#like I basically trashed my chapter 1 document the other day with edits and it is now almost completely different and I hate it

[daincrediblegg]

Totally torn between wallowing in my own misery about not having the time or energy to do a damn thing (let alone what I want to be doing- which is getting over myself and just writing the damn lady terror story) and forcing myself to go outside so I can make myself more miserable. Can’t win

[klanced]

Would you mind sharing a detailed version of your writing process? Like what exactly do you do for the ROUGH rough draft? Like general plot points for the chapter first and then fill in scenes and stuff after the plot points are written until your ready to post it? Also how many have you rewatched voltron or looked up stuff about the episode to write this? Sorry for the long ask but I really like your writing style and wanna mimic it for a rewrite of a novel I used to like but now know is trash.

I’ll try my best to describe my thought process!

Step 1: Choose the episode/chapter I want to work on.

Because of my ADHD I have a bad habit of skipping around and writing chapters out of order lmao… I can never really predict what motivation I’ll feel on any given day (shrugs)

Step 2: Read the Wikipedia summary of the episode (and copy paste it into the document).

I don’t have Netflix anymore, plus I don’t really like watching television in general, so I have the Wikipedia page for the List of V:LD Episodes bookmarked and refer back to it constantly. 

Step 3: List out the major plot events in the episode.

Exactly as it sounds. With Episode 1/Chapter 1 for example, the major events were the Garrison - Shiro’s ship crashing - Keith’s shack. 

I put a page break between each event to keep them all separate and distinct in my mind. Writing it out like this helps me break up the episode into more manageable blocks, kind of like the Acts of a theater production or something.

Step 4: List out the things I want the chapter to accomplish.

Before I start writing anything, I make sure to go back to the beginning of the document and bullet point out the things I want to happen. Essentially, what the Point of the chapter is outside basic plot progression. The GOALS of the chapter. What little moments I want to happen, what character interactions/relationship development can occur, etc.

With Chapter 2 I had a LOT of bullet points lmfao:

RELATIONSHIP GROWTH:

Conflict with Shiro-Keith! Setting up for how they will later cooperate as Head of Voltron/Right Hand Man. Keith sometimes slips into role of ‘Yes Man’ to Shiro. But they also naturally butt heads!! Set up beginnings of Keith’s independence/less dependence on Shiro arc (later in season).

Beginning of non-antagonistic Keith/Lance interactions! Both are assholes to each other, but Lance is constantly reaching out (without even noticing). 

Allura and Coran + Alfor! Setting up Allura’s self-deprecating arc. Seeds of her mental health struggle plus overly self-sacrificial nature. 

INTER-GROUP DYNAMICS. Team is now officially a TEAM, even if not Paladins of Voltron!! (yet). MUST HIGHLIGHT beginnings of reactions to one another. Mostly good, some not so good. To be addressed later with Development.

Subtle emphasis on the Lions CHOOSING their Paladins right back! Mutual decision. 

The Blue/Green/Yellow Lion should TEST their Paladins in some way that aligns with the nature of the Lion itself. And Lance/Pidge/Hunk should CHOOSE RIGHT BACK to submit themselves to that test and prove themselves.

WORLD-BUILDING in re: Quintessence. Brief explanation via Allura. Mostly just hints. To develop later in season.

Set-up of Galra Conflict! Heavy presence OF Galra (experienced by Lance and Hunk). Coran’s surprise that the Galra have reached that corner of space - highlighting just how PERVASIVE the Empire is.

Step 5: Choose an event and block it out.

RUNNING THEME in my thought process is constantly breaking things down into parts lol. For example, in Chapter 1 I started with the first major plot point, “The Garrison.”

Then I thought okay, what happens at the Garrison?

Failed Simulation

Rooftop Scene

Step 6: Begin bullet-pointing basic moments of each scene.

Continuing the above example:

Failed Simulation

Breakdown of communication between Lance/Hunk/Pidge results in crash

Iverson chews out team, Pidge responds

More reprimanding. HLP feel like garbage. Peers react.

Rooftop Scene

Pidge doing her thang. Lance and Hunk interrupt.

Conversation + Confrontation. Pidge reluctantly cooperates.

Witness ship crash. Discuss what to do.

Step 7: Skip to another event in the chapter and repeat steps 5 and 6. Move on to another event and repeat.

ADHD = skipping around.

Step 8: Once all major events in chapter are bullet-pointed, return to each event and begin fleshing out points and adding additional details.

In the above case, I started working on the ‘Failed Simulation’ scene and decided to add the cameo of Lieutenant Vergara + Hunk and Lance getting mad at/feeling disappointed in Pidge.

This is usually when the draft shifts from mostly bullet-points to a rouuuuugh ‘script’ style + some bullet points. Meaning, I’ll take the bullet point ‘Lance and Hunk interrupt’ and change it into actual dialogue, reactions, descriptions, etc.

Step 9: Read entire rough draft all the way through. Begin editing. Add more details.

Fix. Add. Make more realistic. Especially when it comes to dialogue, I want these characters to sound like believable teenagers. 

I also frequently refer to transcripts of the episodes to make sure I’m not missing any tiny moments/interactions from canon that I’d like to keep. Also, sometimes a scene is fine as is and doesn’t need to be re-imagined so I’ll copy what the transcript says to save time.

https://voltron.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rise_of_Voltron/transcript

Step 10: Read second draft all the way through. Add or change details.

Step 11: Read third draft all the way through. Add or change details.

Step 12: Start another chapter because ADHD.

Step 13: Eventually return to the first chapter I started working on and begin editing again. Rinse and repeat.

Step 14: Post the chapter on a random Friday. Immediately start editing it again.

[kinetic-elaboration]

October 5: Complete Project List

I feel like I should have spent more time this week reading books and fic because my writing has not been going very well. I just feel so…uninspired. None of my projects are really, I don’t know, calling out to me. I don’t know why.

The only thing I’ve really worked on is my Bellarke High School AU, which I still like, though not as much as I used to. At least that’s something.

I don’t think this is actually going to be helpful but because I feel like I need to be organized and my go-to solution for when I lack focus is just to lay out all my projects in front of me and contemplate them, I’m going to go through my entire current writing folder and see if anything jumps out at me and excites me again.

I currently have 28 documents (though fewer than 28 projects because some of those documents are rejected passages or notes, etc.).

In order of appearance:

HAICG: I really do want to work on this again because it’s been so long and I feel guilty. Also because I had such inspiration and passion for it last summer/early fall. But it will probably require re-reading a big chunk of the fic to get into the style of it again and also I’m not really in ST fandom atm so it’s just...tiring to think about.

The autumn fic: You’d think this would be the perfect time to work on this, it being autumn and all (allegedly) but really I feel nothing for it right now. I still rather like the universe and I’ll probably continue to mess around with it in drabbles and so on, but it was originally conceived of as a multi-chapter fic and that’s…not going to happen anytime soon. It’s one of those ideas that feels very real in my head, strongly atmospheric, but when I try to pin down the plot and put any of it into words…I just lose a lot of confidence in it.

The party fic: I worked on this a few days ago, for the first time since summer, and it was a disappointing exercise. For so long I felt like this was still a front-burner project, even though I wasn’t actually writing it like at all, and now I’ve just realized how far my interest in it and inspiration for it has dropped. I don’t know…I guess I’m not so much abandoning it as seeming it with clear eyes. Low priority.

K/S affair: This really shouldn’t be in my current projects folder. I moved it over from my old projects folder a year ago during my last big ST kick with the thought I might actually work on it but I have not. It’s literally 5 sentences long.

K/S Aftermath story: I’ve been telling myself all year that one day I’m “just going to sit down and write this” and yet. Part of what intimidates me is that I actually did start it but I don’t think I like the beginning so I want to start again, but having a rejected opening puts so much pressure on all subsequent openings not to suck as much. So it’s become a mythical, monstrous thing.

Bellarke Beat AU: So I started writing this in the summer of 2016 during my last Beat phase and I really like what I have! But I haven’t touched it in so long… I tried once but I could see too clearly the seams between the two parts. I feel like one day I’ll pick it up and say “I want to finish this” and then it will be my priority project for a little bit and then it will be finished.

Bellarke Long HS AU: Oh gosh I used to think about this universe a lot when I was in law school. I never got any farther than writing some notes, not even a true outline, but I…just can’t call it abandoned. Initially it was going to be this very ambitious two-part thing but I still hold out hope I’ll write the short one-part thing version. Again, it’s an atmospheric fic that I’m not sure I can actually put into words…

Bellarke HS AU: The only thing I’ve gotten real writing done on in the last week. It’s currently at about 6k words and I’m on the last scene. I imagine it will end at about 8k. Probably my biggest priority if only because it’s the easiest thing I have going at the moment.

BFF Fill: The first sentence of notes on this is so pretentious it causes me pain and I’m the one who wrote it. Which doesn’t mean the actual fic will be bad. I hope. I don’t have a BFF deadline for a while so I’m not worried about it but also I don’t want to constantly do things at the last minute. I’m trying to move beyond that. Currently in the planning stages. I have general ideas and I think I need to distill them into a scene-by-scene outline before I can start writing. (It’s not that it’s that long…I don’t think…just semi-complicated in structure.)

Clarke, Sports Nut: I don’t know why this is a separate document. It’s in the same verse as the HS AU and I’m more than half sure it’s going to be a rejected one-shot opening but I’m keeping it around in case I want to expand it into an actual one-shot.

Dollhouse AU Notes/Chapter 1/Rejected Scenes: I still think this would be such a cool fic. BUT. Every time I start it, I hate it and I need to scrap everything I’ve written. I’ve trashed a huge amount of material by my standards and each time I reject something I lose more hope that it will ever be to my liking. Also, if I did write this for real, it would be an insane amount of work. And the audience for it would probably be small. And the truth is that I’m not sure I could put so much into the actual writing of a fic of this length and complexity for an audience of me. I’ll write smaller fics or even novellettes for an audience of me but some things, the return is just too small… so I don’t know.

Jonty Fluff Fic: I’ve had this idea in my head for a long time—I think it’s actually taken off of one of those AU prompts floating around tumblr—and I actually started writing it after 4x11 because I was so sad and this irredeemably fluffy, guilty pleasure, cotton-candy-in-written-word-form story made me feel better. But apparently I haven’t worked on it since July whoops.

Gina Magical Dystopia: I was going to write this two years ago but my opening sucked and then last summer I brought my notes back and tried to outline it but then I kind of abandoned it again. I’m not going to force it but somehow I think a desire to write it will come back to me sometime.

Bellamy/Jasper Fic: I have a lot of guilty pleasures (I probably wouldn’t feel so guilty for everything if this fandom wasn’t what it is but oh well) but this is probably the guiltiest. The original outline is from April 2016 and last summer I spent an afternoon at the coffee shop actually scene-by-scene outlining it, which means it is basically ready to start. I even wrote the introductory scene but then I scrapped it. The tone was okay but the actual substance wasn’t working for me. So I’d have to start all over. And again, audience of one lol, so there’s that. It’s the sort of thing that if it isn’t completely fun to write there is no point in putting effort toward it.

Jonty Dual Timeline: I had such high hopes for this!! And I still want to write it but I’ve become terrified of it. Terrified I’ve lost the tone, terrified I won’t be able to remember the ideas dumbass-past-me didn’t write down, and of course the passage of time makes the fears worse. It’s been months since I touched it. I think I’d need to sit down, re-read the entire thing, write down any thoughts I can salvage, and maybe rough-outline the rest. Then I can return to writing it.

Old prompt list/old prompt fill: Basically the appendix of this folder. By which I mean, it’s vestigial.

Monty S3 (original and edits): I’ve done one complete read-through of this fic and made some fairly big edits, deleting some parts, re-writing them, moving some things around. I feel like, except for the part in the middle where I made the biggest changes, it reads well. I like it. But I won’t post it until I’ve re-read the entire thing again, preferably in one sitting, and given that it’s 12k long I’ll need to devote a decent chunk of time to that. I’d like to say that this fic I’ve been working on for six months is done, so in that sense it’s ‘urgent,’ but on the other hand I don’t think it’s anything most people will notice.

Sleeping Beauty AU: A request but I’m getting kind of into the idea. Unfortunately (?) my ideas for it are getting ambitious and complicated. It could be so cool! Or it could be something that’s actually finished this decade and I’m just hoping these aren’t incompatible goals. Currently in the planning stages.

K/S comparison: Again, a fic I moved to this folder when I was back into Star Trek in Summer ’16 and feeling ambitious. Aaaaand I just looked at the last updated date. It’s from 2010. That’s wild. I am the slowest writer in the world. Or the most stubborn. Or both.

Story Idea Master List: self-explanatory.

K/S and Spock!Prime: Okay this fic is dumb because it’s FINISHED. It’s been finished for years. I found it in my old writing folder, complete, not posted, and I read it and thought it wasn’t horrible but that the beginning was…actually sort of horrible. So I thought I’d re-write that part and then just post it but it’s not working terribly well and increasingly I just feel like…is it worth it? The fic isn’t that good. But it’s not terrible and it is complete so… I don’t know.

…So yeah as expected this just confirmed what I already knew, that I currently lack inspiration or passion for pretty much any project. AWESOME.

[mistye-dawne]

actually you know what? 1-54 lmao. (or just whatever ones you want to answer.)

This took way too long cause my niece has been a wiggleworm all morning and I’m up and down chasing her ever 5 mins lol.

1. Favorite place to write.There is a park about an hour away from me that I go to, if able, when I’ve got writer’s block. I’ll walk about a mile into the forest and sit by a creek that runs into the river. It’s a trip but is worth the effort when I just really need an isolated place to think.

2. Favorite part of writing.Character creation. Even in fanfiction, I always change up the background/personalities a little to add my own touch and present them in a new light. I also love learning and researching so I’ll just look up random things and see if I can’t design something or someone around an idea or belief.

3. Least favorite part of writing.Editing… moving on. I guess I should say editing my own work. Sometimes because I wasn’t the happiest with how a chapter turned out and sometimes because I really don’t feel like re-reading what I just wrote 3 times over only to read it again later and still find typos and parts that just don’t flow quite right.

4. Do you have writing habits or rituals?I have to be listening to something. Music, tv, the ambiance of a coffeeshop, etc. Unless I’m at my favorite place I can’t write in silence, but even there it isn’t quiet.

5. Books or authors that influenced your style the most.Toni Morrison morrison is the first name that pops into my head just because I re-read at least one of her books each month.

6. Favorite character you ever created.Childlike Evergreen for an idea that I’ve been playing with. She’s so cute and nothing like her character as an adult lol

7. Favorite author.Kristen Cashore, author of the Graceling series.

8. Favorite trope to write.

9. Least favorite trope to write.

10. Pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about. 11. Describe your writing process from scratch to finish.1. Take pen and paper. Write everything that come to mind then end up trashing more than half of it.2. Write nothing but dialogue to go with everything written in step one.3. Combine both into a word document.4. Edit and make look pretty for others to enjoy.

That’s actually how I do it. I will plot out and idea with rough imcomplete details. If something need dialogue to get it moving a have a seperate journal that I write nothing but raw dialogue in. I color code everything so that it’s easy to reference back to and see what goes with what. Then I literally just splice the two parts together including every possible word before editing and cutting most of it out.

12. How do you deal with self-doubts? I’ll go through some of my older pieces that I’ve never published/shared and compare it to my current work. Idk, seeing how far i’ve improved always give me a boost in confidence.

13. How do you deal with writers block?First, I walk away from a project because trying to force something out can ruin a piece and just spend a little time each day writing something, anything, just so that I’m always keeping up with my practice. I’ll also read a bit more and get out of the house more often cause my writer’s block stems from cabin fever most of the time.

14. What’s the most research you ever put into a book?With my current piece that I’m writing. I took the idea of herbal medicine and looked up different plants what were used as medicines/ healing aids. Example: Belladonna, deadly nightshade, tincture was used to help aleviate thing like motionsickness, nausea, and even menstrual cramps. I thought it was interesting and since I was writng about dragon slayers and their perpetual uneasiness with transportaion, added into the story. In general though I always do a fair amount of research because I’ve not experienced all there is in the world and want to be able to make a connection with readers by presenting believable and accurate ideas.

15. Where does your inspiration come from?I’ve always felt more comfortable expressing myself through the written word and grew to love books and storytelling when I was little.

16. Where do you take your motivation from?Same as question 15?

17. On avarage, how much writing do you get done in a day?If I’m doing computer work, anywhere from 1500 to 2000 words. I could easily do more if I let myself, and I sometimes do, but I always walk away from it at some point during the day so as to not overexhert my hands since they already hurt my after a while of handwriting or typing.

18. What’s your revision or rewriting process like?For revisions, I can just cut and add in the document. If i doing a rewrite I will create a new document and write it side by side. I feel like i make more changes that way which is the point of rewrites.

19. First line of a WIP you’re working on.He wiped the sweat from his brow as he came upon her silhouetted form on the forest floor.

20. Post a snippet of a WIP you’re working on.“What is you plan to accomplish with this stupid ritual?”

“Oh, I don’ even know it’ll work. I just read about it thought maybe I’d give it a go if the opportunity presented itself. Your cerlestial mage appearing was just that.”

21. Post the last sentence you wrote in one of your WIP’s.Lucy had been so caught up in herself that she failed to asking how Bickslow was holding up. 22. How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied and a project is ultimately done for you?Nothing is ultimately ever done for me. that’s propably why I’m still sitting on a collection of shortstories that I’d like to get published but haven’t yet.

23. Single or multi POV, and why?No preference. Both come fairly easy to me but I think that if done well, single POV provides the most entertainment.

24. Poetry or prose, and why?Prose. I’ve taken poetry classes and had to read said poetry in front of 100+ people in college. I still cringe when I tell that story…

25. Linear or non-linear, and why?

26. Standalone or series, and why?Standalone. I just can’t imagine writing multiple multichapter things centered around the same idea. Idk

27. Do you share rough drafts or do you wait until it’s all polished? 28. And who do you share them with?Rough drafts are for my eyes only. Occasionally a beta when I find the need but that’s rare.

29. Who do you write for?For the sole purpose of manipulating the emotions of readers. Basically, I like to write trash that’ll make people cry when it suits me. Nah, I write because my head is full of all sorts of ideas and I just have to get them on paper so to speak. Sharing my creative writing is something new for me but so far, I’m not regretting that choice.

30. Favorite line you’ve ever written.You showed me the world, then left.

31. Hardest character to write.Gray… never was a favorite of mine so I just can’t connect with him.

32. Easiest character to write.Lucy

33. Do you listen to music when you’re writing?Most of the time.

34. Handwritten notes or typed notes?Handwritten. I waste a lot of paper and wish that I didn’t but it’s just most comfortable for me to handwrite the roughest form then expand the ideas on the computer.

35. Tell some backstory details about one of your characters in your story ________.

36. A spoiler for story _________.

37. Most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.You aren’t the man who will make or break me. I have learned those men do not exist… I do not need you in my life. But I really, really want you in it

38. Have you shared your outline of your story ________ with someone? If so, what did they think of it?Meh, I’ll talk to my brother about ideas sometimes. He’s not a writer but he’s a good listener and is one of the few people that actually seem to enjoy it when I talk about writing with him.

39. Do you base your characters of real people or not? If so, tell us about one.I do and my favorite one is based off of my best friend from college. This girl and I met a week before classes began and she really like how my name was spelled. We hit it off from there. I’ve actually written a story based off of that first interaction between us. She’s a family woman and has such a passion for teaching english. She’s got an attitude and does what she wants, but she was the mom friend that i needed because I usually play mom for my other friends lol

40. Original Fiction or Fanfiction, and why?Both. All of my original works are based off of real stories from real people that I know. My fanfiction is where my creativity shines though especially when working with a universe like Fairy Tail.

41. How many stories do you work on at one time?However many that suits me. My exception to this rule is only 1 multichapter fic at a time due to how much time and research I invest into the piece. I’m also far more critical about editing chapter versus oneshots.

42. How do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc.

43. Are you an avid reader?Yes. Reading is what makes the writer.

44. Best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.One semester I took a research class and had to design and conduct my methods and gather data. There was one part where we had to develop how we were to gather the data we sought and my instructor told me that it was hard for him to critique my methods because I had already done so in the proposal. I figure leaving a guy who writes for a living unable to write anything is a good thing lol

45. Worst piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.Taking a creative writng class with people who don’t love writing as much as I do. To elaborate, we would be required to write something of our own creation and you could tell who loved writing based on the feedback they gave. I can’t begin to say how many people took to giving me grammar advice because they couldn’t think of anything to say about the content…

46. What would your story _______ look like as a tv show or movie?

47. Do you start with characters or plot when working on a new story?Characters.

48. Favorite genre to write in.Adventure/drama

49. What do you find the hardest to write in a story, the beginning, the middle or the end?Always the beginning.

50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.Oh god. Please no. Umm when I was like 15 I started writng this story about elemental angels and they had to save the world or something like that. Idk, when I look back on it I think that it’s weird

51. Describe the aesthetic of your story _______ in 5 sentences or words.

52. How did writing change you?Writing has helped me to become more confident in myself and also helped me to cope and move forward from the abuse I lived through when I was little.

53. What does writing mean to you?Writing is literally what saved my life so it’s everything.

54. Any writing advice you want to share?Write. If it’s something you want to do then do it. You only get better the more you pratice it. If you don’t know what to write, try a word promt challenge and write about whatever comes to mind. Just let your ideas flow.