† Emotional Outlet Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 (edited) Snagging a conversation topic from the NaNo Facebook page, haha.Swoopers write a story quickly, higgledy-piggledy, crinkum-crankum, any which way. Then they go over it again painstakingly, fixing everything that is just plain awful or doesn’t work. Bashers go one sentence at a time, getting it exactly right before they go on to the next one. When they’re done they’re done.-- Kurt Vonnegut... you can categorize yourself even further! Are you a swooping pantser*? A bashing planner? And do you ever wish you fell into one of the other categories? [...] Pantsers write their novels by the seat of their pants. Planners go in with an outline.-- NaNo Facebook pageI'm more of a bashing pantser. I sit and edit and edit until I think it's perfect, then I write the next word, haha. I want to be more of a swooper, but I find myself unable to move on in a project unless I read and reread what I wrote a billion times. When I was younger I found it easier to just press ahead without editing all the time, but I started getting more self-conscious about my writing and ended up putting myself in eternal editing hell.As far as planning goes, I'm trying to keep myself more organised by maintaining character profiles and building outlines as I go, but I haven't gotten to the point of actually outlining a story before writing it. Baby steps.How about you guys? Edited October 3, 2012 by Emotional Outlet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Mute point Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 I'm kindof a swooper planner. I get a basic outline down, write a chapter or two, and then go back over it until I like it. If I wouldn't read the finished product, I don't write it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 What kind of writer am I??? When I write my stories...I am a perfectionist. I am constant reading and re-reading to get all my details and grammar and spelling is all correct. I also tend to empathize my characters more so than the actual story. I have had the bad habit of putting all my effort into the story but by the time I get to the end ...I kind of lose my attention to using the same level of detailing as with the rest of what I wrote. What kind of writer does that make me?I miss writing. I should really revisit my story writing and finish the book I started a while back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Angel13 Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Planner/Basher for me. I always go in with a plan and outline of what I want, then when I'm done with a chapter or the story I go back and painstakingly go over every word and sentence one by one to make sure it's the way I want it, it takes quite a while sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted October 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) For you planners--how detailed are your plans? Do you have like basic ideas or entire timelines worked out?I also tend to empathize my characters more so than the actual story.I tend to write more about characters than anything else too. When I'm reading I prefer books with characters I can relate to--while I'm down with the occasional novel that's more about machinations larger than the characters like an action movie that's more about terrorist plots and the kidnapping of the president's daughter and less about the protagonist's inner turmoil and personal relationships, it's not something I turn to normally. Edited October 3, 2012 by Emotional Outlet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Angel13 Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Lol as a planner I tend to go in with 3 quarters of the story mapped out, its just the ending that's a little sketchy, mostly because I may change an idea halfway through the story so I leave the ending open for change. I'm working on a deadspace fanfic thing now, been doing it for well over 2 weeks and havent even started yet...That's how much I plan lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Anras Rune Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Well, I must say I don't know what I am... I mean, I try to create huge timelines and backstories for all of my writing, with a few exceptions of course. But when it actually comes down to the writing proper I chop and change. Sometimes I wing it something fierce and go back to it MUCH later on, sometimes I plan it out meticulously until every facet is done and the plans are almost as large and detailed as the finished product. I also swap focus in my writings a lot. My main writing project focuses more on the machinations and workings on a whole. Whereas something else I write might be focused almost exclusively on the characters involved (some like the KamWri short I entered for instance).If I had to categorize myself as something it be Mr I Can't Make a Decision as that is my problem eternally. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted October 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 Haha, I suppose it's different for everyone based on what project they're working on. I can move ahead quicker and with less obsession over editing if I absolutely have it in my head that it's not going to turn into a giant project. Most of my planning is just notes of things I want to have happen in the story, like a checklist of some sort. No real idea of what it will be specifically or when.A lot of people seem to find success in working with notecards, so I'm trying to use Scrivener's corkboard more often. It does lack a free-form mode (present on the Mac version), but it's not so terrible that I find myself needing to reach out to other software or real notecards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumRoll Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 I'm a never-get-around-to-bloody-doing-it-but-keep-thinking-of-awesome-ideas-in-my-head sort of writer.TBH I mostly write to help fortify my vocabulary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted October 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 If you do it to build your vocabulary, make sure you're using a dictionary! One of my high school English teachers also told me to read with a pencil and write with a dictionary. It's good to use precise language, but you don't want to sound pretentious, haha. The only time I've ever really used a thesaurus was for poetry class to see if I could find a word that fit the rhythm better, and even then, I made sure to look up every word I considered using.More on topic, here's another good article from the OLL blog about writing styles. Maybe for people who feel they're somewhere in between pantser and planner, they'll identify more with percolator. I do a bit of percolating myself, especially now that I'm in the midst of slogging through old crap I've written and extricating abandoned characters and plots. It's stuff I've long been familiar with, since I've been more or less writing the same universe and characters over the years, but am able to look at in a different light since I'm at least a little bit removed from the high school drama these stories were so steeped in, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkie Pie Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Lately? Planner. I plan the plans of the plans. Everyone has complete backstories before a word is written ou o there's sketch stories, dialogues and various other things that no one but me will ever read because I want to know my characters before I write them in something others will read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Mute point Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Sometimes I have a full plan from beginning to end, just filling in details as I go. Other times I just have a few notes on how the characters are, and a few things to happen, and write it like it would be roleplayed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Shazi Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 i like to bash out the story to get the whole idea out of my head. i find if i don't finish the story on paper before i start typing it, chances are i won't finish it ever. I have so many ideas jotted down somewhere that i need to get back to. but i want to finish the <.< 7 or so stories i have already on the go before i attempt to write something else.though there are several stories i have been writing for a few years that i just can't let go. like "not time yet" that one i have been writing since... like... um i think it's been 5 years now and i'm only 5 chapters in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumRoll Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 If you do it to build your vocabulary, make sure you're using a dictionary! One of my high school English teachers also told me to read with a pencil and write with a dictionary. It's good to use precise language, but you don't want to sound pretentious, haha. The only time I've ever really used a thesaurus was for poetry class to see if I could find a word that fit the rhythm better, and even then, I made sure to look up every word I considered using.More on topic, here's another good article from the OLL blog about writing styles. Maybe for people who feel they're somewhere in between pantser and planner, they'll identify more with percolator. I do a bit of percolating myself, especially now that I'm in the midst of slogging through old crap I've written and extricating abandoned characters and plots. It's stuff I've long been familiar with, since I've been more or less writing the same universe and characters over the years, but am able to look at in a different light since I'm at least a little bit removed from the high school drama these stories were so steeped in, haha.I use wordweb ctrl+alt+W=dictionary:D very handy tool indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Emotional Outlet Posted October 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 but i want to finish the <.< 7 or so stories i have already on the go before i attempt to write something else.though there are several stories i have been writing for a few years that i just can't let go. like "not time yet" that one i have been writing since... like... um i think it's been 5 years now and i'm only 5 chapters in.Haha, I know that feel. It's one of the reasons why I decided to bend the rules for this year's NaNo and work on a project I've already started (YOU CAN'T CONTROL ME). Beginning a new large project when I already have a bunch just seems like a pointless way of punishing myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
† Shazi Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Beginning a new large project when I already have a bunch just seems like a pointless way of punishing myself.exactly! it seems silly and you're just going to confuse yourself more lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkie Pie Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Yeah I agree with that. Sometimes it's a good way to get previous projects over with. I'm starting a new one for it because I need it >w > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malyssa Rahl Posted October 26, 2012 Report Share Posted October 26, 2012 I tend to be a combination of all of them.. I make out a plan, and then I write out a page or two, then I go back and fix that page or two. Sometimes I'll get on a role and end up with something that works, but doesn't fit the original outline.. That's where I get into a dilemma, do I change the story, or the outline? In most cases, the story took longer, and if it's that good, I'll change the outline and make the story progress from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breathless Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 I'm, unfortunately, a swooping pantser. I'd like to be more of a bashing planner! I tend to always have a plan in my head but after I write another sentence, it leads to another, and another. And slowly my story turns into something not planned at all. or rather, my plan changes the more I write. Sometimes I do push myself to stick to the original layout in my mind but I end up stopping half way for 'a brilliant new idea' that I end up changing anyway. Guess I need to work on my discipline! >_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.