It's Friday! I hope you all have fun plans for the weekend. I'm sure I'll find something fun to do with friends. I plan to do some writing as well since I have a short story to work on. Speaking of writing, I thought I would share a bit of my writing method with you all.
I've been writing for years and I've never loved it more than I do now. In the past, I've written poetry, short stories, and diary entries. I still write diary entries when I'm feeling overwhelmed and need to get my thoughts down on paper. I don't write much poetry anymore but I want to start working on it again. I always have ideas for short stories floating around in my head and the hard part is turning my ideas into words that make sense.
Since I've started writing my novel I pay even more attention to the way other authors write. I've been told I'm a good writer but I still second guess myself because I never think my writing is good enough. I constantly compare my writing to the works of great authors and find it lacking. I have to remember to tell myself that I'm still learning and I have plenty of time to hone my skills (I'm only 23 after all).
Writing this blog every week day has been refreshing because I can share my thoughts about anything pertaining to books. It also forces me to write even when I don't want to because I feel an obligation to put something out there for my readers to enjoy. Recently, I started thinking about what my actual writing method is and I'm honestly not sure. I've read about a lot of authors who map out what they're going to write each day but I've also read about authors who simply write what they want when it comes to them. I think I'm more of the writer who writes what I want when it comes to me.
If there's any method I have it's this: main plotline, characters, settings, scenes as they come into my mind, extra details, then I put it all together in the order I want. In other aspects of my life I'm extremely organized and it used to annoy me that I couldn't use that approach when writing. I've learned that it's not a bad thing to be disorganized when it comes to writing as long as I get the ideas out. I've never been one who can easily write about an assigned topic, unless it's a fairly broad topic. I feel more comfortable when I can choose my own topic and elaborate on it.
Just to give you an idea here's a step-by-step list of how I write.
My Writing Method
-Brainstorming/thinking of an idea: my ideas usually come randomly. Sometimes they come from a life experience and other times from something I'm interested in like the Victoria Era or history in general.
-Coming up with a character/characters: I usually think of a female character first because I prefer a female main character. Then I come up with any other main characters along with the supporting characters. I also come up with descriptions for most of them at this point.
-Picking a setting: depending on the subject of my story I will choose different places for my stories to take place. Thanks to today's easy access to maps and history I can even choose a place I've never been to. I sometimes choose specific buildings or descriptions at this point.
-Basic plotline: these are the main plotlines without all of the extra details included. Basically, the beginning and end. Sometimes I know more details than other times and the middle can be included in this.
-Details: this could mean anything from the more specific plotlines to more descriptions about a character or settings. I start writing anything that comes to mind. My ideas are rarely in order, which takes a lot of pressure off me.
-Combining everything: this is the part where I combine all the sections I've written and put them into an order I like. It might not be the final decision but it makes the story as real as can be at that point.
-Editing: I put all the finishing touches on the story. I fix any grammar issues and make sure the story flows the way I want it to.
-Sharing the story: I finally let someone read the story ask for their opinion. This is not always the first time I let someone read it, sometimes I have someone read it while I'm writing it to give me extra ideas or keep me going in the right direction.
Obviously, I have a different method for writing poetry and no method at all for diary entries. Regardless of what I'm writing I know the finished product will be good when I enjoy writing it. My writing is another reason I enjoy reading because if I can't tell the difference between good and bad writing then how I will I know if what I'm writing is any good. Now, I'm off go do some more writing and reading. Have a great weekend everyone! As always, thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Erin a.k.a. Bookworm
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