Meme - Writing Survey
Mar. 17th, 2010 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tj_dragonbladeLifted this from...somebody. Ages and ages ago.
Writing Survey
Do ideas come in little tiny pinpricks and then get expanded, or do they start great big and scopy and then get refined?
More of the first. Generally more of a semi-solid idea that firms up until I actually start putting it to paper/text editor. Lots of my ideas for bigger fics never really flesh out enough to sustain themselves, which is why they just don't get written.
Why do you choose to write in the tenses you do (present tense, or first person POV, or third person) and how do you choose particular styles for particular stories?
I...don't know? Never really thought about it much. Third person past tense probably feels the most comfortable, most natural for a narrative voice. Though I am consciously using present-tense on a current WIP in an attempt to create a more immediate in-the-middle-of-it feel to things. Time will tell if it evokes the desired effect or not.
Do you have music that inspires your writing (that you listen to while writing, or certain songs that remind you of certain characters)?
There have been stories that develop small soundtracks, and I do have character/pairing playlists that can be musely to the writing. Not always, and not consistently, but sometimes.
How do you brainstorm what comes next in a story?
...Hey, if I figured that one out, maybe I'd actually get a story finished more often than I do. -_-
What do you do when you hit a road block?
...See last question. Usually it sits until I come back to it with fresh perspective somewhere (weeks/months/years) down the road.
How often do you end up deleting a whole bunch of already-written stuff, and how hard is it to let that stuff go?
Not terribly often. The one story I've really done that to, the deleted stuff is saved in an alt version of the file for reference if I ever wanted to recycle any of the cut material.
What if you really, really want to include something but part of you is saying it's not right for that particular story?
If an idea's not right, it's not right and it won't go in. Might find its way into something else later on, depending. If something already written is later deemed 'not right for this fic' but has potential on its own merit, see last question.
Do you take notes longhand, and if so, when?
When something's itching to get out of my head and I don't have a computer handy but do have pen and paper. I have a few WIPs that are entirely hand-written (what little there is of them) simply because I wanted to write and wasn't at a computer.
Do you use challenges by other people to inspire you?
Er...well...sometimes? Prompts and challenges can be helpful, but generally only if they 'speak' to me. And even then, I'm kinda crap at producing from them in a timely manner. There's a kinkmeme prompt or two that I picked up ages ago and am just not done with. Provides lots of lovely guilt and pressure to know that some anonymous person is/was waiting on this, has probably given up hope of ever seeing any follow-through on it. And there's like six ficlets I'm working on so slowly from that drabble meme months (a year?) ago, same story. >_< So basically it boils down to Prompts Can Be Useful, But I'm Still Slow.
Do you do anything in particular to get you into the right mindset to write a certain character or characters?
Not...really. Not consciously. Not specifically.
Which characters are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
People with a more formal/reserved bearing and 'prettier' speech patterns. I'm not sure why; it's always been a 'voice' type that flows more naturally. Jiipu is probably one of the easiest, largely because there's a great deal of room to 'mould' him as I see fit in the process, to make of his voice and personality what works for me so long as it ties back to the hints and suggestions given in canon.
Which ones are hardest, and again, WHY?
People with very distinctly unique voices or speech patterns, especially when those voices are in a more casual or laid-back vein. There's a more definite sense of 'right' or 'wrong' in trying to capture them, and it's very easy to feel corny or over-done if tagging on a catch-phrase or trying to convey a certain accent. People I can't/don't really connect with in canon, or where I don't really have a good sense of what is/isn't in character. Oh, and people with wicked-cool social skills - not being so blessed myself, I tend to worry that I'm showing my lack of knowing what I write in trying to portray that side of them.
Which characters are most like you emotionally?
...I...don't know? Maybe I don't quite get the question, but...people who are sort of closed off or bottled up but melodramatically fragile underneath that too-brittle facade? Stoic, pessimistic/pragmatic, nursing some degree of cynical romantic at the core? More prone to long-boiling frustration and banked anger than bursts of wrath? Prone to catering more to the happiness of others because s/he is not 'entitled' to want or need, is not 'worth' anyone's attention? No one specific comes to mind.
How often do you feel like what you're writing is fulfilling some emotional need - ie, when you're writing comfort, is it because you often feel that you don't get it IRL?
I'd say never, but then I remember my hardcore-NiiKou days and how I threw a lot of personal frustration into their dynamic, so...rarely?
What about writing smut - do you find it easy, difficult?
It was pretty effortless when I started, though I make no claims as to the quality of such smut by now. It was easy to follow the basic pattern observed in all the other fics I'd read, and it was fun to churn out my own versions of those patterns. As time has gone on, however, I find myself seeing all the tropes and cliches and basic-pattern-repetitiveness, in a way I didn't as a smut-writing newbie, and it definitely takes more effort to stray from that path. Cookie-cutter smut doesn't really hold any appeal, and it's harder to define shapes that feel more original, less tab-a slot-b by-the-book rote.
What kinds of smut are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
I'd have to say, so far, I think the smut that's more about the smut and not smut-within-a-bigger-story tends to come easier. Smut for its own sake doesn't really have to be anything else. Smut that's meant to fit into a plot needs to be a bit more, to fit into the larger frame, carry context from the surrounding story, and often has more emotional and characterization considerations attached to it.
Smut with a pairing I'm not obsessively invested in also seems to come easier, assuming I have a good enough personal reason for wanting to venture out with such a casual interest in the first place. And of course there's a line somewhere between 'casually interested in', 'not opposed to', and 'can't get on board with'. I don't know how I would fare trying to write smut for a pairing I just don't believe in or one to which I'd never given much thought.
If the question is asking about mushy smut vs. angry smut vs. kinky smut, that sort of thing? I'm really really vanilla when it comes to things like bdsm and D/s and your 'normal' garden-variety fetishes, but kinky smut that matches my kinks will spill forth more easily than 'normal' smut. Several of my fics-in-progress are smutty; the snippets involving tentacles or dragon bits, for instance, are largely already written while the more mundane elements of the smut (and story) languish in the brain waiting for the 'right moment' to focus on them and flesh them out properly.
Mostly, though, what makes smut easy to write is having a scene vividly laid out in detail in my head, down to positions and hand-placement and everything, and then having the right combination of opportune time combined with focus on this...fantasy, more or less, to commit the bulk of it to words.
Which of your stories is your favorite and WHY? Least favorite?
Least favorite is probably 'Perfect 10' - it was the first lemon I wrote, and one of the first GW fics, and it's so chock-full of bad fandom cliches that I just cringe. But everyone starts somewhere.
Favorite would probably be...hm. Possibly 'How Jeep Stays Sane', for being so effortless to write; possibly 'Protocol' for being a first real venture into GouTen and turning out so playful; possibly one of several WIPs I have yet to post or finish about which I'm enthusiastic for one reason or another.
Which of your titles do you like the most/least, and why?
Least - 'Perfect 10', possibly, on account of it being a lame mathematical reference to the pairing (5x2=10) and having no other relation to the story.
Most...hm. Can't really say I've ever been particularly proud of or squeeful over any title. Most are fairly mundane and unimaginative. Possibly...possibly 'Instant Gratification', on account of it becoming a sort of in-joke in the beta-process; possibly 'When the Chips Are Down' (not yet betaed or posted) because it's sort of trying to make a (bad) pun.
How do you choose titles for your stories?
Er...mostly...by...something that seems appropriate? Occasionally something vaguely witty or snappy or 'cute' will occur, but more often than not I'm struggling for something that just fits well enough to call it good. Sometimes I sift randomly through song lyrics looking for a good fit.
Do you write differently with a cowriter than you do alone? Is it easier or harder?
Only done it once or twice, quite a long time ago. It's...different, is all I can say. It's usually a case of loosening my opinion of what's right or IC so as not to sound like some pompous elitist 'MY opinion is RIGHT' asshat, and not really discussing what's there or where it's going for fear of coming across as either critical, nit-picky, or overbearing. I'm perhaps too interpersonally timid to really be any 'good' at co-writing outside of a 'Let's just write something crazy because we feel like it!' approach.
For series and long works, do you decide a goal in advance to stop at or are they open ended? If you do choose a goal, how often do you stick to it?
Series and long works are not really my thing, when one looks at my history - there are very few chaptered or connected stories there. Any fic I write is pretty much a write-it-til-it's-done sort of thing, an idea that I want to get down and sometimes I know how it will wrap and sometimes I flounder for the right words to wrap it up. Some fics do come with a 'This should be fairly short' feeling about them, but...as far as word-count or length goals or anything, no.
How do you deal with characters going a different direction than you want them to?
Go with the flow, man. It just tends to work better that way.
When a scene feels forced, what are the first few tricks you try to fix it?
Usually I try to identify what feels wrong, and why, and then usually in finding those answers I can identify a direction for fixing it. If it stumps me, though, it'll often be tagged out in beta as 'I'm not happy with this but I'm not entirely sure why' and an outside opinion/new perspective is without fail very helpful in hammering it into proper shape.
Are most of your fixes deletions or additions?
...Replacements? Improvements? Embellishments/tone-downs? Re-wording for clarity and/or conciseness?
How long does it usually take you to write a story? How many revisions do you go through?
I've had fics that were written in a day or few. I have fics in progress that are past the five-year mark. Most fics take a matter of months to years. Revisions are usually happening during the drafting process, every time I read through the WIP. It's not like I power through to a finished draft and then go back to revise, and again, and again; I tend to do a lot of reading and revising of what exists while stuck over what doesn't, so by the time I get a fully drafted fic there's already been a lot of revision along the way and there's hopefully not too much left by that point.
Do you use beta readers?
Most of the time, yeah. A fresh set of eyes and a baldly honest opinion are very useful tools to help a fic be all it can be.
Writing Survey
Do ideas come in little tiny pinpricks and then get expanded, or do they start great big and scopy and then get refined?
More of the first. Generally more of a semi-solid idea that firms up until I actually start putting it to paper/text editor. Lots of my ideas for bigger fics never really flesh out enough to sustain themselves, which is why they just don't get written.
Why do you choose to write in the tenses you do (present tense, or first person POV, or third person) and how do you choose particular styles for particular stories?
I...don't know? Never really thought about it much. Third person past tense probably feels the most comfortable, most natural for a narrative voice. Though I am consciously using present-tense on a current WIP in an attempt to create a more immediate in-the-middle-of-it feel to things. Time will tell if it evokes the desired effect or not.
Do you have music that inspires your writing (that you listen to while writing, or certain songs that remind you of certain characters)?
There have been stories that develop small soundtracks, and I do have character/pairing playlists that can be musely to the writing. Not always, and not consistently, but sometimes.
How do you brainstorm what comes next in a story?
...Hey, if I figured that one out, maybe I'd actually get a story finished more often than I do. -_-
What do you do when you hit a road block?
...See last question. Usually it sits until I come back to it with fresh perspective somewhere (weeks/months/years) down the road.
How often do you end up deleting a whole bunch of already-written stuff, and how hard is it to let that stuff go?
Not terribly often. The one story I've really done that to, the deleted stuff is saved in an alt version of the file for reference if I ever wanted to recycle any of the cut material.
What if you really, really want to include something but part of you is saying it's not right for that particular story?
If an idea's not right, it's not right and it won't go in. Might find its way into something else later on, depending. If something already written is later deemed 'not right for this fic' but has potential on its own merit, see last question.
Do you take notes longhand, and if so, when?
When something's itching to get out of my head and I don't have a computer handy but do have pen and paper. I have a few WIPs that are entirely hand-written (what little there is of them) simply because I wanted to write and wasn't at a computer.
Do you use challenges by other people to inspire you?
Er...well...sometimes? Prompts and challenges can be helpful, but generally only if they 'speak' to me. And even then, I'm kinda crap at producing from them in a timely manner. There's a kinkmeme prompt or two that I picked up ages ago and am just not done with. Provides lots of lovely guilt and pressure to know that some anonymous person is/was waiting on this, has probably given up hope of ever seeing any follow-through on it. And there's like six ficlets I'm working on so slowly from that drabble meme months (a year?) ago, same story. >_< So basically it boils down to Prompts Can Be Useful, But I'm Still Slow.
Do you do anything in particular to get you into the right mindset to write a certain character or characters?
Not...really. Not consciously. Not specifically.
Which characters are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
People with a more formal/reserved bearing and 'prettier' speech patterns. I'm not sure why; it's always been a 'voice' type that flows more naturally. Jiipu is probably one of the easiest, largely because there's a great deal of room to 'mould' him as I see fit in the process, to make of his voice and personality what works for me so long as it ties back to the hints and suggestions given in canon.
Which ones are hardest, and again, WHY?
People with very distinctly unique voices or speech patterns, especially when those voices are in a more casual or laid-back vein. There's a more definite sense of 'right' or 'wrong' in trying to capture them, and it's very easy to feel corny or over-done if tagging on a catch-phrase or trying to convey a certain accent. People I can't/don't really connect with in canon, or where I don't really have a good sense of what is/isn't in character. Oh, and people with wicked-cool social skills - not being so blessed myself, I tend to worry that I'm showing my lack of knowing what I write in trying to portray that side of them.
Which characters are most like you emotionally?
...I...don't know? Maybe I don't quite get the question, but...people who are sort of closed off or bottled up but melodramatically fragile underneath that too-brittle facade? Stoic, pessimistic/pragmatic, nursing some degree of cynical romantic at the core? More prone to long-boiling frustration and banked anger than bursts of wrath? Prone to catering more to the happiness of others because s/he is not 'entitled' to want or need, is not 'worth' anyone's attention? No one specific comes to mind.
How often do you feel like what you're writing is fulfilling some emotional need - ie, when you're writing comfort, is it because you often feel that you don't get it IRL?
I'd say never, but then I remember my hardcore-NiiKou days and how I threw a lot of personal frustration into their dynamic, so...rarely?
What about writing smut - do you find it easy, difficult?
It was pretty effortless when I started, though I make no claims as to the quality of such smut by now. It was easy to follow the basic pattern observed in all the other fics I'd read, and it was fun to churn out my own versions of those patterns. As time has gone on, however, I find myself seeing all the tropes and cliches and basic-pattern-repetitiveness, in a way I didn't as a smut-writing newbie, and it definitely takes more effort to stray from that path. Cookie-cutter smut doesn't really hold any appeal, and it's harder to define shapes that feel more original, less tab-a slot-b by-the-book rote.
What kinds of smut are easiest for you to write, and WHY?
I'd have to say, so far, I think the smut that's more about the smut and not smut-within-a-bigger-story tends to come easier. Smut for its own sake doesn't really have to be anything else. Smut that's meant to fit into a plot needs to be a bit more, to fit into the larger frame, carry context from the surrounding story, and often has more emotional and characterization considerations attached to it.
Smut with a pairing I'm not obsessively invested in also seems to come easier, assuming I have a good enough personal reason for wanting to venture out with such a casual interest in the first place. And of course there's a line somewhere between 'casually interested in', 'not opposed to', and 'can't get on board with'. I don't know how I would fare trying to write smut for a pairing I just don't believe in or one to which I'd never given much thought.
If the question is asking about mushy smut vs. angry smut vs. kinky smut, that sort of thing? I'm really really vanilla when it comes to things like bdsm and D/s and your 'normal' garden-variety fetishes, but kinky smut that matches my kinks will spill forth more easily than 'normal' smut. Several of my fics-in-progress are smutty; the snippets involving tentacles or dragon bits, for instance, are largely already written while the more mundane elements of the smut (and story) languish in the brain waiting for the 'right moment' to focus on them and flesh them out properly.
Mostly, though, what makes smut easy to write is having a scene vividly laid out in detail in my head, down to positions and hand-placement and everything, and then having the right combination of opportune time combined with focus on this...fantasy, more or less, to commit the bulk of it to words.
Which of your stories is your favorite and WHY? Least favorite?
Least favorite is probably 'Perfect 10' - it was the first lemon I wrote, and one of the first GW fics, and it's so chock-full of bad fandom cliches that I just cringe. But everyone starts somewhere.
Favorite would probably be...hm. Possibly 'How Jeep Stays Sane', for being so effortless to write; possibly 'Protocol' for being a first real venture into GouTen and turning out so playful; possibly one of several WIPs I have yet to post or finish about which I'm enthusiastic for one reason or another.
Which of your titles do you like the most/least, and why?
Least - 'Perfect 10', possibly, on account of it being a lame mathematical reference to the pairing (5x2=10) and having no other relation to the story.
Most...hm. Can't really say I've ever been particularly proud of or squeeful over any title. Most are fairly mundane and unimaginative. Possibly...possibly 'Instant Gratification', on account of it becoming a sort of in-joke in the beta-process; possibly 'When the Chips Are Down' (not yet betaed or posted) because it's sort of trying to make a (bad) pun.
How do you choose titles for your stories?
Er...mostly...by...something that seems appropriate? Occasionally something vaguely witty or snappy or 'cute' will occur, but more often than not I'm struggling for something that just fits well enough to call it good. Sometimes I sift randomly through song lyrics looking for a good fit.
Do you write differently with a cowriter than you do alone? Is it easier or harder?
Only done it once or twice, quite a long time ago. It's...different, is all I can say. It's usually a case of loosening my opinion of what's right or IC so as not to sound like some pompous elitist 'MY opinion is RIGHT' asshat, and not really discussing what's there or where it's going for fear of coming across as either critical, nit-picky, or overbearing. I'm perhaps too interpersonally timid to really be any 'good' at co-writing outside of a 'Let's just write something crazy because we feel like it!' approach.
For series and long works, do you decide a goal in advance to stop at or are they open ended? If you do choose a goal, how often do you stick to it?
Series and long works are not really my thing, when one looks at my history - there are very few chaptered or connected stories there. Any fic I write is pretty much a write-it-til-it's-done sort of thing, an idea that I want to get down and sometimes I know how it will wrap and sometimes I flounder for the right words to wrap it up. Some fics do come with a 'This should be fairly short' feeling about them, but...as far as word-count or length goals or anything, no.
How do you deal with characters going a different direction than you want them to?
Go with the flow, man. It just tends to work better that way.
When a scene feels forced, what are the first few tricks you try to fix it?
Usually I try to identify what feels wrong, and why, and then usually in finding those answers I can identify a direction for fixing it. If it stumps me, though, it'll often be tagged out in beta as 'I'm not happy with this but I'm not entirely sure why' and an outside opinion/new perspective is without fail very helpful in hammering it into proper shape.
Are most of your fixes deletions or additions?
...Replacements? Improvements? Embellishments/tone-downs? Re-wording for clarity and/or conciseness?
How long does it usually take you to write a story? How many revisions do you go through?
I've had fics that were written in a day or few. I have fics in progress that are past the five-year mark. Most fics take a matter of months to years. Revisions are usually happening during the drafting process, every time I read through the WIP. It's not like I power through to a finished draft and then go back to revise, and again, and again; I tend to do a lot of reading and revising of what exists while stuck over what doesn't, so by the time I get a fully drafted fic there's already been a lot of revision along the way and there's hopefully not too much left by that point.
Do you use beta readers?
Most of the time, yeah. A fresh set of eyes and a baldly honest opinion are very useful tools to help a fic be all it can be.
