Work Room - Week 12

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The new topic is up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/748526.html

Most people probably have a routine by now of how they sit down and write an entry. Is there anything "unique" to your process (or that you think is a little unusual) of how you scroll through your mental Rolodex and come up with the ideas/approach for your entry?

Maybe it's just a superstition or part of your regular routine that you find yourself going back to in order to get that ball rolling.

I'm just curious about how your brain works when it comes to writing - and I imagine that it could be helpful for other people to hear as well.

Comments

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

My process involves mulling on the topic for a while, letting it percolate in the back-brain / subconscious area. I rarely go with That First Idea (tm), because honestly for me at least it either falls under the header of Uber Obvious, Totally Trite, or Just Not That Intriguing.

I really try to approach the topic from a creative angle (hello, wrote my entry last week from the viewpoint of an antique floor mirror). Sometimes that means spending All Sorts of Free Time perusing Wiki or reading articles on the internet, or mulling over past events to see if they fit the topic thread in a meaningful way.

Then I write it, let it sit for a bit - maybe overnight - so that I can re-read it with fresher eyes, then perhaps I might ask for feedback from a beta reader or two. Post it - which usually involves minor edits - re-read to double check for typos or oddly phrased bits, then hope for the best!

I don't have any superstitions, per se, but my muse is wanting Third Shift differential pay, so I usually keep some ice cream bars in the fridge for her... just in case. ;)

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

My "process" is that I try to think of something that's as far as possible from the literal meaning of the topic but still feels connected to it. Then I agonize for several days over whether I will be able to execute my idea. After that, I usually write some stuff, hate it, cry, edit, rinse, repeat. Sometimes after that happens enough times, I post a thing.

Oh, and also Google. Google beyond all sane amounts of Googling.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

And Wiki beyond all sane amounts of Wiki-ing. :)

[flipflop-diva.livejournal.com]

Let's see. My process starts with a lot of flailing and hysterical laughing and some panicking in a 'what am I going to do for THAT??' kind of way. And then I calm down and think about the meaning behind it and read other people's comments here in the work room, and then I start working through things I want to write and that I think I would fit.

And usually I write my entries at least 5-6 times in my head before I ever write them down on paper. It helps me with the flow and how I think I want them to go, and since things always sound better in my head, if I run into problems just doing that, then I know I have to rethink parts.

And then I finally write it. And edit, edit, edit, edit, edit.

Then finally post and cross fingers and hope for the best.

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Flailing is always a good idea. Unless it takes up the whole week. <3

My brain doesn't work while writing...

[ellakite.livejournal.com]

... because my brain doesn't work.

I mean, I expected folks to ask me one particular question about the piece I wrote last week.

Nobody did.

Ergo, my brain is not working...

Re: My brain doesn't work while writing...

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

What was the question?

Because isn't that *always* the way? There's usually a question that you really want to answer, and then no one asks it!!

[kickthehobbit.livejournal.com]

I usually copy the topic into a blank document and brainstorm. I've been trying to get away from writing memoirish stuff lately (because that's my wheelhouse), and into writing fiction again, so sometimes a document of mine will end up looking like dialog with no attached names or anything, just, "he said, she said". Generally if I can get a feel for what my characters are talking about, I can get an idea of where the plot is going to go. :)

I also go walking a lot, because I find that it helps with thinking about the topic. I can mull over things while I walk around the park and whatnot. :D

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Speaking of memoirish stuff and whatnot - I also keep a list of topics, and a one to two sentence summary of what I wrote for the topic, and a notation as to whether it was fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. That way, I can look at my sheet and see "Well, I did nonfiction three weeks in a row, time to do fiction," and really that *does* help quite a lot!

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

My process:

1. Look at the prompt
2. Despair! Woe! Angst! There can never be anything unique for this prompt from my brain EVER!
3. Hrm... actually.... (If there is no step 3, skip to step 4)
4. Go root through my folder of "weird ideas I want to write stories for" and see if any of them connect even tangentially to the prompt. And/or go look at lists of fairy tales or strange monsters or cryptozooligical critters and see if any of those things desperately needs writing about this week. And/or toss around ideas or free associate with friends - in or out of Idol. The storming and the brains.
5. Write.
6. THIS SUCKS! Despair! Woe! Angst! I will never write anything good ever!
7. Hrm... actually... (If there is no Step 7, go back up to step 4 or 5 and start again. This can take four or five iterations).
8. Finish story.
9. Stare at story critically, cut by half, put back in 25% of what I cut, ruthlessly edit.
10. Send to one or more beta readers
11. Hear from beta-readers "this is a bit subtle. You may want to add more here" (always at place where I cut the most from). Also, other useful advice.
12. Fix fix fix.
13. Stare critically at story but do NOT cut ruthlessly. For reasons.
14. Sit on it, if I have the time.
15. Post.

It's not always that bad, but my process does involve a lot of argh and OHNOES and general grumping about. I get over it, and write. I try to mix up what I write - I consider what I've written recently and vary things. If I did a letter recently, I'll try really hard to do something more action-y this week. If I did sci-fi, I'll lean towards fantasy or horror or comedy. That sort of thing. If it's been DEATHLY srs, I'll try for giggles. But sometimes you just write what you can write, ya know?

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

This is actually what I meant by my comment.

Except I usually don't finish in time to have a beta reader other than Alicia, who usually wants to kill me by the time I'm finished because she's sick of hearing about how much it sucks and how I'm never finishing. Oh, and sometimes I finish too late for even Alicia to beta, because she has this habit of actually wanting to sleep before going to work. How rude!

[minikin.livejournal.com]

I start out by copying the template in my idol note, then filling in the week#, topic & topic page url. then i write out whatever comes to mind in snips and dribblets until something gels and i start writing it out. there's googling, wikiing and thinking about whats uppermost on my non-idol mind, and sometimes Flar throws out a jewel to hang it all on.

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

On the phone. Oh my god, I feel for you. I had to write just one entry on my tablet, and it was Torture, and I could format it easily there.

[reckless-blues.livejournal.com]

I just let it roll over in my mind - then suddenly an image or a feeling or impression will come to me and I can build a story off it, sometimes. I'll think, well, to me this phrase is melancholy, it reminds me of waiting, maybe of sacrifice - and suddenly I'll get an image of a girl in an old house, an orphan girl sitting by the window. It looks like an antebellum manor from down south, but it doesn't feel warm. It's too big for her, and old. She has a wide forehead, a small mouth, and somber eyes. I get the impression of a fragile person who has never been happy, although they are determined to be happy. I think in order to be loved, she might try to... etc. Although it doesn't feel like a process, the whole picture just seems to spring into my mind, with its atmosphere and impressions, what this individual (if there is one) is thinking. Especially, I like thinking about the topic before I go to bed. Oftentimes I'll have a strange dream, and I'll want to write about that dream, or at least cannibalize elements of it. I think that's where I get most of my ideas these days ... not from creativity, only from recording these things. My waking life is disappointing, but I have vivid dreams.

Then I put off getting any actual writing done until a few hours before the deadline (terrible, but it's true). Then around 4 or 5:30 PM I go for a walk and in the space of about an hour, work out how the story should go (I somehow need to be walking, running, or doing something else with my body to accomplish this - as if it needs to be put together through physical labor, like furniture, or as if it needs to be milled), then come back, sit down, and try to finish in time ... Actually, I think I benefit a little from my incredible laziness, I have to skip parts sometimes because I don't have time to write them, and often they'd be boring and confusing or would have changed the story or slowed it down. If the story doesn't fall apart without it, in terms of plot, atmosphere, or emotion, then that scene was not needed at all.

Well, I don't consider myself a writer, not even much of a hobbyist, I just think it's fun to do LJ contests when they come around. So I'm no craft and all instinct.

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't consider myself a writer, not even much of a hobbyist, I just think it's fun to do LJ contests when they come around. So I'm no craft and all instinct.
This.

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

ravenshrinkery and I usually do at least some degree of topic-bouncing off of each other. In part because we often have similar takes on a particular topic, at least at first, and one of us will have an idea and say, "should I take this one, or do you want it?"

There are usually a pile of basic concepts between us by the time we actually write out any of them.

[unmowngrass.livejournal.com]

"should I take this one, or do you want it?" -- copyright1983 and I do exactly the same thing!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

1. Give the computer screen the beady eye (aka the WTF look) the minute I read the prompt.

2. Sleep on it. More often than not, the topic seems a bit more manageable/less WTF/no beady eye come morning.

3. Go to work and mull it over while I'm doing whatever I'm doing. Spend more time lost in thought than usual.

4. Continue mulling it over as I go about the rest of the day. Sometimes it'll come to me in a flash when I'm least expecting it. Then again...

5. If it doesn't, cue Kizzy Panic Meter which replaces the aforementioned mulling.

6. Usually, but not always, I'll have at least an idea or two at this point. This is when I bang out a first draft. Or two first drafts. Sometimes it's three.

7. Sleep on them.

8. Look at them while I'm having my coffee the next morning and wonder WTF was I thinking?!?!?

9. By this time it's down to the wire, so even though I might still be WTF, I'll pick the draft that seems to "want" more to it and I'll go with that.

Then there are the times when an entry will just magically write itself with little to no help from me. But that's a whole other story.

[eternal-ot.livejournal.com]

This is pretty much my pattern adding google/wiki to it.

[joyfulfeather.livejournal.com]

Seeing other people's processes is fascinating!

Mine is nothing special. I ponder the topic, poking and prodding at it til, maybe writing down directions I could take it. Nonfiction or fiction? If I've got a strong idea or two, I'll start writing them in my head, trying to find a good way "in." If I can do that, I can write the entry. If I've given myself enough time (unlike last week, woof), I'll set it aside for the night, then go back and edit it the next day.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - I often ponder the way in. If I can come up with a good opening line, then at least I can start to flesh it out, and add details later. Sometimes I like to hand write a draft; it slows the brain down a bit and that can help too!

Tomorrow is friday the 13th!

[raven-annabelle.livejournal.com]

My routine is not special, it's me talking a lot about sitting down and writing, mentioning it to Lacey about once a day about how I want to write, then not getting to it in time and then the day before it's due deciding to quit and then the day it's due deciding NOT to quit and spending 3 hours trying to focus my brain and get writing. I do not recommend it.

There is a girl in my head who is pretty insistent on being written about lately so I've been doing some rp-ing in her lj. well, her husband's lj. Lacey is a better writer than me, she's much more focused, but she likes writing with me. She likes my voice and her character loves my character, she loves me. I have quite the cheerleader when it comes to my writing which is what makes it fun and helps me really get stuff out. There is something about writing a post to a thread and knowing that the person you're threading with is as excited about this as you are. I don't know how I'll make that into an entry, but I would like to. It's the most fun I have writing!

/ramble

[hosticle-fifer.livejournal.com]

I have not had time to comment, even though I've read a good chunk of the entries each week, and I'm legitimately sorry about that. I love getting feedback on my own stuff, so I feel like a carefully rolled sphere of feces when I don't get a chance to comment on others.

I made a mental note to get some Idol work done today. I just finished up work work twenty minutes ago, as in, 11:20PM. I sat back and realized, shit, poll's over and the new topic's probably up.

As to the question, one of two things happen. Either:

1. I get an idea immediately upon eyeballing the topic, decide to wait and see if something else jumps out. Then I suddenly realize that it IS what I wanna write about and end up furiously running with it anyway. Or,
2. I have nothing, and nothing occurs to me, and I leave a subprocess stewing on it for a couple days. Suddenly I'll get an idea and HAVE TO WRITE IT NOW GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD. I've talked to several others who operate the same way. :)

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Yes, not having time to comments makes you feel like a sort of cheat, does not? Like you are not giving back what was given to you?

HAVE TO WRITE IT NOW GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD
This tends to happen when I have NO WAY of writing it down, hehe. Like in the middle of an intense working day.

[tatdatcm.livejournal.com]

My process is much like others. A quick look at the topic, Google if necessary, reject the first idea that pops into my head as too trite, conforming, cliche, etc. Mull around a few others, sleep on it.

I usually wait a day or two to actually write anything. If I'm really stuck, I'll check out the first posts to the topic thread and see what other people are doing with it.

My edit process is probably a lot shorter than most. I read through a couple of times and make changes, then when I'm satisfied, I'll sleep on it. I'll re-read and make a few more changes and then post. If I'm not sure if it's working, I'll look for a beta reader.

I have a question though. How much symbolism do you use intentionally? Is it carefully calculated and well placed as you write, or does it seem to appear as the words flow?

I ask because whipchick left me a comment about how I used tropes in my entry last week, and she was right, but I never thought about it intentionally, and didn't really recognize them until she said something.

Have you ever been surprised to find the symbolism in your writing that you never realized you put in?

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

I have a question though. How much symbolism do you use intentionally? Is it carefully calculated and well placed as you write, or does it seem to appear as the words flow?
Normally, the answer is "little" and "only the amount that wants to be in the entry without me forcing it there".

Not I write about my Baba Yaga though, especially not from the point of view of the other inhabitants of the world. Then it's the opposite, and makes me almost certain it will make the entry waaay to complicated.

But even then it is never especially placed (I don't know how, and fear it will be very strained if I try).

[uncawes.livejournal.com]

For Idol, my brain tries to come up with a way to fit the next chapter, or any chapter, of my ongoing story. Sometimes it's easy to get the voices in my head to let me twist things around. Sometimes it's not so easy. The voices can be insistent sometimes.

If it's not for Idol, My brain thinks of what might work for whatever I'm writing. If it comes up with at least the germ of an idea, I start writing. And sometimes I finish. If brain is quiet, I look for another arena to write in

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

The process now starts at 7 - 8 a.m. in the morning (approximately when the topics are posted in my time zone). Which is also "too early to be alive" for me, but worth it because it makes it possible to participate in the Work Room before the 2d page appears).

So, google the topic first (always, because in 80% of the cases I totally miss the second meaning of the phrase, or don't know what it means at all), read Work Room second.

And then I take the notebook in which I handwrite the topics (also almost always, because it helps to process everything better), write out the topic, and just write crap about the topic for a while. Whatever comes to mind, including how stupid it is and how few ideas I have. And all associations, however remote that the topic provokes, and small leads from these associations. This seemed stupid at first, but it really helps to "get a feel" of the topic now.

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

So concerning the topic. My first thought after reading it was: Adventures in babysitting.

Because, guys, you totally should watch this cartoon. It is Russian, but there are no words at all, and it's awesome and completely about this week's topic:



Second story: http://youtu.be/FJGL0WWU2d8; third story: http://youtu.be/3ZzvhLYZQVw


And, well, google says that "Having more fun than a barrel of monkeys" means to have a lot of it.

[eternal-ot.livejournal.com]

Haha..this is a Fun idea..you should go ahead with it..

[marjory.livejournal.com]

1. Blankness. 2. Procrastination. 3. Give topic thought before my many bouts of sleep. 4. Have weird dreams. 5. Dismiss lots of ideas. 6. Go, "Holy crap!" on deadline day then apply bum to chair.

[theun4givables.livejournal.com]

Garyyyyyy. I woke up at 2:30, looked at Sarah's FB messages that contained the topic, and laughed. Then I read the actual topic post and laughed some more.

<3

My process doesn't seem all that unique. Like reckless_blues, I usually go by flashes and impressions and sensations. If a topic makes me think of a character, I try to think of why and try to connect the character (and an event that happens to them) back to the prompt. If the topic makes me think of nonfiction, it's much the same -- I think of a particular feeling that I experienced and go "Oh, that fits."

This is, of course, if I do not need to do additional googling to get any of the ideas. Sometimes I outright hear dialogue. Sometimes I even see the formatting of a piece. I'm a very visual person -- which you wouldn't necessarily know from my work, hah, because I am awful about writing descriptions. At the same time, my characters' ACTIONS are always painstakingly described, because body language and behavior is usually what I "see."

Example with this week's topic: The immediate thought when I saw "Barrel of Monkeys" was, "Eh?" And then, "Well, at least I know what that is and how to play it and don't need to google a damn thing." ;)

Then it was, "Mitchel."

Okay, why Mitchel?

"Because he's always playing games with people and makes them pick up the pieces -- Oh!"

I take it you have another idea, brain?

"Nonfiction. Oh, and here's the formatting of your entry, and the tense imagery you want, and --"

And at this point I'm going, oh, okay, that'll end up being my entry even if I don't want to write more nonfiction.

Because I have accepted that Idol is the tool I am using to get through some pretty hairy shit, and you know what, that's fine. =p I'll deal. BUT, this also means I tend to go with more literal takes than I prefer to write, buuuut I'm also confident enough in my abilities to make them work.

I just hope I can come up with something light-hearted, soon. :)

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

1. Read Topic
1a. If I don't know what the topic means, Google or go to the Work Room.
1b. Occasionally realize I've misread topic.
2. Come up with three or more takes. (Generally I go with literal, metaphorical, and pop-culture based. These don't have to be full ideas, just a general direction that someone could take it. If I can't get three, I assume I don't actually know the phrase as well as I thought and go back to 1a.)
3. Try to decide which takes are likely to be more popular.
3a. Decide it'd be interesting to ---, and start writing.
4. Realize I don't actually like what I'm writing, throw it out, and go prowl the Work Room. (To get an idea of what's being done, as well as ways that the topic exists that I haven't thought of yet.)
5. Start writing again.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5.
7. Sleep on it.
8. Open a blank document and try to start writing. Get distracted. Repeat all day.
9. Start writing, for real this time.
10. Throw it out because I have a shiny new idea.
11. The idea is not really so shiny. Throw it out and go back to one of the old ones.
12. Repeat steps 9-11 until I end up with a finished draft.
13. Edit it and post it f-locked to my LJ.
14. Read any comments, re-edit it, re-edit it again, decide I don't like the formatting and play with it a bit, then re-edit a third time because I missed something during the first three edits.
15. Copy and paste it into a new entry.
16. Edit, again.
17. Realize the deadline's too close for another edit and post.

[ashgaelsonaria.livejournal.com]

I already have a home game entry. if you nwana see for ideas.
http://ashgaelsonaria.livejournal.com/287474.html

[eternal-ot.livejournal.com]

Whoa!That was pretty Fast!

[swirlsofblue.livejournal.com]

I think my process is pretty similar to what has been written already, but here goes anyway:

1. Look at topic
2. Have wtf moments
3. Think of possible ideas
4. Google topic and check out the workroom for the take on the topic
5. Dismiss bad ideas.
6. Gestation of an idea and whining about how it's not enough for a piece.
7. Allow the idea to sit, and sit and sit
8. Read fic or book that will inspire me to write
9. Allow the idea to grow and sit and grow some more
10. Work out scraps of scenes/dialogue in my head
11. Write it
12. Change bits that aren't working and re-write
13. Edit: run through once for general fixing, once for sense/logic, once for checks on typos and grammar, once for checks on tense, and once more checking on everything.
14. Post
15. Double check everything.

[anyonesghost.livejournal.com]

1. Look at the topic. I think everyone's done this one so far.
   
2. Have from 0 to n ideas.
   
3. Start to write immediately.
   
4. Ha ha! That last one was a joke.
   
5. Turn the ideas over in my mind. Figure out the most unique take on the prompt I can. This may involve taking three obvious choices and doing the exact opposite of them.
   
6. Filter this idea through format. What did I do last week? Can't do that again. Has it been a while since I've done poetry? Drama? Humor? Weird formatting? Footnotes? Foreign languages? Embedded YouTube videos? Mad Libs? Find a format that fits the story.
   
7. If it's a complicated format (like last week) I start by building the html for it.
   
8. If not flailing, go to next step. Otherwise, skip to 14.
   
9. If I have a good idea for my serial novel, start outlining it.
   
10. Otherwise, start writing and see what happens.
    
11. Post to LJ under Private Lock.
    
12. Wait a day. In my spare time, flick a cigarette toward a gas station and walk away in slow motion as the explosion engulfs the entire angle behind me. and/or mow the lawn.
    
13. Come back. Edit. Revise. Read aloud, to make sure the dialogue flows. Post and link!
    
14. Or, if I waited until the last minute, or I'm hard pressed for time, do a core dump of whatever idea I have and post it without editing. Pretend I'm brilliant.
    
15. Bask in adoration and awe.
    
16. Read next topic. Process repeats.
    

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

I LOVE the idea of No. 11. I wish I was that disciplined. I struggle with the Siamese twins of disgust and shame and will not survive that sort of contemplation. I must post and move on. (After No. 12, of course.)

Nice list.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

My process for LJ Idol is different from my own writing. When I read the prompt, I start thinking about what it means and then I start thinking about what it *could* mean. Then I consider what it can't possibly be, and then I think if what there's no way it could be, it could be.

I instantly start thinking about what type of piece it should be... poem, parody, commentary. Sometimes it's easy - like when No True Scotsman was the prompt, I knew it was going to be a sonnet and it was going to be an acrostic because there were 14 letters in the prompt.

For this week's prompt, I have a great idea for something, but I know it would be over 1500 words to really do it justice, so I will have to keep thinking. But in a way, that's both the beauty and the point of LJ Idol... getting those creative juices flowing, and working and reading. It's fine that the thing I might have done won't apply, because I can still do something with it on my own.

I think about what the most concise way of presenting would be as well, as that's crucial to the process. And then I try to write quickly, getting a draft done as soon as I have the idea in my head. Then I typically let it sit for a bit, maybe a day or at least a half day, and then come back to it, read through and edit.

And speaking of concise... I've said enough!