#13
Post
by LateWhiteRabbit » Sun Apr 01, 2012 5:26 pm
The secret to fast writing and high word counts is simple -
Be excited about what you are writing about, and know what you are writing.
I never write anymore without following a script, and it has improved both the quality and speed of my writing. I know that sounds funny, but I'll explain. Much like a story outline, a script outline lets me quickly see what is working and what isn't, and let's me work on the flow of a scene without worrying about the exact words or sentence structure. It works like this:
1) I decide what a certain scene is trying to accomplish and the characters involved in the scene.
2) I write out a scene outline in very simple format. It looks something like this:
Character 1 storms into the throne room, angry and upset.
People in the throne room react with surprise and alarm. Character 1 was not supposed to be here today.
King shows no surprise; ushers guards to intercept Character 1.
Character 1 shouts that the king is an imposter.
King is derisive, makes a clever comment to courtiers about the absurdity of the possibility. Everyone laughs except the guards and Character 1.
Character 1 starts yelling out his case - the clues he has collected.
King suddenly becomes serious. Character 1 is getting too close to the mark. King starts loudly talking over Character 1, speaking of the misfortune of madmen.
Character 1 doubles his efforts to be heard. Tries to shout the evidence he gathered from the Black Castle all in one rush.
Guard hits Character 1 hard enough to shut him up and send him to the floor. Guard says no one talks at the same time as the king.
Etc. Etc.
You get the idea. Writing a scene this way is very fast, and you can get as detailed as you want. You can do all the rewrites and reordering of events you want to get the flow right and make sure the drama builds appropriately. I find creativity is much easier in this format because I'm no longer searching for the exact right words or phrase, so I don't get stuck or hung up on the perfect paragraph or response. Instead the ideas I have for the scene can flow quickly and freely without censorship or the pursuit of perfection.
3) Once the scene is "scripted", and I am satisfied with the order and flow of events, satisfied that the meaning of the scene will come across and its goal will be accomplished, I start writing it "properly". This can even be done in passes so I don't get hung up or stuck. For instance, I may leave a blank spot for the dialogue if it doesn't immediately come to me - such as the king's clever comment above. That way I get all the prose filled in without having to stop and ponder the perfect cutting remark. If something doesn't immediately come to me I leave a spot for it and move on. When the scene is over, I start another pass and fill in the blanks.
4) Once the scene is written, I read it over in full and do a rewrite. Usually this is very fast, changing a word here or there, structuring a sentence better etc.
5) I move on to the next scene, starting at step 1.
Of course during all of this I am working from a broad story outline, which is written much like the script in step 2. This helps me make sure the rising and falling action are all in place and the story hits all the beats it needs to. This lets me double check to be sure the story has the right balance before I start. It also means I can see what characters I will need. I then develop and work up these characters, getting to know them intimately. This all occurs simultaneously with world building. Once the world building and characters have been developed I can go back to the story outline and make it more detailed or make changes informed by the characters and world.
Once everything is done, of course I do a couple of rewrites.
The author I learned this method from could produce up to 20,000 words a day, and finished a novel length book once in just 7 days. Learning her method was sort of a eureka moment for me.
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