(no subject)

[opera142]

1. Do you outline?
Sorta. It's more a grocery list of plot and don't-forget-to-mention-x-so-it-doesn't-seem-to-come-from-out-of-nowhere memo to myself. Generally the finished story doesn't share any resemblance to the outline-- I outline in chronological order, my stories often jump around.

2. Do you write straight through, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?
I doubt I write two sentences straight through. I think in phrases and broken sentences. I get those down then I make myself fill in the blanks. It's a slow, ugly process.

3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?
I like both. I like pen/paper for earlier drafts-- bits of dialogue, ideas, questions, reminders to research dates. I do most of my writing-writing on comp. I get very frustrated with myself when I have to rewrite a sentence 1547548 times in order to get it to read right or fresh or lively or unwrong. With the comp, I can delete over stuff. On paper, I see eraser dust and crossed out lines, and the Panics march in.


4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third? I like writing and reading both. I write in 3rd more often these days.

5. Do you listen to music while you write?
Sometimes. It's good for getting certain rhythms into my head which then go into the text. Problem with that is I write slowly; I get sick of a song before I get done writing.

6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your characters?
Prepare for lots o' babble. I love names. When I was a kid, I'd invent classrooms and name all the students (and their siblings) and create dramadramadrama for them.

I've never had to think too hard a name. I've always had a huge list ready. When I can't find one with just the right ring, I consult Beyond Jennifer and Jason. It lists names by association rather than alphabetically. So if I want a phoney, soccer-momish name, I just look for the Most Popular Names of the 60s and 70's. The social security site is a resource for that too. Except it's easy to get sidetracked playing with Name Popularity graph.

Even with fanfic, I play with names. Wrestling gives us a wealth-- most characters have at least two. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of using real names. They're never as sexy as the stage names. Would you rather be fucked by Rhyno or Terry? Would you rather travel the dark side with Kane or Glenn? Do coke in a seedy bar with Raven or Scott?

Even more important than a name is what people call you. I'm big on nicknames and formal titles. And I'm fascinated by how the folks of fandom refer wrestlers. Like with wrestlers who've had a ton of stage names. The newest name isn't necessarily the most commonly used. Or even how some wrestlers are almost always called by their first names, some by their surnames. And I'll use this as my platform to announce that the first time I see Christopher Daniels called "Chrissy", I will lose all of my shit.

7. When you're writing, do you ever imagine your story as a television show or movie?
Rarely. The only one I saw that way was a Mutants in College story I fiddled around with years ago.

8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn't want him/her to do?
Usually, it's them resisting where I want them to go, and that usually means LOGIC HOLE and BAD CHARACTERIZATION. Appealing to their goals and motivations gets them running around again.

9. Do you know how a story is going to end when you start it?
Yes. Most times, I know the ending before I know the beginning. Tragic endings mean I get to spend lots of time having a ball mining the angst pits.

10. Where do you write?
Anywhere I can get away with it. I'm most productive at home on the desktop.

11. What do you do when you get writer's block?
Sulk. Snarl. Write bitchy posts in lj. Pout. Feel lonely and bereft and unlistened to.

12. What size increments do you write in (either in terms of wordcount, or as a percentage of the fic as a whole)?
Yikes. I write until I'm drained or content with the amount I've done for the session.

13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?
12 major. Tons of minor tweaking.

14. Have you ever changed a character's name midway through a draft?
Yes. Name. Sex. Age. Just about anything that can be changed, I've done it.

15. Do you let anyone read your story while you're working on it, or do you wait until you've completed a draft before letting someone else see it?
The 3rd draft or so goes to beta. I have enough trouble getting anyone to read the final draft, I'm not going to waste energy trying to generate excitement for lesser versions.

16. What do you do to celebrate when you finish a draft?
Honestly, I don't think that's ever occured to me. I'm happy, of course, and I look forward to posting about writing it on my lj. Most often, I'm just so relieved that I finally FINALLY finished something, and so tore up over the way I beat myself up while editing that I'm glad to not have to think about it for a while.

17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?
Multiple. Though, whether or not their projects that are going anywhere is another story.

18. Do your stories grow or shrink in revision?
Both, more shrinking because I take Great Satisfaction in turning 3 words into one, melding two wordy paragraphs into a single well-put paragraph. Growing is usually in response to issues pointed out by my beta.

19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?
R/l, I have a group which is slowly disintegrating, and writer-type friends. Online, I have Merc Beta Extordinaire. Also, I ramble on and on in my lj whether anyone appears to be listening or not.

20. Do you prefer drafting or revising?
Revising. I love zero-ing in a dead-on word or reworking a cliche into uniqueness. For me, that usually comes from re-writing.

Comments

[redfiona99.livejournal.com]

>>I've never had to think too hard a name. I've always had a huge list ready. When I can't find one with just the right ring, I consult Beyond Jennifer and Jason. It lists names by association rather than alphabetically. So if I want a phoney, soccer-momish name, I just look for the Most Popular Names of the 60s and 70's. The social security site is a resource for that too. Except it's easy to get sidetracked playing with Name Popularity graph.<<

That you go to so much effort always makes me feel very lazy for not going to as much effort.

[opera142.livejournal.com]

Says the scientist to the office drone.