Nathan Bransford - The Forums

The initial draft for me is like a pencil sketch (30-40,000 words, but still a sketch), and, if I can silence the compulsion to edit as I go, it's incredibly freeing and creative. My favorite part, though, is rewriting. That's where I get to combine free-form creativity AND the tools of the trade. Like a kid pulling one toy after another out of big box. Good stuff!

Nathan Bransford wrote:I've heard people say that they hate writing but love having written.

Dorothy Parker?

I suppose the hardest lesson I've learned is that I need to write market back and not challenge the industry so much. Today's climate is really putting the squeeze on my natural inclination to go against the grain. I'm even thinking about targeting agencies and then writing to their interests. As of today, I'm finishing a book that I doubt anyone except for a couple transgressive and fantastic fiction small presses will want to give a shot, although I know just about anyone would enjoy it. Knowing you won't be read like you want really hurts.

Favorite part is crafting paragraphs that sing and realizing the hard work is paying off.

Hardest lesson: it's okay to write a really, really, REALLY crappy first draft. Took a while before I realised that not everything had to be genius right off the bat.

I love creating. Everything about the world, the magic system, the characters, the plot, political systems, cultures... this is why I write fantasy. Even the writing itself is fun, to be able to explore the world at the level of the inhabitants rather than the creator is wonderfully entertaining.

But the revisions. I despise the revisions. Gone is the feeling of creation, and instead I'm left with the feeling that I've seen all this before. So I guess the hardest lesson was (is) learning how to slog through the editing process, yet still sate my desire to create.

I love to create my own world and realistic characters which my readers will imagine. I love imagination, that is probably why I write. I am not the person to love words, and language, but I love ideas! Yet when you have a great ideas, that you enjoy your words flow by themselves.

Favorite part? I'm in it for the coffee.
Hardest lesson? I have to work at the edit so I don't underestimate the reader and explain too much.

My favorite part of writing is definitely the creative process. There's a kind of euphoria attached to it, which is probably what keeps writers going until they've completed long and difficult projects. I also love each and every time I have a brand new book or short story published with a shiny new book cover - I still get butterflies every time that happens. The hardest lesson for me was learning how to slow down and how to recognize the types of book promotion projects that involve a lot more time commitment than any real benefit, especially the scams.

Favorite: While I'm a multi-genre writer, my love is for thrillers. So, with that respect, the most favorite part of writing is when I can mesh the suspense with the excitement and still keep the reader teetering on trying to figure out the twists. This, sadly, only comes when I can toss the manuscript at a very good friend of mine and sit nearby to see her reactions, then have her try to guess what happens. She's 500 miles away and we don't get a chance to see one another often, so I don't get many opportunities to experience this.

Hardest Lesson: Learning to peel away the useless, meaningless, impertinent layers of "constructive criticism" from fellow writers and address those areas which are invaluable. It's taken me a long time to get here and I'm still not 100% there, but realizing that has made a difference. I'm no longer going back to rewrite what I've worked so hard on and keep on plugging away, applying the useful critiques to the ongoing project. FWIW, knowing what genre your fellow critics write/read in really helps make those separations.

Kathie Leung
Fiction Novelist
Multi-Winner NaNoWriMo
Founder and Organizer of the Chico Writers Group
chicowritersgroup.blogspot.com
Visit me at kathieleung.com

My favorite thing by far is getting to know my characters and getting to write down their story. A distant second is hard editing, when I can hand my baby over to someone else and cut the umbilical cord.

The worst part is trying to be patient during the months of writing when all I want to do is just get the damn thing down on paper and the rest of the world should just go away.

moosatcows wrote:...
The worst part is trying to be patient during the months of writing when all I want to do is just get the damn thing down on paper and the rest of the world should just go away.

Oh yeah, amen to that one!

Favorite part? The thrilling moments when two (or three, or ten) pieces of the story come together perfectly, and in a way you hadn't anticipated. I love that. It's getting to know an entirely new side of your own work.

The hardest lesson has been the amount of time it takes to craft a novel. I knew it would be time-consuming, but I had no idea back when I first dove in. Not really.

The best part is not being practical in my thinking. The hardest part is remembering I didn't pay the eletric bill.

My favorite part about writing is the adventure in digging things up, discovering new places to explore, and getting to know my characters. The escape!

The hardest lesson in writing is learning to be patient. Learning about writing, publishing, agents, and the do's and don'ts are exciting lessons, but it takes patience to see it through to the end. (plus, it is not easy to shut up about it)

I absolutely love the actual writing. There's no better way to pass the time, even when it's frustrating and aggravating and it makes me want to throw the whole thing across the room because it won't fit together! The part i hate is letting people read what i wrote. My poor defenseless little baby, out in the world to be critiqued... ah, it's horrible until i get used to it. Then it's helpful, even if i'd rather not admit it.
The harders lesson? That would be keep going even if something else seems more interesting. I get impatient, but i know if i take a break and do something else I'll never get back to it. All that work will just fade away like way too many of my projects have.

My favorite part is unfolding the story.

The hardest part is introducing the characters and keeping them clear for the reader.