WIP Challenge Check-in, Day 8 -- Sunday

[linaewen]

Greetings on this excellent Sunday -- I'm linaewen and I'm your guide this week into all things related to Checking In.  What kind of writing day is it for you?  What kind of writerly pursuits have you taken part in so far today?

• writing (want to share a word count?)
• planning (brainstorming, researching, outlining)
• editing
• posting
• taking a break
• reading someone else's writing
• dealing with non-writing things on your To Do List

If you could describe your day in 4 words or less (fic-wise or in general), what would you say?

For discussion, we go to the Panda:

 

Does knowing exactly what happens next help you actually write it, or does the writing still have to be dragged out of you kicking and screaming?  Are outlines and plans generally helpful or do you work better just letting the writing take you whither it will?

Comments

[linaewen]

It's still early yet where I am, so I haven't gotten much more done than a bit of planning. I'm hoping to get some writing in, as well as a bit of editing and some posting, so we'll see how it goes.

Four words or less = Opening paragraphs are difficult!

Detailed outlines are very important to me, and I usually know exactly what needs to be covered in a chapter -- but that doesn't mean it transfers easily from outline to screen! I deal with a lot of kicking and screaming sometimes when it comes to dragging out the words, even knowing what should happen -- this is especially true of opening paragraphs. Starting a new chapter is the hardest part. However, having that clear idea helps when the words finally come, because I can write like gangbusters then. ;-)

[ty_writes]

I wish outlines worked for me. I usually only have the ending in mind for my stories and then bs the rest.

[kayjayuu]

Ugh, this is exactly where I am. I know what happens and I've got the pliers out with every attempt lately. And this on a story I started six years ago.

Today I will try to sort out a conversation between two characters. Not even a whole conversation, but a recollection of a memory. *crosses fingers*

[ty_writes]

4 Words: My muse likes Crack.
Finished three writerverse challenges and started on my tamingthemuse story.

I generally don't outline. If I can be bored for an hour, I can write a 4k story no prob (well after plugging in descriptions and visuals, it moves to 4k). I use to try outlining and noticed that when I got to the actually writing my stories were way off in left field but then that is how my muses roll (example: a story I outlined to be about a girl welcoming and wanting her ex back, has slowly become a weird b**ch fight between her and the new love interest with the guy not really paying attention to either of them)

Basically if I every stop writing, I can't get back into the story for months and if I try to push myself, my inner editor chops the story to pieces

[lilly_c]

A day of non writing things.

Non fic: family birthdays food traveling
Fic: prompts ideas RL-inspired

I tend to write whatever pops up and of my big/long fics I wrote 90% of the scenes out of order but I did have a very detailed outine and research for them all in my notebook.
These days I prefer to get outlines on my Blackberry and on my Playbook because I can just use the USB or a wifi connection to transfer them to my laptop. I do still use notebook and pen too.

Tonight I'm traveling back to Scotland and I'm considering getting some fic done on the Playbook as it's a 12 hour journey to my hometown.

[roane]

Let's see. Today I've written about a 1000 words so far? Not done yet, it's only dinner time here. :) I went over some plot details with one of my awesome betas and now have a clearer idea of a few details (yay!). And I'm always reading other people's stuff. :D

For short stories (under 10K?) I don't usually outline besides maybe making notes that say "and then this happens". For longer works, I usually have a slightly firmer outline. For this one (which I'm guesstimating will wind up around 50-60K?), I'm using a much stricter outline than I have in the past. I have each chapter figured mostly out, sometimes down to the scene level. I'm writing out of order for the first time ever, going through and writing some of the key plot scenes so I know what's coming. I know better than to think I'll wait until I have the whole thing written before I start posting it, but I want to have a firm enough handle on the plot before I do, so I don't end up having to go back and totally change something in chapter 2 because of something that happened in chapter 5. (Which I had to do for one of my fics, it sucked.)

So far it's working pretty well!

[elleth]

I wrote two drabbles today, which is not nearly enough to boost my daily wordcount as far as I need it, but eh. At least I've written - and posted a ton of stories written for B2MeM (annual LotR/Silmarillion fandom March funtimes) to an archive, which took the better part of the evening.

As for outlines - I'm not sure, honestly. I'm not good at long chaptered fics, but I don't work with outlines a great deal - if I do, I tend to get too bogged down in detail, and it'll be a summary that takes away all impetus for writing the *fic*. For shorter fics, I like to know what happens and where it's going before I start writing, because with that concern out of the way, getting the words out right (instead of just getting them out) is far easier.

[snowynight]

I write 5K for my AU wip of doom. Four words or less = ending is hard.

Theoretically, I know the importance of detailed outline. However, somehow my fic mutates, or I just jump in my fic with only the vague idea where it's going. I'm a failure at outlining.

[bay_alexison]

Able to get half of my god_tier fic edited. I just need to wait for my beta to finish looking through the other half.

For my longer works I plan a bit so that I know which direction I want to take the fic, though in the middle for the most part I left open. Usually I'm able to write fine, but some scenes I take longer to write as I don't want to mess up events/characterization/etc.

[barbayat]

Wrote a little bit - now I am at a point where I thought I knew what would happen and then had a different idea and now I am thinking about how well that would work and so on ...

I constantly play scenes through in my mind, so I often revise before I get to that point or find that certain changes work better. I always have rough outline and sometimes more refined ones - but if the story commands me in a different direction I go with it.

[sharpiefan]

(Answering a day late because coming online yesterday did Not Happen. at all.)

there are days when I know exactly what comes next and writing it is a blast. There are days when I don't know what comes next and I have to get on with writing simply to find out. And there are days when I know exactly what comes next and there is no way it wants to get onto the page. Agh.