Saturday, September 13, 2014

Jash's Writing Tips: Basic Steps of Writing

This little series has been in my mind for awhile. I have actually started something similar in the past but it didn't go anywhere for very long. This is an attempt to restart it. Hopefully it actually goes somewhere for more than one or two posts this time.

Anyways, this series is me giving you writing advice and you maybe listening. My qualifications for doing so is that I write and have been doing so for a very long time. Also, I have a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Specialization in Creative Writing.

Sadly, some things I won't be able to talk about as in depth as others. Such as Points of View...I only do First Person POV so I can't give much advice on any of the Third Person POVs or the very rare Second Person POV.

I'll start this series off by going over three main stages of writing and how to get through them. If you have any difference of opinion please leave a comment and I might even respond to your comment in another part of this series.

Outlining
Now this is an area where there are some people I want to strangle because they don't outline their story before hand. They'll say how they don't like it since it's restricting and then a few months later they'll complain about how they forgot what they had planned to do.

Do I outline everything? Yes, for the most part.

The Eternal Heart (and its upcoming sequels), S&N, and Sushi, Sake, and Tanuki are all outlined. The only things I don't have a solid outline like those three are The Shormlit Chronicles, The Horny Heart, Animorgy, and The Dawning.

Outlining gives me a chance to leave a story for months and then come back with no loss of time because I can't remember what I meant to do. Plus it allows me to use the great tool of foreshadowing.
I think a problem people have with outlining is that they have their outline methods be too stiff. Maybe they think that when you outline something it is set in stone and there can be no changes. However, that's not the case. I don't consider something set in stone until I release a chapter. I will update outlines for things I just think of and making sure it'll make sense in the grand scheme of the story I want to tell.

I tend to do two set of outlines:

1.) A set of bios. While I do make blogs to help me and my readers remember things, there are things I don't want to reveal at the moment. Little plot twists that I don't want found out just yet. So I have a set of outlines where I give facts about characters, organizations, and other important things in my story.

2.) The actual outline of saying what happens when. On the top I'll usually give a short summary of what I want to happen. For each chapter I will give three main things I want covered. This allows me a large amount of wiggle room to allow me to have fun. Hell, I'll come up with things on the spot that I didn't even consider while originally outlining.
So just remember: Outlining doesn't mean something is set in stone and you're free to change it if you feel the need to. Outlining just means that you won't forget what you meant to do in the first place. Also, allow your outlining style to give yourself enough freedom so that your writing doesn't start to feel like a burden.

Writing/Scheduling
I think this is a big deterrent for many of my fellow writers. I know that, at times, the urge to write isn't there and so it makes it extremely hard to write at times. A lot of budding writers probably think that if they aren't inspired to do something that they should wait until the moment hits them. While that isn't bad for a beginner, if you plan to continue writing you should really shove the concept of "only writing when inspired" to a deep, dark corner.

I work on multiple things in a day for my blog and so I end up sticking to a schedule. I only work on certain things during certain times of the day/night. I also rotate things (such as what I'm now doing with this and Shipping Confessions).

Does this mean I stick to a strict schedule? No. I have a life around me and sometimes life decides to change things up. So what I do is adapt. I sometimes even decide to not work on something as it would stop me from working on a good majority of my intended projects for the day.
When deciding on a writing schedule, make something you can stick to from week to week. I am in between jobs at the moment and so that gives me a larger time frame to work with. I tend to not really get invested in my blogging until after 5PM since I can continue writing until 3:30AM.

I also multi-task which I do because I get easily bored by working on one project at a time. While it allows me to work on more projects at once, if you don't find yourself easily bored dropping this won't have a big negative impact. It might even improve what you're working on as it'll give you a better sense of focus.

Remember to stick to your schedule even when you're not motivated. Some days you'll find yourself just going through the motions to get something done. I'm not saying you can't quit earlier than normal or that you can't take a break, merely that not 'being in the mood' isn't a good excuse to not do anything for a long period of time.
Some days I find it hard to push out even a letter. But I reach a certain point before I stop trying to get more out. Some days it's hard to start on a certain project but then a point comes and I find it extremely hard to stop.

There will be good days and there will be bad days. Just stick to your schedule as often as you can and allow yourself breaks from time to time.


Editing
Now on to one of the most dreaded parts of the writing process. Or maybe it's just me. This is a reason I don't go back reading my old writing as I'll feel compelled to edit and again and again and again until the end of time. But it's one of the most important parts of writing, too. It's the part of writing that can turn utter crap into gold.

If you're wondering why my chapters are usually on the short side: it's so that I have an easier time editing them. Shorter chapters means I have less content to edit at a time. I'm able to focus my attention to correct simple mistakes and expand on points that weren't clear in the first place.

I like to keep my chapters of written series to around 1,000 words to more easily edit my content. However, if you don't find this problem feel free to have chapters and/or short stories reaching up to 10,000 words.
And what about non-fiction? It really depends on what I'm working on. Each part of my Animorphs Re-Read is worked on for around a week. One day for each chapter and one day to edit. It also isn't as complicated to edit as a chapter of S&N. That added to the fact that I take my time with each part means I don't get stressed.

Something like one of my Shipping Confessions is much shorter (usually) and I usually work on each part over the course of at least two days.

If you are using Microsoft Word, or any program with a Spell and Grammar Check, here are some things to look out for:

Spell Check
Sometimes you may mean to spell one word but end up spelling a different word. Since the word you didn't mean to use is correct, Spell Check won't pick it up. It can't read your mind and know that you didn't mean to use one word over another.

You may also find your Spell Check marking real words as made up ones. Go to a dictionary (I Google Search [word I'm checking] define) and make sure the word is real. If it is just add it to the dictionary.
If you write fantasy/sci-fi like me, make sure to add the correct words to the dictionary so your Spell Check won't mark them as incorrect.

Grammar Check
Send it to the deepest level of Hell. This isn't just my opinion, in my years at college I was told by tutors and professors that Grammar Check is a really useless feature. It will mark correct grammar as as a mistake.
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All of Jash's Writing Tips

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