Whats the Process you take in writing a book//novel??

Okay well, I'm currently in the works of begining to write a novel.
I was wondering what steps you take to write.
For Example: Do you think of the idea, draw a storyline, outline, then write a draft, then make corrections?

Please tell me what you do when writing.

Well, I've done it a lot of different ways, but here's the process I'm going through for my current project, a rewrite of "Beauty and the Beast."

1) I had the idea. I wanted to rewrite the classic fairy tale my own way after having read a bunch of other people's rewrites. So, yeah... First came the idea. I wondered "What if the dad and the "beast" both wanted to buy the same rose and the dad got it first?"

2) I sat down and wrote a quick outline thingy with all the things I knew I wanted to happen. For instance, in this story, I knew I wanted the dad to have a heart attack, the girl's boyfriend to break up with her because she was spending so much time with the "beast", and the "beast" was going to hit his head in the end and the girl to think he was dying. The actual outline thing was a bit longer and had a few more details, but you get my drift. All the events that I knew I wanted in there were in there.

3) Then I started writing. I'm still in the process of writing. I try to write (at the very least) 200 words a day. So far, I have been very consistent. I'm 70-something pages in. Yay me! When I have an idea for what I want to happen in the future, I write it down. So I don't have a bit formal outline, but I have snippets of it in a notebook.

4) I'm not going to edit until I have gotten all the way through. If there is something that I absolutely know I am going to change, I write it down in my notebook and save it so that I know, when I go back to edit, exactly what I want to happen.

Now, in this project, I am kind of letting the characters write themselves, but in others, I have sat down and written out ideas for their motivations. I don't generally do the character chart routine, but it helps some people. Mostly, I just sort of write why they do what they do in the storyline and any other little snippets that I come up with that might be useful. Keep a notebook for this (I have one that I use for all my writing, but it may help you to have separate ones for different projects) so that you aren't constantly scribbling on little scraps of paper that are oh-so easy to lose.

So yeah, such is my process for this particular project and thus far, it is working well for me. It ain't foolproof, but I like it quite a bit.

Hope this helps and good luck with your own writing!

~GryphonFledgling

...as sad as it might be, I don't have a real plan when I start writing. I have a simple idea I want to make into a story, and I go from there. I start asking myself, "What starts this idea? What's the conflict behind it?" and from there I start writing. I usually just worry about the story before I worry about the characters.

But Gryphon's advice is probably better than mine, so don't take too much heed of what I'm saying other than this: just write. You're telling a story, after all. This should be fun for you, not frustrating and hellish.

Depends on what you're writing and what sort of person you are. Sometimes an outline works and helps keep you focused, but I find that if I know exactly what's going to happen when, I get bored with it and want to rush ahead and write the good bits that I know are coming up. On the other hand, with no idea whatsoever, I can end up rambling with no idea what comes next, so I do a sketchy outline of main events, which leaves room for random bursts of inspiration.

But writing methods really vary from person to person, so ask a lot of people and steal ideas from them.

Here's my technique for the current novel I'm working on:

1) The idea. A few months ago I got a good idea. I wrote it down, let it fester in my mind for awhile and kept brainstorming about it.

2) The brainstorming. For about four months I kept working on it in a notebook until I came up with a solid plot and an idea on how it would begin.

3) The writing. Because for me, there's a certain point where I just have to start writing. It doesn't matter how or when you start - just start. Once you start writing, lots more ideas will come.

4) Revise as you write. I'm constantly editing/adding/revisng my story whenever I get better ideas. I even changed the gender of the main character, as well as some other big things.

5) The plan. Once I have some of it written, I'll begin forming a solid plan for the whole story, beginnign to end. This will also change.

Bottom line - just write. The story will improve as you keep working on it.

First I write the general plot, I don't worry about typos or grammar, then I go back and add to it, fix things up a bit and once I have a good story down I'll put it to the side for at least a week. Then go back to it, spice it up and if it sounds good then it's finished!

Pssh. For me, it's very loosely structured, and the idea is not set in concrete.

I find that worrying about this cliffhanger or that chapter placement throws me off and thus drains the fun out of writing something so extensive very quickly.

My head is like an idea sponge. Anything significant or even CLOSE to a story idea, it will store away in my head and be brought up at anytime. If I know the idea is flexible enough to use this and that, that's my favorite kind because it allows me to raise the stakes (and to empty my head. )

What I'm working on now is a story that was originally created for me to reach the 10,000 word mark. But now I'm hoping to hit 20K and maybe get it published!

1) Have an idea. You can't write a story if you have no idea whats its going to be about. I personally like writing down the main conflict first so I know what I have to aim for.

2) Have all of your characters planned out. Have there name, personality, and history all mapped out this way you can keep on track and you wont write anything that your character would never do.

3) I like to have a very basic outline. I tend to go stray from outline in a completely different direction then when I first thought, so what I will do is just write a new basic outline.

4) Have fun with it. If you go off your outline oh well keep going. The idea you have now might be a lot better then your first one. Have fun with your characters too. Don't making everything so stiff and boring.

5) Have some good cliff hangers. Keep your reader interested and keep them wanting more of your story.