remember what works best for me.  I don't know why I didn't immediately start doing this earlier:  I do have a general outline to tell me what will happen through the entire story, but that is not the only one I like to use.  When I sit down to start a scene or a chapter I like to create one specifically for what I'm about to write.  This one goes into more detail and includes more snippets of conversation.  The reason I like to do this is pretty much the same reason why I'm trying not to edit as I go.  I don't want to bog myself down with thinking up the best way to write it.

When I try to write in full paragraphs I usually will close my eyes and trying to put myself in my characters' shoes.  What are they thinking now?  What might bug them?  What are they trying to do?  That certainly needs to be done, but sometimes it slows me down some and makes writing a little tougher if I start out that way, at least for me.   If I flesh out exactly what happens in a scene first I can get it all out before I forget my ideas or get too worn down trying to write something polished.

My dialogue in particularly improves with this method.  I write that best if I write it fast, at the speed that the exchange might realistically happen.  It gets unnatural if I slow it down by typing out what the characters are doing physically at the moment or the emotions they experience.  Plus, this gives me the added bonus of making my dialogue a more realistic length.  Otherwise my exchanges tend to be just a few lines long each, mainly because they become too succinct (let's face it, none of us are very good at getting straight to the point when we speak.  It just doesn't happen.)  I don't want my characters to talk in too many circles, but somehow I find balance here.


Then I write it out with more flow, connecting the bits of conversation into a larger picture, anchoring it into a physical world, adding more details.  I can close my eyes and see how it should really happen... and change whatever I may realize does not work after all.

I should note that this might not be the best method for everyone to use.  If I have learned anything in my time writing so far it is that everyone has their own strategies that work for them.  Some people don't plan their stories at all.  Some people write their best work with music that matches the mood they are trying to depict while others (me) either get horribly distracted by it or else forget there is even anything playing.

I am not done writing for the day.  I've got other things to do, but I'm planning on writing a little more tonight before I go to bed.

Shortly after I decided to write this novel I talked about it with a few of my friends.  One of them told me that she had also finally decided to do something she'd been considering for a long time: start a YouTube channel.  Well, she has put up her introductory video and I am very much looking forward to seeing what she does with it.  You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seWLkH8fnB4&feature=plcp&context=C3337ad1UDOEgsToPDskJEiUce3jusu3plyi3eMoZC

I think I have also figured out something else I'd like to accomplish with this blog.  During the years when I was only wishing I was writing a novel I visited site after site about writing.  Some were inspirational, some gave advice, some focused on writing technique and others on publishing.  I am going to try to pass this information on to those who read my blog with the hope that anyone else out there wants to try to write something and either does not have the courage to try or else does not know how to start can also take this leap.  My link for today will take you to a TED talk.  I'm obsessed with these.  This one is a presentation by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love.  Since the video on the TED talk site does not seem to be working, here it is on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA

Phew.  Long post and my cat is still balanced on my arm.

Words written today (so far): 938
Total word count: 2469 (1/36 of the way to 90,000!)