For me it's like building a house. outline = blueprint; bricks, wood = first draft, raw prose; cables, drywall, plumbing = things start working; and so on. Until it's finally time to move in (publish).
I stay very close to my outline, so usually there aren't new rooms or stairs suddenly appearing. 😅
Oddly enough, my working process can be described as interpreting someone else's story. Yeah, I think that's a pretty boring description. But there are fine details and intricacies that fits the description very beautifully.
First of all, whose story am I telling? Is it the main character? The antagonist? The supporting character? The universe they reside in? My own under a cracked rosy tint? Well, it's pretty much all of them at the same time.
So the first thing I do is to know them. Who they are and how they interact with each other. The outlining process is kinda similar to preliminary research, gathering all the easily obtainable information and sorting them out into something versatile.
Of course the outline won't be complete without knowing their interactions. And interactions only happens when I actually start writing the draft like a series of interviews and careful observations. This is where the meat of information actually resides in. Whatever secrets they've been keeping from me will usually be revealed on this part.
Finally, there's the reviewing and editing part - the questionnaire I hand out to the story and characters, asking them about the current state of the script and how true they are to their actual experience.
I like how horrible and chaotic the description of my writing process is. It's brutally honest to the experience I'm going through every day. The 200 words a day I manage to scrape by doesn't feel like such an underachievement when I have to moonsault and cartwheel through those rings of fire to produce my art. It screams "I'm doing my best despite my many limitations" and I love it. I just love it.
Hi Glenn! It's been so long! I wanted to tell you that for the past year I've been doing research to write an adapted screenplay for a feature film, and since it's a book based on real events that I'm adapting, there's a huge amount of information to analyze. Sometimes I feel like I'm uncovering clues like a detective, other times I feel like a group of ants slowly carrying leaves back to the anthill, and there are moments when I feel like Tom Waits' character, about to find the gold named "Mr. Pocket" in the Coen brothers' film. Your suggestion is great; it will be helpful to see it as a puzzle that I'm gradually putting together. I think what I need is more time, because I'm doing this work half the day when I'm not at my day job, and it's a challenge. Thank you so much for the questions you ask; they're helpful for analyzing what I enjoy about my research. Greetings from Argentina!
Greetings right back! Thank you! Best of luck - try to start outlining your story as you research, it can help steer you away from interesting-but-impossible-to-use material :)
Thank you so much for your reply, Glenn. Yes, you're right. It's happened to me just like you said, because as I research, the story takes shape, and having a more complete picture helps me define the structure. And I start to see what's important for the protagonist's development. Let's keep in touch! See you soon!
Yes. The problems I found are often very interesting. Sometimes I forgot my "interview" with a character or with the story. Other times I forgot to cover the other side of an interaction between characters and the story. Or maybe sometimes I was too lazy to some research to replace the preexisting placeholders.
It felt like a herculean task, but never impossible. It only takes time and effort, and I'm proud to be able to put them both to complete the story. And I doubt I'd be here if I hadn't watched that famous interview on film courage.
For me it's like building a house. outline = blueprint; bricks, wood = first draft, raw prose; cables, drywall, plumbing = things start working; and so on. Until it's finally time to move in (publish).
I stay very close to my outline, so usually there aren't new rooms or stairs suddenly appearing. 😅
It's marvelous that you know yourself so well! And you can always add on those extra rooms if you want, later :) Whatever works!
Oddly enough, my working process can be described as interpreting someone else's story. Yeah, I think that's a pretty boring description. But there are fine details and intricacies that fits the description very beautifully.
First of all, whose story am I telling? Is it the main character? The antagonist? The supporting character? The universe they reside in? My own under a cracked rosy tint? Well, it's pretty much all of them at the same time.
So the first thing I do is to know them. Who they are and how they interact with each other. The outlining process is kinda similar to preliminary research, gathering all the easily obtainable information and sorting them out into something versatile.
Of course the outline won't be complete without knowing their interactions. And interactions only happens when I actually start writing the draft like a series of interviews and careful observations. This is where the meat of information actually resides in. Whatever secrets they've been keeping from me will usually be revealed on this part.
Finally, there's the reviewing and editing part - the questionnaire I hand out to the story and characters, asking them about the current state of the script and how true they are to their actual experience.
I like how horrible and chaotic the description of my writing process is. It's brutally honest to the experience I'm going through every day. The 200 words a day I manage to scrape by doesn't feel like such an underachievement when I have to moonsault and cartwheel through those rings of fire to produce my art. It screams "I'm doing my best despite my many limitations" and I love it. I just love it.
I like that idea of interpreting someone's story. If it's working for you, then it's right.
If it's NOT working, then maybe ask...where am I getting this story from, that I am interpreting?
Hi Glenn! It's been so long! I wanted to tell you that for the past year I've been doing research to write an adapted screenplay for a feature film, and since it's a book based on real events that I'm adapting, there's a huge amount of information to analyze. Sometimes I feel like I'm uncovering clues like a detective, other times I feel like a group of ants slowly carrying leaves back to the anthill, and there are moments when I feel like Tom Waits' character, about to find the gold named "Mr. Pocket" in the Coen brothers' film. Your suggestion is great; it will be helpful to see it as a puzzle that I'm gradually putting together. I think what I need is more time, because I'm doing this work half the day when I'm not at my day job, and it's a challenge. Thank you so much for the questions you ask; they're helpful for analyzing what I enjoy about my research. Greetings from Argentina!
Greetings right back! Thank you! Best of luck - try to start outlining your story as you research, it can help steer you away from interesting-but-impossible-to-use material :)
Thank you so much for your reply, Glenn. Yes, you're right. It's happened to me just like you said, because as I research, the story takes shape, and having a more complete picture helps me define the structure. And I start to see what's important for the protagonist's development. Let's keep in touch! See you soon!
Yes. The problems I found are often very interesting. Sometimes I forgot my "interview" with a character or with the story. Other times I forgot to cover the other side of an interaction between characters and the story. Or maybe sometimes I was too lazy to some research to replace the preexisting placeholders.
It felt like a herculean task, but never impossible. It only takes time and effort, and I'm proud to be able to put them both to complete the story. And I doubt I'd be here if I hadn't watched that famous interview on film courage.