Absolute Chaos Discussion Boards
Fic Talk => General Discussion => Topic started by: Sakabelle on May 01, 2012, 08:51:31 AM
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Um... basically what the topic says! When you write a new chapter of a story you are posting, what's your process with it?
Lately I have been trying to take my time. I'll write a chapter and sit on it for a night, then reread it, fix it up and post it. Essentially I guess I'm my own beta reader. Also, while I'm writing I tend to edit as I go - I'll write a sentence and then read it back with the rest of the paragraph to make sure it fits and flows with the rest. I've tried it the other way - just hammering words out onto the page and fixing them up later, but I find that makes my work choppy and it doesn't flow as nice.
So...what do you guys do?
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I used to just write whatever popped into my head and then post it, but now I'm kind of doing what you're doing Steph.
I write a few paragraphs and go over it before carrying on. Then when I'm done, I'll read the whole chapter to make sure it makes sense before posting. Sometimes I find myself referring back to earlier chapters just to make sure I'm getting it right. In the past I didn't do that and so some of my old stuff probably makes no sense at all!
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I write the same way both of you said you do now. I usually do some rereading before I start a new chapter or scene, at least reading the previous scene to make sure it flows. If I haven't worked on the story in awhile, I usually at least skim the last few chapters to get back into the flow of it. When I actually start writing, it takes me a long time because I play around with word choice and revise/edit as I go, so that by the time I'm done with the chapter, it's pretty much ready to go. Even then, I like to sit on it for a day so that I can proofread it with fresh eyes, and usually I catch a few typos or make a few changes in wording then.
When I first started writing fanfic, I'd crank out a short chapter in one sitting and post it right away, and I did that almost every day - it was rare for me to go more than a day or two without updating. Now it takes me a lot longer to finish a chapter, and my updates are more sporadic, but the quality and consistency of my writing is a lot better. I said this in another thread recently, but quality over quantity!
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See I never outline anything....I just write as I go. However with Weird World I have an idea where I want to go with it, but whenever I want to update a story I go back and read a few chapters to refresh my memory before I begin writing. It helps me remember where I am going with the plot and characters.
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When I first discovered fanfics, I used to sit here in work and type chapters straight onto the site I used to go on. I had no idea where the story was going, and was often influenced by the people reading it (like adding their names into the story, etc). I'm glad that site no longer exists as I'd be so embarrassed if anyone read it, with its typos and general crappiness :)
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I'm the same way. I'll write the chapter and then re read. I'm my own beta reader and one of the bonuses of waiting to post is that I can read over and over. Add something I might have missed, or tweek something to make a issue later in the story have more of an impact. I haven't written in for a couple of weeks now, been playing Mass Effect 3. But when I get back to writing I will read the story again and something new might come to mind and I'll add it. That's usually how it is with all my stories, I'll stop for a little play a game or two for a while and then get back into writing.