How to write chapters...

Snoink · 2006-04-24T04:57:01Z

Okay, I was getting really hung up on this at first. I mean, I had this fabulous idea for a novel, yet it took me months to write a chapter. Why? Mostly because I love editing, perhaps to a scary extent. When I write my story, I edit as I go, and the computer only encourages this. Sad? Yes. But still: What to do??? Well, this week I went on vacation where I thought (wrongly) that I wouldn't have any access to a computer. To continue writing on my story, I took a notebook along and plenty of pencils and erasers. Then, as soon as I had spare time (like an hour block) I wrote. PRE-NOTES First thing I did was to write a prenotes thing on every chapter. This includes three things: SUMMARY Do a short three sentence summary of your chapter. What happens? What characters are in it? PURPOSE At first I didn't do this, but then I realized, if I was just writing nothing, then it would be really bad. What were my intentions in the chapter? This also meant I got to delve into any symbolism I was writing. That way, I could be sure that my writing was somewhat orderly. WHAT'S HAPPENING? This is essentially the outline of the summary. Put what happens in chronological order. The pre-notes was very short... less than a page, typically. WRITING Then I wrote. I tried to write without stopping, and I didn't edit. If I felt the incredible urge to edit, I would write in the margins about what I could do. I didn't erase. Instead, if I hated something, I put a line through it and continued as if nothing happened. Once when I was writing chapter 14, I messed up really bad. I mean, hideously bad. So as soon I realized what I was doing, I put a large "STOP!" where the story left off, briefly told myself what sucked, and then restarted. On the whole, I wrote without stopping though. A typical chapter took about two hours to write (by hand). POST-NOTES Once I finished the chapter, I reread it and looked for obvious errors, marking it either by a line underneath the guilty word or a note in the margin. Then I wrote a post notes thing for the story. A post notes is basically what a critique is for YWS. I wrote what I liked about it, what I hated, and then I tried to brainstorm ideas about how I could fix the criminal errors. Some of my ideas were horrible, but since I wrote it down, it crystalized the problems in my brain and I was able to think of better ideas on the 14-hour car ride home. So... What I found out from this experiment is that if I don't edit constantly, I can come up with some pretty sweet stuff. I can focus on one chapter at a time without missing out on the entire story, which is very important to me. Furthermore, I wrote THREE chapters in four days, which is more chapters than I usually churn out in a month! I will not lie... one of the chapters was absolutely terrible, but by doing the notes before and after like I did, I was able to diagnose it. All in all, the experiment worked and I am definitely pleased with the results. Will I do this again? Definitely. Happy writing!

Dream Deep

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Sat May 06, 2006 8:46 pm

Dream Deep says... · Sat May 06, 2006 8:46 pm

Thank you, Snoink.

My Creative Writing Final has to be done by Monday and I'm nowhere close to being finished with it. I, too, edit too much. I shall use your infalliable stategy for my slightly crummy/in desperate need of aid short story.

I'll return and tell you if it worked. I've tried this before on novels but never on short stories. This... should be interesting.

:shock:

_/)

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Dream Deep

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Tue May 09, 2006 12:45 am

Dream Deep says... · Tue May 09, 2006 12:45 am

It would've worked but I have such lousy work ethic.

:smt022

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Snoink

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Tue May 09, 2006 3:23 am

Snoink says... · Tue May 09, 2006 3:23 am

Don't we all though! XD

.... that's why it's handy to have an obsessive-compulsive personality as well. As long as you focus your obsessions...

Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

Moth and Myth <- My comic!

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AstrangedbeaR

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Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:27 pm

AstrangedbeaR says... · Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:27 pm

great tips. thanks!

*AstrangedbeaR*

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Swires

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Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:42 pm

Swires says... · Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:42 pm

I have an OCD but it isnt a good one, my mind forces me to wash my hands about 50 times a day, if I come into aocntact with any other human I feel like washing my hands.

Previously known as "Phorcys"
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Snoink

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Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:36 am

Snoink says... · Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:36 am

This might be very helpful for those doing Nano (maybe)!

Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

Moth and Myth <- My comic!

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