My Writing Process

Well it definitely isn’t structured. I don’t have a particular time that I write every day. I know when I don’t sit at the computer; that’s when the sun is out and it is a glorious day. Off I go to the beach or Melissa’s in Altona. Sitting outside with a pot of green tea and a spanacopita gets the creative juices flowing for me. I scribble away in a notebook on my current project. It is also a great place for observing people and getting ideas for characters.

But, alas, I must get down to writing at some point. Rainy days and early evenings are good for me. I suppose I work on plot, story line, character development and increasing tension, but I think a lot of that happens in my head when I let the characters take over. I enjoy a good yarn and hopefully that’s what I write. Writing should be fun and not a chore; so I don’t get too serious about it. There are other things in my life that are more important, like remembering to take my medication and not leaving the house in my pyjamas!

You can find me tapping away at the keyboard when there are dishes to be done, floors to be vacuumed or it is one of those “ We need to talk” times. I get a pained expression on my face and mutter, “Not now, I’m on a roll.”

I hope that helps.

Hugh Deacon

I have a writing process?

I'd like to say that I always write at a particular time of day or I do x amount of planning before strapping myself into the chair and churning out a few thousand words of gold each and every afternoon, but unfortunately, it would all be lies. Horrible, horrible lies!

In reality, I write either just before a deadline or during a sudden surge of creativity, which only seems to come on when I'm supposed to be someplace else.

I do plan a bit, so, when one of these bouts of creativity comes on, I've got an idea of what it is I need to be writing about.

I have lists of things stuck up all over my study, prompting me to start such and such or read this, research that. It's pathetic really, but keeps me aware of what needs to be done.

Personal wellbeing is also a major factor in my writing process. If I've been out doing the whole social thing, I don't even bother sitting at the computer until I can get the cobwebs cleared out. This can be a day, maybe two, three after the really big occasions (birthday bashes, social gatherings, Friday nights, Saturday nights, Sundays afternoons etc.).

All joking aside, I've really put a focus on setting little goals this year. If I put something on a list, I want it to be crossed off by the end of the week. The deadline idea is something that really works for me and the added pressure forces me to get off my duff and actually do something.

I've just realised I have used the words 'I' and 'my' enough times to rival a Dermott Brereton newspaper article, so it is best I put an end to this drivel and sum up.

Make lists. Give yourself deadlines. Ditch your friends and family. Give TV the arse. These are my lesson unto you, use them wisely.

John King

Williamstown Literary Festival

Writers write stories. But how do we know if our stories are good?

One way of knowing is entering our work in competitions. The Ada Cambridge Prize is run as part of the Willy Lit Fest and the Novel 2 class of VU was asked to help shortlist the short stories. As a reward the volunteers received a free ticket to the festival.

The 6th Willy Lit Fest was held on the 1st to the 3rd of May 2009. It is a fantastic opportunity for writers of all ages to find out if their stories are good.

Some writers like to plan before they begin their story. From Lucia Nardo I learnt a funky and fun way to produce a writing plan in visual form using magazine images.

Then you have to write the story. From Garry Disher I learnt how to start my story. Disher gave many examples of where to get ideas and begin writing. One important thing Disher noted was he believes in writing for yourself and not for publication.

Once your story is written and you think it is pretty good, you might send it out to a publisher. And if they think it is pretty good it gets published. Part of the publishing process is working with an editor. Sarah Brennan and Tess Moloney explained why the editing process is vital and how an editor can help you publish your work.

Once the story is published it's all about promotion. Claire Saxby, Corinne Fenton and Glenda Millard discussed how the book promotion process works and the difference between showing off and promotion.

So I guess, if you have a good idea for a story and finish writing it, it must be good. If the story is published, it must be great. It you promote it, without showing off, and people buy it and read it, it must be excellent. And if you want to know more about writing good stories attend the 7th Willy Lit Fest in 2010.

Rhiannon Lacy

Chris Baty on NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month

50,000 words in 30 days.

Chris impressed me with the manner in which he shared his NaNoWriMo experiences. He was honest and outlined many of the problems writers face, such as procrastination, lack of  self confidence, and  commitment to write daily. Chris suggested we look on writing as an enjoyable thing to do, not as a chore, and it’s okay to write crap with no editing until the end of the manuscript. 

Writing a novel in a month gives you focus.  All you need to do is commit to write nearly 1,700 words every day, during the month of November.  Last year 119,000 people from 90 countries accepted the challenge and 21,000 of these completed a 50,000 word novel. 

A miraculous thing happens to people when they are given a deadline and write daily. You only need to read the last couple of paragraphs from the previous day before starting again. And you do not need to do any editing in the first draft. This can help you get over the idea that novel writing is a scary thing and, knowing that no one will read your completed manuscript, helps relieve the pressure of what you write. 

Everyday people who give themselves permission to write them write novels. Don’t think you can’t write a novel in 30 days. There will be some really good parts, there will be wonderful passages of language, and there will be parts of your novel that you do not remember writing. Your novel will also be crap in parts. It is important to get the first draft down on paper. The second draft is where the novel is born and you start to see it emerge. You can turn a bad first draft into a great novel, but you cannot turn anything from a blank page into a novel.

Lynette Stevens

Chris Baty comes to VU

Don't forget that Chris Baty, the man behind NaNoWriMo and Script Frenzy and author of No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days, is in Australia and coming in to speak to a combined Story Structure and Novel 2 class on Tuesday morning. All PWE students are welcome. We'll be in Room 10.220A and B at 9.45 am. We expect his talk (and your questions) to go for about an hour.

Tracey

My Writing Process

Before I was hit by the idea for the novel I’m currently writing (a.k.a. ‘The Big One’) my writing process was very different to what it is now. I used to have an idea and just sit down to write it cold, no planning at all. Is it any wonder I hit so many brick walls? However, when Long Road Home (LRH) entered my conscious mind I knew without a doubt that everything I was used to would have to change. The backstory to Doyle’s character is pivotal to the plot of LRH and I was never going to be able to write the story without some serious planning.

Character planning comes first with me, mostly because when I have an idea for a story, it originates as just characters in my head acting out a role-play of scenes when I’m bored or have nothing else to think about. Yeah, it can take a few days for me to realise that I’m actually telling myself a story. So with the characters already existing in my mind, beginning my planning with them makes sense. Once I have them pretty well fleshed out, I go on to setting, which I don’t plan in nearly as much detail. I get things such as location, population and basic history down, and have a mental map of the main areas of town. Only after that do I sit down and plan out my chapters. With LRH I put in a lot of work doing this because I understood how crucial it would be to the success of the story. I had to have a complete timeline worked out so I could plant foreshadowing and make the characters develop at the right pace. Of course, the plan I have now is very different to the plan I originally came up with but I’m glad about that. I’m confident in the story I now have, much more so than the original version.

I would love to say that I write every day, but I don’t. I really try to get something down most days and really feel guilty when that doesn’t happen. Still, at least on those days I don’t write, I’m thinking about something to do with the story, whether it be plot, character, setting or voice. Ironing out those little details may not be as enjoyable as actually writing, but it’s just as important. Sometimes I can’t quite get all the creases out though, and that’s where Jess and JJ (and to a lesser extent, my brother) come in. Jess and JJ have been my sounding boards from the very beginning and they understand the intricacies of LRH as well as I do, so when I have a creative problem, they’re the ones I run to. While they know the story as well as I do, they’re also removed from it and that helps get over whatever problem I’m facing. My brother is a little different. He’s like a maths/science genius and sometimes I wonder if he’s got a calculator in his head. But he offers a very practical side to things, which I sometimes miss when I’m caught up in that surge of creative energy.

How much can I write in one sitting? It depends. I find Doyle chapters easier to write than Andie ones, and sometimes, even with Doyle, I feel like banging my head against a brick wall because the words won’t come out right. When I get on a roll though, I’m like a runaway train; I’ll only stop when I have nowhere else to go. That surge of adrenaline is a great feeling, and I love when I can stop writing, take a deep breath and look back over what I’ve done with a feeling of pride.

I think it’s definitely true to say that I love nothing more than writing. Seeing the product of my labours is great too, but it’s not nearly as exciting as actually sitting in front of a screen, hearing the tapping of the keys and watching the words appear as my fingers try to keep up with my mind. Some days I ask myself if there’s any better feeling in the world, and I guess there must be something that at least matches what I feel when I write; it’s just a matter of finding it. Until then though, I am content to tap away and dream of publication.

Marie

My writing Process

My Writing Process

I don't have a set time when I write because I usually write when there is something I want to get out of my system and that can be at any time of day. If there is something on my mind that I can't stop thinking about then I find a way to relate those same emotions to my novel and go! This is a good way to both make me feel better and to hopefully give my writing some kind of added emotion to a scene.

If there is nothing on my mind that I need to get out then I usually think of something that has happened in the past and think about how I felt at the time. This will usually help me as well.
It all depends on how I'm feeling at the time.

I always know what I'm going to write before I write it, but leave myself open to change because if something just doesn't feel right then I need to leave it until I figure out what does. If I force something then I just won't work.

And when I'm finished I reward myself with a bit of chocolate.

This is my writing process

Melinda

News from the trenches

Well, the term's quickly wrapping up. Sherryl and I came in today to be part of a panel, along with Christine, Julianne and Sue, for Industry Overview. The students were split into groups and each group got one of us to interview for five minutes, and then had to devise further questions to interview us in front of the whole class. I hope the students found it interesting and productive. I know I did. I learnt things about some of my fellow teachers that I'd never known before!

This week the five students involved in shortlisting for the Ada Cambridge and I met to have our shortlisting meeting. These students have been busy reading all of the stories and ranking them so that we could come up with a shortlist of ten stories to be passed on to the final judges. These ten stories will all be published in a booklet that will be available after announcement of the winner at the Williamstown Literary Festival. It's an interesting process, and one of the students is going to blog about it for me, so I won't say too much here, except that we came to our decision without the need to spill any blood, which is always a good thing.

This last week, we've also had the Poetry Bus -- I haven't heard any reports of this yet, but Kristin Henry is always a terrific reader and poet -- and Paul Mitchell and Lisa Gorton are great too, so I'm sure it was a brilliant night. (I'll see if I can get someone to write us a report). 

In other Rotunda news, our next event is Sherryl Clark interviewing satirist John Clarke on 23 April, which promises to be hilarious. (Venue yet to be announced.) If you're interested, you'd better let Bruno know fast, because he's already had a mountain of interest. Email Bruno if you want to go (bruno.lettieri@vu.edu.au). It's $5 for students or unwaged people, and $10 for everyone else.

In the meantime, you students will be on your mid-semester break. I hope you'll all be doing lots of writing. I know we teachers will be!

Happy writing!

Tracey Rolfe

Students from the Ada Cambridge shortlisting panel (from L to R): 

Melinda Hall, Andrew Mead, Rhiannon Lacy, Andrew Ellis and John King

I write when sober

That's the way I write stories and poems. They often start off on paper in a notebook, often messy to start with. I write in my notebook anytime of the day or night -- well, when an idea comes.

It's safer to write on paper when I'm still coming down or drunk. And if you're drinking shots at the same time as writing down the new ideas -- dudes, it's fun.

Quickly I type it up in words and build up each line with the right words (I hope) when sober. Not when I'm drunk or coming down -- that's when the ideas come to me.

Once the story's ideas have been typed into words, more ides come -- some as I'm typing or reading what I have written. The words just come from nowhere.

A poem could take 30 minutes or 1 day or 2 days. Often I'm thinking about the poem or 5 poems or 10 poems I'm often working at the time. When I'm doing something else better, ideas often come when I'm away from the computer.

It's the same with the novel -- I write each paragraph as if it's a short story or a poem. So far there's 21405 words I have written.

The ideas have changed a few time since class has started. I have fianlly come up with a better ending and desires for each characters.

That's how it's with me.

Steven Clark

MY WRITING PROCESS

Most of my writing emanates at night. Rarely do I find myself typing away during the day. If I ever do, it's editing the work from the night before. I find myself in the zone when I'm alone in the living room, at 1am with the television and lights off, relying only on the light emanating off the screen. I find myself easily distracted otherwise.

Getting through high school, I realized fairly early that I had a strong desire for writing, especially fiction. I find that writing has great power: for the duration of any read, the writer takes you on a journey that eventually, regardless as to whether it was the ending readers hoped for or not, has been decided on by the author. As much as I enjoy the power aspect of it, I also enjoy the responsibilities of writing. The responsibility of presenting something that is realistic within the bounds of the story that is entertaining and gives the reader a great feeling of satisfaction upon completion. Possibly my favorite quote comes from Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility". I truly believe in this.

Some of my greatest ideas come at night as I try to sleep. One night I just developed this awesome concept for a story. First, I developed a main character and at least one other character that would help my main to survive. Then I decided on the character(s) that I wanted to be the offender(s). Strangely, in relation to story, I usually develop the ending first and from there spores the rest of the characters. Then I can finally begin to plot out the events that lead to the final confrontation. From there, I begin to picture the settings for the story, the key places needed withing my world (the cemetery, the town centre, the government building, etc). Then, I get caught up in the world I have created. I create my first major scene, and the direction is set. If I decide on something I want to happen in the middle of a story, I write it down with a list of other events I wish to take place. Suddenly, I have built everything and it's just a matter of linking everything together. I find the process so exciting.

I'm currently started on my second draft of this story (26,000 words). The first draft was 37,000, and using my first draft as a cross reference, I have developed even more ideas on top of the original. (I expect the finished draft to reach 80,000 with ease.) There is this one scene at the moment I'm extremely eager to get into. But I use this as motivation to get there -- I can't write out of linear time. I feel I have to get "A" done before I can move on to "B", but this is what drives me. I just hope that anyone who reads my finished drafts in the future can experience the thrills I get as I write. At the stages where I really can't wait to arrive at that one motivating scene, I can only hope that the reader can't wait to find out what happens next.

At this time, I currently have two other stories that I want to create, that I have already conjured up in my mind, and that I have written down. But I can't even begin to work on them until I completely finish the story I'm on now. And this story is so far from finished it's not funny. But it's one big adventure, full of great anticipation and excitement. My writing process is really just one big adventure, an adventure that won't end for a very (VERY) long time. I just can't wait to find out what happens next. :P

Yours truly,

Andrew,
aka Meady

My writing process

I'm a fairly organic writer. I don't spend too much time plotting in advance, but I do have a reasonable idea of where the story is going and how it's going to end, and if I get stuck then I will sit down and plot things out. (I do do a lot of character work though, and world building before I start.) If I feel like I'm floundering and don't know where the story is going (which doesn't happen often), I'll use "what if?" as a way of exploring my options. This works best for me if I can get a solid day to myself without interruptions, and I'll get wildly excited by some of these options and then dump them later when better ones come along. (It pays to have an understanding partner who can pack kids up and take them out for the day. I might be able to write with distractions, but for plotting I need clear headspace.)

In my day-to-day writing, I work best when I'm writing every day. There's no getting around this. If I'm only doing a couple of days per week, even for longer blocks, I'm not as productive: the cogs aren't oiled and the wheels aren't spinning as smoothly. It takes me too long to get back into the story.

What I like to do is start each day's writing with reading over the previous day's work. Copyediting this eases me back into what I was thinking and feeling and intending when I left the work off. If I'm forced to leave and the juices are really flowing -- i.e. if I'm dragged, kicking and screaming, from my computer -- I may leave myself a note to say what I was about to do, because I do forget. Yeah, getting old, I know! Usually, though, I don' t have anything but the white page. I'll sink back into the story, reimmerse myself in some character's head, pick up his sword and the reins of his horse and go.

I'm a fast writer, a splurger, and usually I can churn out 1000 words in an hour, easily. Not always. But usually. Some days, though, it's tough going, and I won't get anywhere near this. Can I tell the difference in quality on the days I struggled? No. So it's worth perservering. I know that, and keep reminding myself on those difficult days: bum on seat. Write. Write.

At the moment, I'm in the middle of a big edit. My story is long (currently 182 k, but I'm trying to cut this back) with lots of characters and multiple storylines, and because I've done a number of drafts, I forget sometimes what I've put in and what I've taken out. The broader elements, I know, but it does make it so much more critical to keep plugging away at it and keep myself "in" the story. If I haven't been working on it for a couple of weeks, it can take me a full day's reading to find where I'm at, and this is enormously frustrating because all writing time is precious.

I do have to say though, that I like having written more than I like writing. There are plenty of writers who love that first draft, the white-hot surge of creativity, but I'm not one of them. I love the reworking, the reshaping, paring back the language and fleshing out the action, making small changes to my characters and observing the flow-on effects. That's when I'm truly in heaven!

Tracey Rolfe

News from the trenches

Well, the Novel 2 class (or at least selected members) is busy reading stories for the Ada Cambridge Award, which is an award for a piece of short biographical (or autobiographical) writing, and is part of the Williamstown Literary Festival. (If you click on the name, you'll go to their website and can have a look at what they're offering this year.)

In the meantime, we've just heard that Megan Green, one of our students, has had a request from the State Library of Victoria (in association with the National Library of Australia) to include her articles on the recent Black Saturday bushfires for their bibliography database. The articles were published in a newspaper, but one of the library's researches found them online and decided they had "cultural historical significance", which was what they needed for inclusion -- so, as Megan says, it pays to have a blog and website! And I guess it also shows that you just never know where your work might end up.

Novel 2 comes online

Each year I ask my Novel 2 class to respond to F Scott Fitzgerald's quote: "All good writing is swimming underwater and holding your breath." They have just ten minutes to think about and write their responses. Here's what this year's class have made of it.

First of all, I would never compare writing (especially good writing) to swimming. Why? Simple. I hate swimming and I love writing.

I suppose, though, that some aspects of writing can be compared to swimming through murky water. Sometimes you have no idea what's in front of you; other times you can make out some things but not the whole picture. When I think about it, holding my breath is something I do figuratively as I write. No matter how sure I am or how planned the work is, I write hoping that, when I reach the end, it will be a story someone else will want to read. Finishing a story is like letting out that breath, like a huge sigh of relief that it's over and that it actually exists.

Being struck by inspiration is a lot like holding your breath too. Wanting to get it out, but not being able to write fast enough can be physically painful. But I love it. Seeing the finished product is worth the pain.
-- Marie

For me, who has had experience in writing and swimming underwater, these can both result in having to hold your breath. For swimming, the phrase can be regarded by its literal meaning, but when writing, it comes across more figuratively. I suppose when writing, you need to "hold your breath" during the whole process: from the first word to the final draft. We all take a leap of faith for the paragraphs we construct, and we need to have an unconditional devotion to our work. Sometimes that involves cancelled plans, loss of sleep and an endless amount of stress and exhaustion. We give up a lot for our writing, but at the end of the day, we can take in that long deserved breath, sit back and how we got to be so clever.
-- Hayley

It is about looking at life from a different angle, being disciplined and prepared not to give up.
-- Hugh

The quote to me is about perspiration and patience. Bad writing is rushed, overlooked, and never given any thought. Each sentence should add value to the story, either setting-wise or plot-wise. Therefore the author should be aware of what they are writing.

And if words aren't coming to mind, or you are stuck: patience. Patience. Patience. Patience. Of course this is just my opinion and I could be horribly wrong.
-- JJ

It's all about taking risks, and this refers to bad writing too. But with good writing, these are the pieces that are published. Holding your breath is about taking your time and hoping that what you write will succeed. All you need to do is swim under water (work your best) and never give up.
-- Anon

This quote shows us that writing is a difficult task, one which is always heavily scrutinised by peers and critics. It tells us that the difference between good writers, good writing [and bad] is distinguished by the applause or criticism received; therefore, we are constantly holding our breath, waiting for that judgment while we are in the dark -- or under murky water.
-- Tom Pinchen-Hogg

Groping for air as you try to propel yourself forward and knowing that the agony won't finish until you get to the end -- that is the essence of the line. That is the pain of writers.
-- Daniel

Writers take great risks when writing. When we first put our ens to paper we are swimming underwater, searching for the perfect sentence. We then have to distance ourselves, separate ourselves from the work. When we eventually bring it out into society, we hold our breath hoping it will be accepted. But sometimes it is rejected. So we delve back underwater.
-- Anon

To write is to submerge yourself in a world of your own creation, where the light bends and changes, and everything flows around you and into your ears and eyes and nostrils. You cannot live there indefinitely because you have to surface every now and then to breathe; you can only stay there for as long as you can fill your lungs and plunge in.

Sometimes you have only a mouthful of air, enough to glimpse a coral forest, or the mouth of an underwater cave; sometimes the air fills your longs and spills over into your bones and heart and feet, so you have enough to carry you beyond the coral fast and deep into the watery dark of the labyrinth that lies beyond the cave.

On a bad day, you might emerge choking with seaweed between your fingers, and sand in your hair; on a good one, you might climb out onto the beach with your arms full of treasure.
-- Fiona Price

The good writer goes through lots of pain before the good stuff rises from the mind to the paper.
-- Steven Clark

I agree in some ways with the above quote, in that writing can show you many wondrous things, and yet still feel like you're drowning. However, not all good writing can support like buoyant water. It more often feels like climbing a rock wall to me -- physically and mentally tiring, but when it's over there is a great feeling of relief at the thought that you've done something to be proud of, before the insanity of finding the next wall to conquer kicks in!
-- Andrew Ellis

It’s true that writing is like swimming -- the water is all of your ideas melded into a body that continues to swirl and change, and you, the swimmer, must explore the depths while still finding a way to come back up to the surface to take a break and suck air back into your lungs before diving back in.
-- Luke

A well-written story can leave you breathless? A well-written story can make you want to go swimming? In order to write well, first you must learn to swim? In order to be published, first you must master deep-sea diving?

Who knows what crazy old F Scott was on about. I know I don't. Besides, how can you write under water? I think I'll stick to writing badly, on land, whilst breathing, and you can quote me on that.
-- John King