My Writing Technique

• Posted by Piper Jo October 26, 2011 - 646 views

  Step 1: Inspiration.  An idea usually grows for a long time before I act on it.  Then, around 1AM, it really takes form and won't let me go.

  Step 2: Write it down fast.  Get everything down.  Don't worry too hard about grammar or language or style, just tell the story.

  Step 3: Go back and edit for content.  Add scenes, details, etc.

  Step 4: Edit for grammar and language.  Read it out loud-especially helpful when there is someone else listening.  Every time I stumble while reading, or instinctively SAY something different than I WROTE, then I change it.

  Step 5: Make it shorter.  I click on "Word Count".  Then I try to remove unnecessary words to make it about 10% shorter.  This improves the pace.  

  For example, everything I wrote up to the last sentence was 125 words.  Let's see if I can say it in 112 words without losing any meaning, nuance or ideas.

  Step 1: Inspiration.  An idea grows for a long time before I act.  Then around 1AM, it takes form and won't let go.

  Step 2: Write everything down fast.  Don't worry about grammar, language or style, just tell the story.

  Step 3: Edit for content.  Add scenes, details, etc.

  Step 4: Edit for grammar and language.  Read out loud--especially helpful when someone else is listening.  Every time I stumble while reading, or instinctively SAY something different than I WROTE, I change it.

  Step 5: Make it shorter.  Click on "Word Count".  Try to remove unnecessary words to make it 10% shorter.  This improves pacing.

  105 words--about 16% shorter.  Same ideas, quicker to read.  Be careful with this, though.  Your changes inevitably alter the feel of the story, so use them strategically to give the story the feel you want. Sometimes I end up adding words back in if I don't like the new flow.