How do you consciously immerse yourself in your writing?

Kindness · Apr 10, 2010

I know that to write you have to write, but even though I've been sitting down and typing I've been wondering how it's possible to consistently wrap yourself in your story world.

I've come to understand that unless you immerse yourself in the story and are really there then you leave things out things that you would have 'noticed' and put down -- tastes, smells, sounds, and so on. Because you left them out the story winds up not being as absorbing as it would have been for readers... If you know what I mean?

How do you consciously step into your story world in your writing?

(Sorry if this sounds like jibberish, its 2AM and my eyelids are half closed)

C.M.C. · Apr 10, 2010

I don't believe that writers are supposed to be "in" their world. We're supposed to create the world.

PGK · Apr 10, 2010

I don't know how to do it consciously. I just start typing and if I'm feeling prolific or inspired I just lose myself in the writing and forget that I'm even typing.

But it's also not necessarily true that if you don't immerse yourself you will leave things out. In fact, sometimes when I do immerse myself I find that I skip plenty of nuances since I'm focusing on the bigger picture. In a heated debate or argument with someone I rarely (if ever) take notice of the room's aroma, or the taste of stale cigarettes in my mouth. This is also why I have such trouble with long dialogue in my stories. I fail to stop and mention how my MC squinted or reacted physically to something said because I'm the heat of the moment. Those details come later when I'm doing the rewrite (sometimes).

I say stop trying to immerse yourself and just type type type. It's kind of like trying to fall asleep. The more you lie in bed thinking about falling asleep, the harder it can be. I focus on something else entirely (usually a new story, or a development in my WIP) and next thing I know I'm waking up in the morning pissed that I didn't jot down my ideas.

ishtar'sgate · Apr 10, 2010

Kindness said:
How do you consciously step into your story world in your writing?

Maybe it's because I write historical fiction but I find that when I've done sufficient research, named and described my setting (maybe only to myself) then I can immerse myself in the story. I already know what the world looks like, what kind of people are in it, what's happening politically and socially etc. My biggest problem is leaving that world when I'm out in the 'real' world. A few minutes of silence in a conversation and I'm wandering back to my story world.

Tsu Dho Nimh · Apr 10, 2010

Kindness said:
I've come to understand that unless you immerse yourself in the story and are really there then you leave things out things that you would have 'noticed' and put down -- tastes, smells, sounds, and so on. Because you left them out the story winds up not being as absorbing as it would have been for readers

You can coldly and calculatingly go back through and add this sort of ambience after you have the first draft finished.

Albannach · Apr 10, 2010

ishtar'sgate said:
Maybe it's because I write historical fiction but I find that when I've done sufficient research, named and described my setting (maybe only to myself) then I can immerse myself in the story. I already know what the world looks like, what kind of people are in it, what's happening politically and socially etc. My biggest problem is leaving that world when I'm out in the 'real' world. A few minutes of silence in a conversation and I'm wandering back to my story world.

Yep.

wrangler · Apr 10, 2010

Tsu Dho Nimh said:
You can coldly and calculatingly go back through and add this sort of ambience after you have the first draft finished.

I concur.

job · Apr 10, 2010

Butt in chair, of course.
That's first.

The hours before I sit down to work, I start imagining the scene I'm headed into. I think about it while I'm fixing breakfast and sending the kid to school, while I'm driving to the coffee shop.

The scene I'm headed for is bobbing about at the edge of my mind before I flip the laptop open.

Another trick is -- I know lots of folks go back to the material they've written the day before, get immersed in that and slide in from there.

CheyElizabeth · Apr 10, 2010

I immerse myself by going back and reading my story. I can't just sit down and start typing from where I left off last time... I go back a chapter or so, and read it.. By the time I get to the end, I'll start typing.

It gets me in the writing 'mood' because after reading my story for a few minutes, I've usually forgotten all of the real life stuff going on in my head.

job · Apr 10, 2010

C.M.C. said:
I don't believe that writers are supposed to be "in" their world. We're supposed to create the world.

Lots of different ways for writers to work, of course. Every one of them is correct, because it's the way that writer works.

But I do find myself in the world I create. During the early creative drafts, I 'see' the scenery all around me as if I were the POV character.
It's more like being in a movie, than watching the movie. But then, that's the place I want to put the reader.

Caitlin Black · Apr 10, 2010

I have a unique way of looking at the real world. It might be called delusion, actually. But in amidst all this mundane day-to-day stuff, I imagine hidden workings - the rules of life can be reimagined to allow for goblins and deities and the like, and you can imagine all sorts of rules of physics.

So every day, I'm immersed in my own quiet life of imagining the world to be different than it plainly is. I never go so far as to take risks that would only pay off if the world were different, and I'm aware of how normal (and yet still complex) things are, but in the back of my mind, and every time I daydream, I'm in that special world.

And that's where all my books are set.

So for me, immersing myself in my novel world is as simple as imagining the characters and the situation. The rest of the world is already at my feet before I even get BIC.

And my opinion about skipping details like the taste of cigarettes in your mouth while you're rapidly typing dialogue - yes, you can put it in later if you like, but personally my dialogue is usually pretty in-depth and plot-related, so when discussing the impending end of the world, somehow I don't think my characters would notice all that much beyond the discussion and what's in their hands.

Whether that means it'll be a harder sell to agents, I don't know, but in the end, if someone says, "You NEED more little details" then I can just add them in. Easiest editing there is.

Dr.Gonzo · Apr 11, 2010

It's almost like acting for me. I have the character, and the character has me. I find him/her, start to think in the way they think, feel the way they feel, and then start talking (writing). Most times this means I'll digress as I get into character, but it isn't a problem; it sticks out like a sore thumb when I'm editing so it's not a problem cutting it.

Danthia · Apr 11, 2010

Some days I'm immersed, other days I'm doing my job. There is no right way to write a novel, there's just what works for you.

I've actually found when I get really into it, I miss all those details, because I'm in the character and dealing with what's going on in the story. It's only when I'm being the rational writer do I remember to add the sights, sounds, smells. Some get in, but never enough to make the story clear.

I don't try to do it all at once. Trying to get in every detail, every line on a first pass just doesn't work for me. I need to write in layers, and every layer will have a different level of focus. Sometimes I need to be immersed, others I need to be detached so I can look at the work objectively.

larocca · Apr 11, 2010

How can you not immerse yourself in the other world? It probably beats the hell out of the one where I do the writing, which is often in a restaurant, on a bus with people screaming into cell phones, in 100+ degree temperatures with no rain in sight...

Tepelus · Apr 11, 2010

CheyElizabeth said:
I immerse myself by going back and reading my story. I can't just sit down and start typing from where I left off last time... I go back a chapter or so, and read it.. By the time I get to the end, I'll start typing.

It gets me in the writing 'mood' because after reading my story for a few minutes, I've usually forgotten all of the real life stuff going on in my head.

This is what I have to do too.

Linda Adams · Apr 11, 2010

Kindness said:
I've come to understand that unless you immerse yourself in the story and are really there then you leave things out things that you would have 'noticed' and put down -- tastes, smells, sounds, and so on. Because you left them out the story winds up not being as absorbing as it would have been for readers... If you know what I mean?

My first reaction to this is that you read somewhere that all the senses need to be in the story, and you've realized that they're not. If that's the case, it's not a deal breaker, and you really don't need to sweat it. Most of the senses are better off chosen with deliberate intent rather than just getting it in there just because the characters might have noticed it. Otherwise, you might end up with a story jammed with unnecessary details that crowds out the actual story (which I've seen).

When I add something like a smell, it tends to be because it's something unusual, different, part of the scene or characters, or for foreshadowing--and always appropriate for the context of the scene. I usually add it on the revision, because by then I have enough of a handle on the story that I know what I want to highlight.

Libbie · Apr 11, 2010

I really think the immersion in one's fictional world comes with practice. The more consistently you sit down and write as if it's a routine, the easier it will be for you to slide into your story and stay there for the duration of your writing.

In order to develop that skill, though, I think you need to learn how to enjoy your world. I like to experience each scene I work on by "watching" it in my head as if it's a movie on a screen. I replay the scene over and over, paying attention to the details of setting and character, and allowing my mind to tinker around with changing those details. I really do see the scenes unfolding in my head. I think that helps me immerse myself in it.

timewaster · Apr 11, 2010

[
How do you consciously step into your story world in your writing?
Deadlines. When i write intensively I inhabit the story much more. Sometimes I use a certain piece of music to help me get there quicker but usually when i'm working hard - the story is still running in the back of my head while I do other things.

donroc · Apr 11, 2010

I immerse naturally until the "Somewhere in Time" penny appears bringing me back to real time -- a phone ringing, leaf blowers outside, a call of nature.

Snowstorm · Apr 11, 2010

During my writing, I'm "in" the story. I see it, feel it (on a couple different levels). My mind whirls around that space and somehow my fingers type all the smells, feelings, tastes. If something sad or poignant happens, I'm bawling like a baby because it's "happening" to me. I love it.

Kindness · Apr 11, 2010

Thanks everyone! I'm going to have to super-agree with Linda and Libbie

I guess since this my first book I've still got a lot of time to learn how to immerse myself, *and* how the adding in of detail is done

I'll try to not do the jamming-in-detail thing!!

shaldna · Apr 12, 2010

Kindness said:
How do you consciously step into your story world in your writing?

1. Put kids to bed.
2. Make coffee while thinking about what I am going to write
3. Park bum in chair
4. Pick up pen
5. Write

Jamesaritchie · Apr 12, 2010

Kindness said:
I know that to write you have to write, but even though I've been sitting down and typing I've been wondering how it's possible to consistently wrap yourself in your story world.

I've come to understand that unless you immerse yourself in the story and are really there then you leave things out things that you would have 'noticed' and put down -- tastes, smells, sounds, and so on. Because you left them out the story winds up not being as absorbing as it would have been for readers... If you know what I mean?

How do you consciously step into your story world in your writing?

(Sorry if this sounds like jibberish, its 2AM and my eyelids are half closed)

I just write the story. I don't consciously immerse myself in it. If a charcter walks into a room, I just write down what he sees, hears, smells, etc. I don't have to consciously immerse myself in teh story to do this, I just ask myself, "Okay, what does he see, hear, smell, etc."

CaroGirl · Apr 12, 2010

I just use my imagination.

Raphee · Apr 12, 2010

job said:
Butt in chair, of course.
That's first.

The hours before I sit down to work, I start imagining the scene I'm headed into. I think about it while I'm fixing breakfast and sending the kid to school, while I'm driving to the coffee shop.

The scene I'm headed for is bobbing about at the edge of my mind before I flip the laptop open.

Another trick is -- I know lots of folks go back to the material they've written the day before, get immersed in that and slide in from there.

Agree with this. Anne Lamot says the same in her book, Bird by Bird, that I'm currently reading, that you'd better sit down for awhile and think of the scene before smashing your typewriter...well, not in these words.
I used to do that. But now, I've started to to think what my scene is all about. Where am I headed, who is the POV and why.
I'm not talking about the tiny gritty details of the senses btw.

How do you consciously immerse yourself in your writing?

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