Favorite Part of Writing

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midenianscholar
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Favorite Part of Writing

Post by midenianscholar » August 4th, 2010, 10:27 am

What part of the writing process is your favorite? I mostly mean in the stages of writing itself, not what you are writing (i.e. action scenes vs. dialog).

For instance, I enjoy editing more than I enjoy writing. I like to cut and rewrite, because even though it can be painful I know that I'm getting rid of the trash and pulling out the gold.

What about you? Do you like plotting best, or the first write, or editing, or...?

Emily J
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by Emily J » August 4th, 2010, 10:53 am

This is an easy one for me.

I love writing first drafts. There's nothing else like it. It's kind of like walking across freshly fallen snow, before it's been trampled and upturned and turned that dingy gray.

And even though I plot meticulously before I write, I love when my story surprises me as I write. You know, some detail or some character you hadn't anticipated popping up and fitting into the overall story perfectly. Or when you find just the right phrase, or craft a great sentence.

Of course there are plenty of times when I cringe at my prose, or when my plot takes an unexpected turn towards stupidville. But even so, that first draft is really what I love about writing. I put down 4,000 words on my WiP yesterday and was giddy and obnoxiously happy.

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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by Sommer Leigh » August 4th, 2010, 12:11 pm

While I like the process of writing the first draft, particularly the accessories of writing the first draft (creating new files for new chapters in my writing program and making the chapter numbers bold. I love doing this, I don't know why.) I like the tunnel vision I get when I'm engrossed in a first write and when I come out of it suddenly eight hours have passed and I'm ridiculously hungry.

I like those moments, but they aren't my favorite because so often those moments are also cruel and awful and make me crazy.

The part I really love, my favorite part, is actually in editing the first draft. Heavy rewrites are satisfying. I think it's because I have a pretty good gut reaction to changes that need to be done and things that need to get cut, so what I end up with after the first lousy draft is sparkling and exciting and neat and that's the first time where I really go, "Oh wow. *I* did that? How did that come out of my head? Man that's some good writing."
Last edited by Sommer Leigh on August 4th, 2010, 9:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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CharleeVale
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by CharleeVale » August 4th, 2010, 12:20 pm

When the characters take over am I'm not the one in control of the pen anymore. That is my favorite part by far.

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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by johndavid » August 4th, 2010, 12:21 pm

I like coming up with the IDEA for a book. I like how the ideas seem to come out of nowhere (often in the shower for some reason). I like taking that little seed and seeing if I can make it grow into something that will take up three hundred pages. I like trying to think of the characters, the plot, and how everything will work together and come to an end. Hopefully a GOOD ending.

I have finished one book, am about 1/3 of the way through my second and have three more ideas waiting for their turn at bat. Not too bad figuring I just started getting serious about writing at the start of this year.

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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by Aimée » August 4th, 2010, 2:14 pm

Maybe I'm an oddball, but I just love revising and editing.

No, really. I do.

And the planning stage is always fun.

But I actually don't enjoy the writing of the first draft because I just want to get all the words down ASAP, which is pretty hard to do. I don't like typing or writing. I wish I could just think all the words down onto the paper so I don't have to go through agony of impatience. I pretty much have the entire novel planned out ahead of time, so it's difficult to wait for my hands to catch up to my brain.

Down the well
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by Down the well » August 4th, 2010, 2:41 pm

Big picture:

It doesn't matter if it's during the first draft or in revisions, I love discovering what's in the interstices between scenes or words or actions. I don't try to write with a theme in mind, and I'm a little blind to whichever one is building as I write, but when I first start getting glimmers of it and I think, "Oh, so that's what this is all about," that's when I get excited. Then it's like I have this red thread running through the pages that I can go back and trace, and it makes me happy.


Day to day:

My best days are the ones when I surprise myself. I love it when a character or scene takes a turn I didn't see coming and I can build on it successfully. Love that.

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AMSchilling
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by AMSchilling » August 4th, 2010, 4:52 pm

I think my favorite part is when I'm stuck on something, or missing one little thing to make it all work, and finally figure it out. Having that one teeny tiny thought that makes me go, "holy crap, there is it," especially when it's a completely random and non-writing related observation that just smacks me in the face. Seeing in my head how it weaves into the plot, and how things open up and develop off that one insignificant thing, is pretty cool.
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craig
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by craig » August 4th, 2010, 5:05 pm

My favourite is a mid-process edit...

What I have in my head isn't what usually ends up on paper in my first draft. I usually can't hit the emotion and darkness and effectiveness that I was aiming for, so I find it a bit disappointing.

With a mid-process edit, when I rewrite many key scenes, I'm usually able to finally hit what I've been aiming for and it's SO satisfying.

The final edit is mere grammar, spelling, and final touch-ups, which isn't quite as satisfying as the earlier edit.

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Mark
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by Mark » August 4th, 2010, 6:38 pm

Quitting for the day.

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tanvi02
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by tanvi02 » August 5th, 2010, 5:03 am

i like each and every piece of writing from the rough draft to editing and to its final,original copy.it gives immense pleasure to think that the entire piece belongs to you and specially when you have created it on your own..writing itself is a beautiful process.i enjoy its each and every step.

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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by Claudie » August 5th, 2010, 10:16 am

I'm torn between plotting and first draft.

There is something magical when, while you are working out characters and world and storyline, something happens and your brain connects them all in a single, epic story. One moment you had different elements that you want to connect, the next you have a mental outline for your whole novel. MAGIC. I love it!

First draft is fun because you work that incredible idea into something real. The prose might suck, but your characters are coming to life and sometimes they take that first bad-ass idea and make something even better out of it.

While editing is satisfying, it's nowhere near as fun for me as the initial creative rush.
"I do not think there is any thrill [...] like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything." -- Nikola Tesla

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wilderness
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by wilderness » August 6th, 2010, 3:28 pm

Mark wrote:Quitting for the day.

LOL. Yes, I love it when I have reached my designated word count for the day.

midenianscholar, I'm with you. I prefer editing over writing the first draft. I'm wallowing in first draft misery as we speak. I know I'm outputting smelly manure but I can't wait to reshape it into a something beautiful. The first draft is fertilizer for my garden :)

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Leonidas
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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by Leonidas » August 6th, 2010, 10:26 pm

I have a few favorite aspects of writing, but if I had to choose one it's the initial days of plotting and brainstorming when you're so in love with your idea it's the only thing you can think of. When you first come up with an idea, it doesn't matter if it's any good or not, just that it's yours. To me, that's when writing is at its most magical.

Besides the moment when you finish all the rewrites and look at your manuscript and realize that you're done for now and that you've taken your idea from its infancy and watched it transform into something magnificent.

I also adore the moments where you don't know what the hell you're writing, but you know it's good, so you keep writing it and you reread it the next day and don't remember writing it in the first place.

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Re: Favorite Part of Writing

Post by xouba » August 7th, 2010, 7:46 pm

Emily J wrote: And even though I plot meticulously before I write, I love when my story surprises me as I write. You know, some detail or some character you hadn't anticipated popping up and fitting into the overall story perfectly. Or when you find just the right phrase, or craft a great sentence.
I agree with this. For me, it's those character that you only thought about fleetingly when plotting, and afterwards they start appearing again and again because they're so cool or so useful to the plot.

I also love when I read what I've written after some time, and find something that makes me think: "hey, I don't remember having written this, but it's good".

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