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Post by firestorm78583 on Nov 18, 2011 18:24:44 GMT -5
I would have to say I am a Character writer. I take the Madelyn L"Engle approach to writing. She described her process as "pots on a stove". You keep adding ingredients and stirring, till its ready to serve. If its not ready, the you put it on the back burner to simmer and work on another pot. This would explain why I have a prequel and a couple of sequels in the works to my main story, none of which are completed. I have a couple of idea files where I jot down (you guessed it) ideas. I take my ideas and flesh them out. When I think it's ready, I copy and paste it into the story.
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Post by pixydust on Nov 30, 2011 19:14:44 GMT -5
I'm definitely a Character writer. No doubt.
I don't mind plot, but it doesn't come to me easily. And it usually ends in many rewrites and editing rounds...lol.
But the characters...now them I can hear whispering to me all the time.
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Post by almarquardt on Nov 30, 2011 19:35:24 GMT -5
My stories always start with a plot and the characters simply appear. Like you Pixiedust, my characters rarely stop whispering to me.
When I'm immersed in a story I find myself talking about my characters to friends and family. They often give me and expression that says, "Is it time for the rubber room yet?"
Sometimes I think they should, because bouncing around a rubber room for a while sounds like a lot of fun.
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Post by waldenwriter on Nov 30, 2011 23:48:14 GMT -5
I'd say I'm character-driven. Which is why, I think, I have abandoned novels part way through because of getting stuck on the plot. Plot is my weak spot.
I am also kind of a pantser, but only because the prep I do for a novel is generally in my head rather than on paper. I dislike brainstorming on paper, something they always made us do in school. I never could do it very well. Even the whole phenomenon of "mind maps" kinda frightens me.
So I guess I'm somewhere between a pantser and whatever the opposite of that is.
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This Baron of Mora
Full Member
?Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.?
Posts: 113
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Post by This Baron of Mora on Dec 2, 2011 23:30:08 GMT -5
I build the world loosely in my mind and come up with stories that follow it when I'm bored. I really don't put much thought into characters. As such I definitely world-driven especially since there aren't really "main characters" just "topic characters".
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Post by dragonlots on Dec 16, 2011 14:35:41 GMT -5
I'm mixed. Sometimes it's a character who activates the story, sometimes an interesting plot line, sometimes just an idea, or I get the first few opening lines. Mostly I'm what I call a 'by the seat of my pants' writer. I just write and see where the story goes and who joins in the fun. Since I understand the real writing happens during revision, my style works very well.
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Post by pixydust on Dec 17, 2011 0:05:40 GMT -5
My stories always start with a plot and the characters simply appear. Like you Pixiedust, my characters rarely stop whispering to me. When I'm immersed in a story I find myself talking about my characters to friends and family. They often give me and expression that says, "Is it time for the rubber room yet?" LOL... in Terry Brooks' writing book he says something like, his wife would say to him she could always tell when he was in the Otherworld, cause he'd just nod and agree. She'd tell the kids, "Daddy's not in right now." I'm the same way--maybe ever writer is. Especially in the car. My husband will always ask me: "Are you writing?" if I'm staring out the window. I think he feels like he's sharing me with my characters sometimes....lol
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Post by firestorm78583 on Dec 18, 2011 22:34:05 GMT -5
I've just realized something. Since I jot down ideas and then try to flesh them out, The real trick comes in looking for places in my stories to put the fleshed out sections. It seems to me that I am writing a series of vignettes, searching for a way to connect them into one cohesive story.
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Post by paulinecreeden on Dec 19, 2011 2:49:52 GMT -5
I am completely seat of the pants - this worked great for me, because I wrote almost exclusively in short stories. SO when I sat down to write a novel I couldn't get it going. I'd get stuck on plot, just like Walden said. Then I found the art of the subplot.
I juggle from POV to POV and it goes back to what Firestorm said about pots on a stove, but my pots aren't time lines, instead they are each seperate stories.
When I try to stick with only one POV I get stuck everytime...maybe that will help you Walden - if you've never thought of it that way.
Overall I'm character driven for sure - they decide what the plot's going to be - when things get boring, I just shake up the snowglobe - and then see how the characters react to it.
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Post by Kessie on Dec 19, 2011 11:16:04 GMT -5
Pauline: Shake up the snowglobe--I like that.
For me, when I get bored, something explodes. That always gets the characters moving.
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Post by dragonlots on Dec 23, 2011 17:47:58 GMT -5
An interesting place can also start a story. I'm using my doll houses and a Colorado ghost town to write a series of romances. Yes, she writes romances. A few weeks ago I sent off my first query letter and synopsis to the Love Inspired Suspense line with Harlequin.
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Post by paulinecreeden on Dec 23, 2011 23:22:34 GMT -5
awesome, dragonlots - good luck!
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