I am a stream of conscious person. The idea of the piece will work it’s way through my head day and night, begging to be set down to paper. So, when I usually sit down to write, I have a vague idea concerning who, what, when and where (where is always my fictional town of Potter’s Field, IL). As the piece builds, the characters start dictating to me the direction of the piece. This usually changes the entire piece during this process.
I compose scenes in my head, especially while walking the dog. I also keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas.
To me it's more like catching things before they get away. Whether it be a story idea, a poem or song lyrics, or a quote. I just get hit with an idea burst and have to catch it or feel I do before it's lost.
Usually, I'll get visual images, mental images, words, or sentences. I've even beenwaken from sleep with messages. There have been many times, I've gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to write.
Most often, to be honest, There is this feeling that comes over me. I would say almost trance like and I write, write, write, until there are no more words.
I suppose it depends on what I am writing-- I write fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and screenplay.
When I am sitting down to write a screenplay I first jot down a very basic outline laying out each act and what should be accomplished. I make notes on character and important points about the plot. Then I move on to the scene-by-scene outline. Here I go over each scene, the main events within the scene, and I jot down bits of dialogue. This helps in a number of ways. It makes it very easy for me to visualize the flow of the piece, to see potential lags in action, and to break it up in a way that will make it dynamic. It also keeps my ideas fresh in my memory. Writing out only pieces of dialogue serves as a trigger to remind me of what I initially envisioned for the scene. Outlining is a huge part of my process. When I finally sit down and type "FADE IN:" I know exactly where I'm going. It's just a matter of typing.
When I write straight fiction, the process is similar although less detailed.
My work in creative nonfiction is usually spur-of-the-moment, triggered by memory, and I often spend months editing as a result.   | | |
My creative process is really simple. First I will either see something like a picture or a painting then I will think of a story line that could work with that picture. After that I just sit down at my computer with a blank page before me and begin my story. I may rework it a few times after printing it off and reading it over with a red pen, but generally my stories come from experiences I have had or ones that I would like to have.
Sometimes I have a 'hand-held' tape recorder with me. Sometimes I write ideas on the back of book matches...business cards...old scraps of paper, and sometimes, on the back of my hand.
I have been known to call my home telephone and either say or sing my idea into the answering machine message.
Since I have more ideas than time to write about them, I simply put words to paper or computer screen whenever the opportunity occurs.
I have to know WHERE and WHEN the story starts, and HOW it ends. Before I actually start writing I normally have only a vague idea of how the complications in the middle will work out, but I need to know how it ends and what happens to the people involved, so that I can write toward a goal.
I like to find a clear and uninterrrupted workspace-preferrably away from home-like a local cafe. I try to write everyday but if I go for any length of time without creating, I start to feel ill
Creative Process: Music
What Happens before sitting down to write? I need to meditate.
My novels are rooted in history, so I usually do a lot of reading about the locations I plan to include in a story. When I sit down to write I dream up a character, put that character in trouble and keep him or her in trouble until the end of the story.
My creative process is an ongoing/natural path as my mind processess information which will be useful to a thought or experience in life.
Allsorts of emotions go through me and the need to concentrate on what i am doing before the correct ones and relevant issues which lead up to the first sentence.
Before i sit down to write i know there are many aspects of of life which lead to inspiration and i sometimes look to some notes to remind me of what i wished to write about earlier on.
My creative process is also like hard work but it is enjoyable work. I know that as a keen an talented writer i will come up with a thought which will be interesting and brand new to me as well as others.
My process is a never ending one of thought, word and deed.
My process of a compilation of from time and memorial and there is always something to write about.
The thoughts and emotions are my basis before sitting down to write and i love every moment of it.
I usually spend days -- or even years -- thinking through a piece before I actually begin writing it. In the case of some of my longer works, I jot down notes on scraps of paper and, weeks later, compile them into some sort of logical outline. It's only after ruminating on a story that I actually get a feel for the tone and how it should flow. By the time I finally begin to write, I usually already know how the first line will read -- and that I'll most likely axe the first paragraph or two so that I can jump right into the story. I follow a pretty similar process with my writing partners.
I already have the characters in my head before I write a word, but I rarely think about the plot - it just happens. If you know your characters well enough, they tell you the story. I 'interview' each character in my head over a period of time and ask them to tell me about themselves.
Weird, I know. |
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