My writing process
August 3, 2016 5:32 pm | by JW Haney | Posted in Blogs
Here is a glimpse into my writing process. As always, please note I do not know what the f*** I am doing when it comes to writing.
Here is my process:
I am not a plotter. I like to write. I like explore the “hey, what if” or “this would be cool scene” and then write backwards to find the beginning of the story, or forwards to see where the story leads. However, since the plot and the characters are unarguable the most important part of any story, you must work on the plot and the characters. Those two bits, the plot and the characters, need to be good. Otherwise, your story will suck. I failed for years, perhaps still failing, before figuring that out.
So I write first, work a little on the plot, write some more, come back to work on the plot again, go back to writing, and continue the cycle. Unlike designing and planning my stories before pounding on a keyboard, I write and the stories evolve.
Also, it is important to note, I am now using the screenplay format to capture ideas onto paper instead of writing a rough draft. This is easier and quicker for me, because I do not have to worry about grammar. Well, not so much. I often get stuck in a write-edit-rewrite cycle to make the rough draft perfectly readable and it is hard to move on, damn near impossible to progress, when I know shit going to change anyway. You may have noticed, grammar is one of my major inabilities. Hence, I started using the screenplay format and I am make good progress of getting the story into a draft form. Plus I can see the story easier and that helps me when I am working the plot. So now, when I start writing the first draft I will have an outlined of the story, as a screenplay, and both the plot and the characters should be fair or maybe even good. The first draft should be just a matter of expanding the screenplay and pounding on the keyboard to add the details to make the story entertaining.
About plotting, I am not good at plotting. And so, I will not go on about it. But I will share with you what I have done for Polis. The one sentence plot summary is:
A son goes off in search of his mother and father.
The summary paragraph of the plot is:
Mal learns of his mother death. He transforms into [REACTED]. Believing his mother is alive, he goes off in search of her. Mal discovers his mother hid a relationship with father from him. Mal heads off in search of more clues. Those clues suggest he should search out his father to find his mother. His father is on another a planet. Mal must overcome many obstacles from the time he learns of this mother death to when he gains passage and climbs aboard a spaceship bound for the planet, Selva.
There is one more thing to note about process, you do not need to do each step, you should, but it is not required. Not every may know this.
For example, let us look at the process when a man pees.
This is straightforward and you can see the consequences if you skip a step in the process.
Let us just say you skip number 5, ouch. Need I say more? Maybe not, but I will. If you skip number 2, you end up with wet pants. Skip number 4 or do a bad job of it and you end up with leakage, a wet leg and wet spots.
Skipping number 5, well this could be either good or bad, depending on so many different factors. Like you be laughed at or could get a date.
Lastly, let me say, as with any process, start with something, change it and make it work for you.