Hey I would like to share my approach to getting a full story done. I have already posted the opening of my first chapter here on Chronicles and this is how I am going about completing it. I would like your input, and also if you do read that opening, this post may give you an idea as to why some things don't make sense within that opening.
Step 1: Get everything written
It doesn't matter what the quality is, or if it even makes sense, but you need to get all the information that you want in the story down. If you have the story locked, then you can write bits and pieces here and there. Write what you find exciting and interesting at the time within the story. Why? It keeps you writing. You may not be under any pressure from a publisher, but it will never be a story unless you have everything.
Step 2: Red Pen
You layout all of the work, maybe on a wall, on the floor, or maybe you could either have a good memory or write little summary cards from each chapter. You then hack at it with a red pen and be really critical (I know someone has done that with my opening, thanks for that!). You will need to especially look for the following at this stage:
Around the same time or after you have taken a critical hack at your work, you need to rearrange the text to get a flowing narrative. It may mean that certain story elements need to be taken away, but you need to make sure everything is consistent and flows. This typically ranges from a flow within a chapter (don't break up a good chase sequence with useless description, throwaway dialogue/sentences etc.) to how the story fits going from chapter to chapter and looking at as a whole. This is your story. The worst that can happen is make someinth you're not happy with. This is the stage where you rearrange it to tell the story you want to tell.
Step 4: Redraft
Take a step back from your work and read it as though it was someone else's story. This can arguably be the toughest part of writing, because a lot of the time people become attached to their work. But it helps if you are harsh; you need to get it right, not nice. This is where you redraft sentences and ask yourself:
Step 5: Rinse and Repeat
Now you need to go over the steps again, with the new draft. If this is your first project, then it will be painful and slow. If you have a lot of stories to tell, then you will certainly get good at this process, and it will become a delightful habit to possess.
The biggest piece of advice I received, and now I am passing it to you, is to simply get everything down, and work from there. For an analogy, in art you may start with stick figure drawings, but you need to get the composition, poses, layout all done before you get onto what the character looks like. Then you draw in the details, and finally add colour/tone. But it started with you getting what you wanted down, and refining as you go along.
__________________________________________________
So there you go, this is my approach to how I am going to write my story. I would like it if you can see if you like it or not and to tell me how you go about writing a story from thought to shelf.
Step 1: Get everything written
It doesn't matter what the quality is, or if it even makes sense, but you need to get all the information that you want in the story down. If you have the story locked, then you can write bits and pieces here and there. Write what you find exciting and interesting at the time within the story. Why? It keeps you writing. You may not be under any pressure from a publisher, but it will never be a story unless you have everything.
Step 2: Red Pen
You layout all of the work, maybe on a wall, on the floor, or maybe you could either have a good memory or write little summary cards from each chapter. You then hack at it with a red pen and be really critical (I know someone has done that with my opening, thanks for that!). You will need to especially look for the following at this stage:
- Sentence structure
- Proper indents/paragraphs
- Grammar and spelling
- Passive -> active translation
Around the same time or after you have taken a critical hack at your work, you need to rearrange the text to get a flowing narrative. It may mean that certain story elements need to be taken away, but you need to make sure everything is consistent and flows. This typically ranges from a flow within a chapter (don't break up a good chase sequence with useless description, throwaway dialogue/sentences etc.) to how the story fits going from chapter to chapter and looking at as a whole. This is your story. The worst that can happen is make someinth you're not happy with. This is the stage where you rearrange it to tell the story you want to tell.
Step 4: Redraft
Take a step back from your work and read it as though it was someone else's story. This can arguably be the toughest part of writing, because a lot of the time people become attached to their work. But it helps if you are harsh; you need to get it right, not nice. This is where you redraft sentences and ask yourself:
- Did I build atmosphere well?
- Did I write good characterisation?
- Is there any information that is revealed at an earlier stage than I wanted it to?
- What can I take away?
- What should I add?
- On the whole, is my writing style too descriptive (thereby slowing the story to a halt) or too sparse (risking confusion or not making a good enough impact on what happens)?
Step 5: Rinse and Repeat
Now you need to go over the steps again, with the new draft. If this is your first project, then it will be painful and slow. If you have a lot of stories to tell, then you will certainly get good at this process, and it will become a delightful habit to possess.
The biggest piece of advice I received, and now I am passing it to you, is to simply get everything down, and work from there. For an analogy, in art you may start with stick figure drawings, but you need to get the composition, poses, layout all done before you get onto what the character looks like. Then you draw in the details, and finally add colour/tone. But it started with you getting what you wanted down, and refining as you go along.
__________________________________________________
So there you go, this is my approach to how I am going to write my story. I would like it if you can see if you like it or not and to tell me how you go about writing a story from thought to shelf.
