Snowflake Challenge Day 11

[dragonyphoenix]

In your own space, talk about your creative process(es) — anything from the initial inspiration to how you feel after something’s done. Do you struggle with motivation or is it a smooth process? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to pull out when a fanwork isn’t cooperating? What is your level of planning to pantsing/winging it? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I'm definitely a panster. I get an idea and write without thinking about where the story is going. I then edit a number of times before posting. For the current story I'm writing / posting, In a Corner of My Soul, I wrote and edited the full story but am editing chapters before I post them. As I've been editing, I've been modifying the plot slightly so I'm not only editing for readability for adjusting for the plot changes as well.

One of my favorite techniques is to rewrite a sentence or small set of sentences multiple times. The exercise, as I first read it, is to rewrite an opening sentence, changing it in each iteration, 100 times. I generally find a sentence I'm happy with about 25 iterations in. This is a creativity technique. The more different ideas (or in this case writing variations) you come with, the more creative you are being. I've found it to be a very helpful technique. I first used it on the opening of On This Side of Goodbye. Of the openings I've writing, it's one of my favorites.

I also like to think about my story and work through plot issues while I'm walking.

Comments

writing

[oldtoadwoman]

I remember in school when a teacher would require an outline for a paper, I still wrote the paper first and the outline was based on the paper. That's how I still write. I sometimes resort to outlines, but only halfway through when I'm just trying to remember key details and plot threads that I need to remember to wrap up.

I hadn't heard of that idea of writing a sentence 100 times. I'm way too lazy for 100, but I can see how the exercise might help. I'd always been focused on getting it right and not just going, "Let me brainstorm a bunch of different wants and decide later."

Re: writing

[dragonyphoenix]

I'm working on my first really long fic. After each chapter I'm making up lists of who did what when so I can move forward without making a mistake in plot threads or details. And I also never made it as far as 100 rewrites. Mid-twenties about does it for me.