How do you write?

Saturday, June 16, 2007 8:42 AM

I want to know how other people write. Whether you have the entire story mapped out, either in your head or on paper, before you even begin, or whether you have a vague idea of A to Z, and then fill in the rest as you go. And do you have the whole story written before you upload, or do comments influence you into changing things?

For myself, I tend to fall into the latter two categories. I always have a number of stories waiting, even if it’s only a paragraph or two, or half a page of dialogue, or (in one instance coming up a little way down the line) the entire second half! But I upload as I write, usually only a chapter or two ahead.

You may have noticed I do take note of comments – sometimes they make me think again about my work, see things I hadn’t noticed – and a lot of the time they give me plot bunnies for later stories (BEB, there’s one coming up you inspired!), but so much of my writing changes as I write.

For instance, one of the characters in my current arc THE BEQUEST was mentioned in passing, with a name. It was going to be a man, but when I chose the name it occurred to me that it would be good as a woman. So that’s what I made her. Then, after I’d uploaded that chapter, the idea came to me that if I made her like this, then she could be part of that, and then … the whole thing began to flow and change, and although the essential story remains the same, the characters took over.

Actually, does anyone else find that? The canon characters, hopefully, stay true, but they seem to go out and bring their friends in, people you find yourself writing but don’t know how? Or is it just me waiting for the guy with the cute white jacket that does up at the back?

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