What's the best bit for you?

[Andrew Lambert]

Discovering ideas and plot lines. I don't know when they're going to come, but love it when the do

 

[Gonk the Insane]

As possibly the world's foremost prevaricator (I should maybe possibly be competing in the Olympics. Or then again...) I found myself agreeing with almost all the posts here. Well, except maybe editing. I'm still trying to run a Jedi Mind Trick on myself to love it - but my efforts so far would have got me picked up by the stormtroopers before Mos Eisley cantina ("stop muttering under your breath, those are the droids we're looking for").

The zone is damn hard to beat. That feeling you could write a scene about a cabbage right now and it would stilll be awesome, that frisson of adrenaline as you hit your stride... Certainly one of the greatest aspects of writing for me. For me, the only feeling that matches is it is the end of that first draft, that strange and heady mix of emotions: relief, pleasure, sadness, a sense of accomplishment and pride.

talking a bit about the zone...any of you get so into it your body reacts?

I've caught myself doing this thing a few times where I'm nodding as I type, just enjoying myself. I think my heart rate is probably elevated too when I'm really into it - it certainly feels like an adrenaline hit sometimes. Also, particularly when I get close to the end or am writing the final denouement, I often hear the Top Gun theme playing in my head. That's perfectly normal though, right?

as a discovery writer

Is that a technical term for pantser? I haven't heard it before but I like it. It makes me sound like I have some idea of what I'm doing. Or possibly the Allan Quartermain of writing.

 

[Jennifer L. Carson]

That feeling you could write a scene about a cabbage right now and it would stilll be awesome,

I love that, Gonk! Must write a cabbage into my next scene and love it And no, not normal to hear the Top Gun theme in you head...normal would be Journey's Don't Stop Believing

 

[Gonk the Insane]

normal would be Journey's Don't Stop Believing

...and now it's stuck in my head on repeat. It seems I only need to read the title and it starts up again.

 

[Steven Sorrels]

I'm currently writing to the tune of "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire."

Needless to say, things may be getting dark very soon

 

[CWScott]

I'm a bit of a pantser, and tend to write myself into corners. But I'm also stubborn, and refuse to throw away scenes or take a step back to get the easy way out. So there is no better feeling when I finally figure out a way to get my characters out of the situation I've thrown them into. Sometimes it takes my brain weeks to find the solution.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I'm very much a pantser but this time I've been editing earlier chapters to read at my writer's group. I don't know if that's the reason but I've come out with a draft that needs some heavy duty editing and tweaking rather than completely rewriting.

 

[James118]

Going through an early draft and analysing it as I would any other piece of literature when I was at school or university (to, y'know, deconstruct it), or indeed these days too because it's something I find hard to switch off. But yeah, doing that and deconstructing my own work to discover new themes, new opportunities for subplots, new character nuances, etc., and then building those into subsequent drafts to polish the whole thing into a tighter and more artistic narrative... makes me feel pretty damn proud of myself.

 

[Bloom]

Surely the best bit is when it's all over and someone hands you a big fat cheque?

Unfortunately I'm self-publishing, so no-one is handing me any money, just the odd £1 royalties every couple of days or so, if I'm lucky!

 

[James118]

Unfortunately I'm self-publishing, so no-one is handing me any money, just the odd £1 royalties every couple of days or so, if I'm lucky!

Yeah, that is a major source of frustration for me. Still, at least we have such avenues these days. I don't know how long KDP and CreateSpace (among others) have been operating, but I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that a decade ago, we wouldn't have had these choices. I just hope there are better tools for marketing in the near future, because I'm getting pretty much nowhere. x_x