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Steps in Writing Fiction 11/9/2014 5:23:10 PM
My Name is Richard French. I live in Toronto, Canada's largest city.
Some years ago -- decades really -- I decided that writing fiction would be at the center of my life. Along with interesting and worthwhile things I did to earn my living, I have created a collection of unpublished novels and stories for which I hope to find readers. Most of my fiction is set in an imaginary American state called Sagadac -- with excursions elsewhere -- that resembles Massachusetts where I come from. As I look back over years of work, I see that I've followed several steps to bring each of my novels to a state where someone else can read it. I'm setting down here the steps I go through in hopes that a few readers will find this useful or at least interesting.
Note Taking: I use pocket-sized notebooks and scraps of paper. Ideas arrive at odd times, especially if I'm busy with something else. I make sure to jot them down right away. I've even got to be pretty good at remembering ideas that come to me just before falling asleep when my brain is clear of the day's concerns.
Organizing Notes: I transcribe notes from scraps of paper to file cards or a wirebound notebook.
Writing a first draft: Using my notes as a guideline, I force myself to put down -- always longhand -- whatever comes into my head that reasonably fits in with my notes. I don't stop to read over, just write words, sentences, and paragraphs. I've sometimes regretted not having higher standards at this stage because everything I come up with needs to be changed, often many times, but at least I have something to work with and this is the point.
First rest stop: I set the piece aside and turn to another project. I've read experts on creativity who say that even when our conscious minds think about something else, the deeper processes of our brains are still busy, especially on work to which we've given our best attention. I suspect that waking up in the morning and finding a vexing problem solved is a similar experience.
Subsequent Drafts: I make no radical changes but work with what I have, horrible as it may be. I cut, add, reshape; I look for new ideas. It's sometimes slow and arduous going, but eventually the piece becomes exciting again. This stage includes a lot of ruminating, thinking, reflecting, reading the text over and over -- becoming more intimate with the material, going deeper. An esential part of writing. It often happens as I read a passage over and over that I think this is no good and can't be fixed. I berate myself for writing boring stuff, sink into despondency and say that nothing will ever come of this mess. It's a matter of keeping on, being willing to persist and being patient. Good results usually take time -- no matter what we're working on. New ideas begin to come slowly, bit by bit, like crocuses breaking through snow, first one and then another and another until I see the part I've been working on with a clear brain and a wider view. Something like hearing music after a long silence. My attitude changes. I tell myself that what finally appeals to me will also work for others.
Second rest stop: Again, I take time to work on something else. It's amazing how the brain refreshes.
Final polishing: This can take some time. I go over every sentence more than once so that nothing lags or is redundant or boring or out of place or inconsistent or awkward or just plain dumb. I revise until the demon critic in my head goes away and with the help of God I've overcome the other inner voice that encourages me to slide over passages that need fixing.
I'll have more to say about my experience of writing and re-writing in later posts.
