The Way I Do Things · 4:16pm Jan 13th, 2017
Hello Everypony!
So, I think it might be a good idea to lay out how my creative process works when it comes to writing, since I believe I operate somewhat differently than most authors do. Insight into how things operate is never a bad thing, and it might be useful information both for my current patrons, and potential future ones.
In an effort to keep this post from being a horribly massive text blizzard, I have moved notes about my favorite writing device, the Alphasmart Neo, to this post. If you're interested in my creative process you might want to give that post a look, because, oh my gosh, I do not do my writing on a computer! That post will tell you why.
Anyway, let me give you the rundown of how I do things. I will present these in phases, based upon the color codes I use on my Trello commission queue:
RED - Not yet started.
This encompasses everything from the not ready at all yet phase, to the brainstorm phase, before words actually go into the machine. In this phase an idea is either an apple in my eye, or in the case of a commission, I'm still working out what the patron wants or how I intend to go about it. I do not take payment from patrons until this phase is about to end - in other words, until I'm ready to begin actual work on your project. This is because I do not like sitting on people's money and making them wait until I can focus on what they're paying me to do.
I have encountered patrons at both ends of the spectrum - those who provide me with detailed notes that go down as far as what they want the characters to be saying and doing, to those who just give me one single concept or idea that they want in the story, and leave the rest up to my judgement. I'm of course willing to work with you either way - just for the more detailed folks, I ask that once we're ready for the next phase, you hold additional edits until the draft is completed. Things can get confusing if I have to change stuff while I'm drafting.
For personal writing, my brainstorm phase tends to be skeletal - I come up with a basic idea of what I want for the story, and then I move on to writing, where I will hammer out the details as I go. I'm not a hardcore outliner/planner. I find this a more enjoyable way to do things because while I am writing, I feel as though I am getting to enjoy the story too, just like I hope the reader will. Sometimes I'm even surprised when something turns out other than how I thought it would! Too much planning ahead makes me feel like I'm just taking dictation. But that's personal preference for my own projects - don't be afraid to give me lots of details if you have them. The more you tell me, the closer of a picture I can paint to what you want!
PURPLE - The drafting phase.
In this phase I'm on my Alphasmart, busting out either your story or mine. One thing I've learned about writing is that you'll never get anywhere unless you just hunker down and do it. Thus, when I'm drafting, I seek to avoid losing my momentum by resisting the urge to look back. I don't re-read what I'm writing and I don't look for errors - also, if I need to get a thought busted out so I can move on to the next one, I might come up with a weak way to represent it on purpose, just to get it banged out. The result is a rough draft, which I am not yet ready to show to anybody.
BLUE - The editing phase.
This phase occurs when I have completed the draft. I re-read the entire story, one time, from start to finish, carefully. While I read, I am making technical corrections - grammar, sentences that don't flow, thoughts that don't make sense, mixed-up character names, logic flow problems (Marshmallow the pegasus was tied up three paragraphs ago, she should not be flexing her wings right now) and so forth. I almost always wait at least overnight before moving from the drafting phase to the editing phase, to clear up my brain and give myself a more sober, 'out of the moment' perspective on what I'm about to edit. Also, I stress the one re-read. I only read and edit one time, and this too is to stave off stagnation. One can wordsmith ad-infinitum, to the point of making it an exercise in OCD, and never move on to publication. To get mired in obsessive editing is to not only sink into the guilt of underproduction, but its a disservice to a patron who is waiting on their project to be completed.
Only at this point is my draft ready to be shared with others.
From here I'm usually ready to move on to publication. However, if the story is a commission and the patron wishes to see the draft first, I will make it available to them (google docs, email, file transfer, whatever), and work with them on any edits they may have. Mind you, in the above step, I am not looking for plot related issues - just technical stuff. So rest assured I am not wasting my patron's time by rewriting the story before they even get a chance to see it. Some patrons like my willingness to lengthen this phase so they can weigh in. Some just leave the whole thing up to me and wait to read it the first time upon publication. That's up to you. You paid for it, so you're the person I'm looking to be satisfied.
GREEN - Completion.
Huzzah, we're ready to publish! In this phase I complete the story description for the Fimfiction entry, the short description, transfer the text to fimfiction, and either create, or import, the cover image. If this is one of my stories I typically wait for what I feel to be the most ideal time to push the 'go' button. If it is a commission, I will publish it whenever the patron wants (or you can leave it up to me to publish when I think is the most ideal time).
Well, there you have it. That's how I do things. The downside to it all is that I cannot share the purple phase with my patrons via google docs because the text is not yet on my computer. Have patience however, and you will get your chance to look your story over before it goes to print, as well as weigh in on it. Just let me bust it out first and we'll discuss/edit/add to/subtract from once we have a complete draft to look at!
Or it's because you suck at google.docs 101 and making them available to your partrons
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Google docs is not my friend, granted, heh. I only use it upon patron request. Either way, pumping my word processor for raw text that's not ready to be seen anyway and putting it up in docs seems counterproductive to me, when the whole thing could go up there and be ready for everybody to pick apart once the blue phase is on!