Questions.

tanzy · Mar 31, 2007

When I first got into writing, I did almost all of it old school... with a notebook and a pen. I am able to get my ideas on paper at a pace that nearly keeps up with my mind. I started out using this method so I assume that is why it works better for me. The downside, my penmanship is horrid. No person can read my writing but me; I even have trouble sometimes. I have tried using a computer to do some writing. The problem is I am only able to use one hand to type; so I can only type about 30 wpm. When I am trying to "type" my story I will stumble trying to keep pace with my mind and forget what had just streamed forth, before I can get it down. (I donno if anyone knows what I mean, but I assume that some people are like this too) My writing comes in bursts of a complete "part" be it a line of dialogue, an action, or sometimes whole scenes that appear in my mind. I must get them down before they fade. On top of that, I need to get me a cheap laptop so I don't have to sit at this freaking desk to attempt writing. (typing)
I am in a jam... On one hand, I could use pen/paper and write everything out easier, but then spend a lot of time later transferring it to a digital medium. On the other hand, I could take the path that is harder for me to write, but I have the advantage of digitalized data.
I would normally go for option A... although, I want to try my hand at a genuine (longer than short story) novel. The idea of going through and transferring tens of thousands of words to a digital medium, before revising, seems like a waste of time. Maybe I can use my translation (handwritten to type) as my first actual run-through of revising the work?
Digital word processing, pencil/pen and paper, or something else... What medium do you normally use when getting those words out of your mind's eye?

Another problem I have... I recently moved in with my grandmother (long story) she keeps bothering me about my damn work... She wants to see what I am writing. I tried answering her with "If you where baking a cake, what would you do if I kept asking you to give me a raw egg, or a cup of sugar" She doesn’t seem to understand that I don’t want people reading 'bits and pieces' of my WIP. What can I tell the stubborn ol' bat?

I am really exited about what I am working on. I have never written anything that has a very in-depth character. (At least not as deep as some characters I have read) I want to take time and learn this one character as much as I can, so I can bring him out in my next story. What I am doing now, to practice, is writing a few different short stories with this one character. Each lil' story, brings me closer to understanding this character. Every situation my character faces helps me know how he acts and thinks. Any thoughts on this technique? I doubt it’s new, just an idea I had. It seems to help me though.

triceretops · Apr 1, 2007

Another problem I have... I recently moved in with my grandmother (long story) she keeps bothering me about my damn work... She wants to see what I am writing. I tried answering her with "If you where baking a cake, what would you do if I kept asking you to give me a raw egg, or a cup of sugar" She doesn’t seem to understand that I don’t want people reading 'bits and pieces' of my WIP. What can I tell the stubborn ol' bat?

This one bothers me a little bit, tanzy. I can only say that you should try and find it in your heart to be a bit more patient with the older crowd. Their years of living and true-life experience count for something, and she could possibly be a very, very good beta reader for you. She just might be the best beta reader you ever had! I would, if I were you, lend an ear to something she might have to say. Personally, I would give my eye teeth for such attention from an wise elder with counsel. Or you could also explain that you would be delighted to let her read the "finished" product. Tell her nicely that bits and pieces would be too disjointed and wouldn't make too much sense.

How's that sound?

Oh, and welcome. There is nothing bad about going longhand. It sure is more convienent to lug a notebook and pen around v.s. a laptop or computer. I wouldn't sweat that too much. Do what makes you feel comfortable.

Tri

Popeyesays · Apr 1, 2007

You could try using a computer with voice recognition software and just dictate the story to the computer--sure you get lots of interesting homonym usage, but that's what editing is for.

Computer dictation should keep up with your thoughts pretty good okay. I type as fast as I think, so I find pen and paper to be just the problem you describe. I usually work with other people within earshot so dictation is not so good for me.

Regards,
Scott

Judg · Apr 1, 2007

I do occasional bits and pieces in longhand and when I type them into a computer I do a little on-the-fly editing. I find that I often just find a smoother way of expressing an idea like that.

Jamesaritchie · Apr 1, 2007

Longhand

I write longhand by choice, and the perfect time to write the second draft is as you're typing the first draft into the computer. Why waste all that time simply by copying?

Unless the writer's first thought is better than his second or third thought, I think any system that allows him to keep up with his thoughts is horrid.

To me, the worst thing about word processors is that writers can keep up with their thoughts. And the results of doing so are ghastly.

PeeDee · Apr 1, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
Unless the writer's first thought is better than his second or third thought, I think any system that allows him to keep up with his thoughts is horrid.

To me, the worst thing about word processors is that writers can keep up with their thoughts. And the results of doing so are ghastly.

And frequently long-winded. Because you remember every sentence that comes to mind, since you're keeping right up. With handwriting, I tend to think of random bits that never make it to paper, because by the time I've reached that point, I've had something else come up and stick in my mind.

I slowly migrated from handwriting to typewriters to computers, and now I'm slowly migrating back to handwriting again.

Shady Lane · Apr 1, 2007

Judg said:
I do occasional bits and pieces in longhand and when I type them into a computer I do a little on-the-fly editing. I find that I often just find a smoother way of expressing an idea like that.

Me, too.

The Lady · Apr 1, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
To me, the worst thing about word processors is that writers can keep up with their thoughts. And the results of doing so are ghastly.

That's an intriguing thought. I'm off to be intrigued by it.

WriterInChains · Apr 1, 2007

Hi tanzy,

I wrote the first drafts of my first two full-length manuscrips completely in longhand. I still write the majority of my FD material that way, and it usually doesn't make it into a Word doc without changing (sometimes it changes a LOT).

Longhand is great for me, & if it works for you keep doing it! I love to write on the train, or outside, I've even written parts of a ms during the breaks at summer metal concerts. That's the beauty for me, I can do it anywhere, anytime. Sometimes I try to keep up with my thoughts, & other times I can tell those thoughts need to cure a bit before I write them down. It's all about what works for you.

About your grandma, that's a tough one. You should do whatever you're comfortable with regarding showing your work to friends/family. Unless the content would embarrass me, I'd show my grandma whatever she asked to see. But, she's not around anymore so I haven't had to face the possibility of my Grammie reading a sex scene I wrote. I'm sure she could handle it, but I'm not so sure about me.

Oh, & short stories are great ways to get to know characters -- whether you submit them or not. I uncovered a whole bunch of great stuff this year while writing a short story that took place 20 years after my WIP. It really cleared up some of the relationships I couldn't quite get my mind around. It dropped into my lap while I drove home from work one day, and pretty soon it should be ready to start collecting rejection letters.

Have fun, whatever you do. And be nice to your grandma! :Hug2:

Sage · Apr 1, 2007

Buy yourself a nice notebook specifically for writing that story & do it longhand. I think if that's what you're most comfortable with, you should do it, especially in the first-draft-getting-it-all-down-on-paper phase.

I know how you feel about your grandmother trying to read before it's ready. When I was home for Christmas, I was editing my first draft, & I brought it into the kitchen because my mom was highlighting my hair & I had to sit & wait for a while for the color to set. While I washed my hair, my mom decided to stand over my novel & read the page that was face up. Not only was it a first draft, but it was also near the climax, & pretty close to where the whodunnit is revealed. I was pretty upset.

A couple months later, after much revision, & much begging from my parents, I conceded to let her & my dad read it. I was still kind of worried because there was an attempted rape scene & my character goes to Hell (literally), but if those disturbed her, she never mentioned it.

Anyway, if you're not against letting your grandma read the novel after it's finished, can you explain that you will? That you'd be happy to receive any input she has at that point, but that you want to give her your best, not just what's jumped out of your mind in the last minute

so she needs to give you time to finish & to edit.

Norman D Gutter · Apr 2, 2007

When I left high school, I typed 15 wpm (before subtracting mistakes) and had awful penmanship. Now, after 33 years in the work force, I type close to 80 wpm and have close to the best penmanship in the company. How? I spent time trying to be better at both. I learned my handwritten instructions and construction reports were better understood if people could read them. So I forced myself to learn to write clearer. It took years, but I did it. When computers became an essential part of the work, I forced myself to become more proficient at keyboarding. It took time, but it paid off big time.

These are learnable skills. Given that both are essential to the writer these days, I suggest you take time to significantly improve in these areas.

NDG

scarletpeaches · Apr 2, 2007

I've settled into a routine that works for me. I type my first drafts on the laptop. For me, it's all about speed, but as I've been typing for 25 years - not constantly, of course; I'd get RSI

- I've got a fair old speed going. I aim for 50,000 words in a month, having stolen the idea from NaNo.

Then I write the second draft longhand, aiming for 65-70,000 words, which is just over 200 longhand pages.

And then I type it all back into the computer; by this stage all it needs is tweaking when it comes to dialogue attribution, personal pronouns and the like.

Like PeeDee, I'm falling in love with handwriting all over again! The first draft for me is all about speed, getting the idea out of my head onto paper. The second is where I take the time to put more emotion in; longhand being slower it forces me to slow down the pace and examine more closely the characters' motivations and the overall themes.

PeeDee · Apr 2, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
Like PeeDee, I'm falling in love with handwriting all over again! The first draft for me is all about speed, getting the idea out of my head onto paper. The second is where I take the time to put more emotion in; longhand being slower it forces me to slow down the pace and examine more closely the characters' motivations and the overall themes.

....It would never have occurred to me to do the second draft by hand. Backwards, essentially. I can think of a couple of troubled manuscripts that I hate looking at on the computer which I think I'd work contentedly through by hand. That's a really, really good idea.

I stopped handwriting for a long time, because I wanted to go faster and faster...but somewhere in there, I realized that if I handwrite for an hour, I handwrite without pausing for sixty minutes. If I type for an hour, unless I'm in good form, I'll spend thirty minutes just staring and fiddling.

(and I suppose sooner or later, I resent technology and what a foothold it has in my life, at the same time as I enjoy playing with newer and fancier tech)

veinglory · Apr 2, 2007

How many drafts do you people do? Baring a little light proof reading I never do more than two.

scarletpeaches · Apr 2, 2007

I like doing things bass-ackwards.

!sllems eeDeeP

scarletpeaches · Apr 2, 2007

veinglory said:
How many drafts do you people do? Baring a little light proof reading I never do more than two.

Two for me. The third, strictly-speaking is more transcribing than writing a fresh draft. Just getting it from paper onto the laptop.

PeeDee · Apr 2, 2007

veinglory said:
How many drafts do you people do? Baring a little light proof reading I never do more than two.

With short stories and serial stories of any sort, it's always one draft and a polish for me. That's it.

With novels, it tends to be two drafts. I print it, I read it over, I make a note of anything that consciously jumps out at me. Then, from my printed copy, I re-type the manuscript. Things I dont' like, I don't put in. If I go "God, I've used the phrase "he had" ten times in the past five minutes," then I know it needs to die. Once it's retyped, I spell-check and proof-read, and I'm done.

I don't wait between drafts, as recommended, either. If I do, it rots away in my mind. I can talk myself out of anything.

heatheringemar · Apr 2, 2007

I like to write a lot of my stuff down by hand, and I have notebooks full of notes from stories I've written. (I do, however, type very fast and so I tend to switch to the computer mid-scene if I'm really feeling the push) I find no problems with writing everything down, and find the time used to transfer my notes to the computer is a great time for polishing the words further.

As for your grandmother, I think that trying to be patient is the first thing. She probably just means well and wouldn't understand if you got annoyed with her. Second, I'd say that Triceratops' advice is excellent: tell her that you appreciate her interest, but that you would prefer to have her read the finished product as 'bits and pieces' would be much too disjointed and confusing. Then smile, and compliment her on her cooking or something. *grins*

Jamesaritchie · Apr 3, 2007

Drafts

I've always said I do two drafts, but two and a half is closer to the truth. I make many changes, and at least do a solid mini-second draft as I type the handwritten story into the computer, and then I do a polish draft.

But, you know, while writing my first draft in longhand, I make a LOT of changes in my head before the words ever go down on paper. This is one of the things I love most about writing in longhand. I think about every sentence before I write it down, and what I'm writing is always well behind what I'm think, so by the time I do actually write something down, odds are it has already been changed at least once.

rugcat · Apr 3, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
To me, the worst thing about word processors is that writers can keep up with their thoughts. And the results of doing so are ghastly.

I have the best of both worlds. I love the ease of word processing, but I'm such a terrible typist that I could actually write faster longhand. (Reading it later would be another story)

Soccer Mom · Apr 3, 2007

I don't have one single way to write. I write in whichever way is convenient at the moment. It might be laptop, desktop, or longhand. I do a couple of drafts. But I'm dyslexic and editing may take me longer than other folks. I always do a proof read on the computer and another from hard copy. I spot different errors with each one.

If writing longhand works for you, then by all means do that. As you see, you're hardly alone.

xanthalanari · Apr 3, 2007

I mostly write LH, but that's because it's easier to do on the bus. And I edit while I type up.

So at the risk of sounding like a cop-out, do whatever you're happiest doing. It's your writing that will suffer otherwise.

Questions.

tanzy

triceretops

Popeyesays

Now departed. Rest in peace, Scott, from all of us

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

Jamesaritchie

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

Shady Lane

my name is hannah

The Lady

Critical Member

WriterInChains

Feed my eyes

Sage

Our Lady of Parentheticals

Norman D Gutter

Engineer Sonneteer

scarletpeaches

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

veinglory

volitare nequeo

scarletpeaches

scarletpeaches

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

heatheringemar

lurking behind that corner..

Jamesaritchie

rugcat

Lost in the Fog

Soccer Mom

Crypto-fascist

xanthalanari