When you write do you...?

That's what I'm saying. I do pretty much the same thing....

Hi,

What a great idea... writing about writing.

I found Stephen King's book 'On Writing' very useful for tips (and encouragement).

These days if I'm writing a story, I have a basic idea but allow the characters to deal with the situation in their own way. Watch and Tell. I see myself as a storyteller - writing down the story as they tell it to me. Some very suprising things happen. Characters sulk if they don't get their own way!
It's the only way I can do it because if I already have everything set up in my mind then I get bored too soon - the excitement is in the unknown, for me (and hopefully also for the reader).

If it's a long story, I break it up into sections and write each one as a short story - this also helps with pace, and keeps me interested. (Although so far, I have no finished results).

If I'm into the long novel (aren't we all?), I keep files on my characters. That helps. Nothing worse than having to scroll back looking for a name or date, when you don't want to stop the action.

As for poetry - well, I just write it. I understand that it is raw and overly emotional stuff, with no regular style - but I get a lot of peace from writing poetry, so I just do it. No one outside A2K has ever read any of it. I don't intend to ever send any to a publisher. I don't know why I post it up here, but it seems important to me that I do. (Sometimes you've just got too much in your head).

The thing about listening to music is interesting. Here's something that happened to me:

I wanted to write about this old fella that I used to meet when I was out walking my dog. The man's dead now. Died sitting in his armchair asleep by the fire, aged 80.
I remember him in a grey suit, with the legs tucked into wellington boots, a flat cap tipped slightly back on his head. He had a definate twinkle in his eye and true enough, he told me stories about his youth that would make a sergeant blush, but there was an old fashioned side to him - he shunned new technology and valued the land in a way I didn't know still existed.

Anyway, I wrote about him while listening to some light, classical music. A few weeks later, I was listening to Amon Tobin (electronica/Jazz), when I came across that piece of writing.
I knew that when I'd finished writing it, I'd been pretty pleased with myself, but as I read through I just kept thinking: Well, where the f*ck is his quirky, laddish, dangerous side? It just wasn't there. So then I began to experiment. Now I write different scenes to different music. (First draft)
But I always edit to total silence. After all, I'd have to supply a cd with every story if I needed the music to add atmosphere after the story was written.

Wow - that's enough... never talked to anyone about my 'secret hobby' before. Feels strange.

Great thread.
Endy

I need to have heaps of things going on around me if I'm trying to write.....

Endymion,

I just bought Stephen King's On Writing; haven't read it yet, but I'm working on it. One good book on writing is Character and Viewpoints by Orson Scott Card.
But anyway, thanks for your feedback

Thanks for the tip, CrazyDiamond.

This is a very interesting and enlightening thread.

Writing is like, cool.

Don't forget that while a writer must understand the craft, a writer must also have subject matter. Any book, fiction, non-fiction or reference has a place on a Writer's bookcase.

I usually write w/ music but then I find that after rereading. It ends up being a similar topic or even reworded lyrics. I think I have had writers block for about 10 yrs.