Writer's Workshop: The Best Writing Process (For Me, Anyway) · 1:17am Mar 28th, 2017
One of my clients/friends/associates recently sent me a message asking for a Writer's Workshop about the writing process. Well, like a really crappy genie, your wish is my command! ...Eventually. 
Step 1. Conceiving the Idea. For some, this is the easiest part, while for others, it can be maddeningly difficult. Personally, I've never had a problem with it, so let me share with you some of the tricks I use to come up with my ideas.
a. Fusion. Take two seemingly unrelated ideas, then mash them together. So I'll be thinking about, say, Hamlet or Cyrano de Bergerac, and I'll realize, "Hey! I can mix this with MLP and get a neat fanfiction out of it!" The first is The Queen Beckons, while the second is a story I've had up my sleeve for a while now called "Red Strings and Black Ink."
b. The Unanswered Question. Regarding fanfiction, I see lots of holes in the mythos or the characters' backstories, so for me, I immediately get the question, "What really happened in that time?" Hence, It's Impossible!, which jumps off from a question about how unicorn magic actually works, or "Open Doors," another fic still in my head about Fluttershy buying her cottage.
c. What If? Admittedly, this may be the hardest. You have to be able to look at some story event or some occurrence in real life, and ask yourself, "What if something else happened instead?" Rainbow Dash, Pagemaster is "What if Rainbow Dash had been infected with some equivalent to Inspiration Manifestation," and "The Waltz of Rarity" is about "What if Rarity had wished to replace Twilight as Celestia's student?"
Step 2: Creating a Plan. This step is pretty hard if you're a spontaneous/lazy writer like me, but I assure you, it's important. This is setting up your bible, creating a preliminary outline, deciding on the approximate length, and determining when and how long you're going to work on it. Don't be like me and start a story with nothing written out but fluff and a dream. Figure out ahead of time what, how, and when you're going to write. Then go out and do it. Don't slack, don't rest on your laurels, just achieve the plan.
Step 3: Researching Your Topic. In the traditional model of the writing process, there are three steps: pre-writing, drafting, and revision. Whether "pre-writing" actually includes research or not, I think it's a critical part of the process that deserves to be its own step. Research is what lets you write about topics you don't know anything about, i.e. it lets you write "things you aren't allowed to write." But even if you do already know about a topic, research can help you expand your knowledge base on that subject and have a more nuanced position.
But don't think just because you're writing fiction in a fantasy realm means you're exempt from research! Your first order of business is to do research into your genre, i.e. know your place. Second, if you're writing fanfic, go back and watch the show some more. Make sure you really understand the characters, the setting, and the general themes. Finally, guess what? If you're making your own world, you get to make up the content! So instead of reading about it, you have to use your ~*~imagination~*~ to learn more. Imagine the world is a little pocket dimension in your mind, then explore it; talk to the people; read the books in that world. If you can describe the king's mansion in the same level of detail and clarity as you can your own house, you've succeeded. (...I'm only a little kidding.)
Step 4: Actually Writing the Freaking Thing. Look, if you're reading this, you're probably a writer. Even if you're not, this isn't really the hard part. What makes it hard is when we writers decide to complicate it by trying to pick the right words while drafting, or revise while writing, or write without a strong plan ahead of time. If you're having trouble with this step, it's because you've either screwed up one of the previous steps or you're trying to skip ahead to the next step. There's a classic saying by... Ernest Hemingway, let's say. "Write drunk, edit sober." In other words, when you're on this step, just write. Write without restrictions, without hesitation. Execute the plan, and you'll be golden.
Step 5: Editing and Revising. Everyone's least favorite step--and I'm an editor, so you know I'm being serious. This is the hangover of writing, where you look at everything you wrote on your Step 4 drunken stupor and think, "What the heck was I thinking?!" You need to be able to be critical of your writing without being critical of yourself. At the very least, think of things like, "How can I make this better?" and "Where can I add more vibrant language?" Sure, if there are plot holes or character weirdness, that needs to go, but also use this step to polish rather than fix gross errors. Cuz, to be frank, most of the stories I read aren't critically flawed. Most stories I read don't have inconsistent characters, bad MUGS, or unrealistic plots. Most of the stories I help edit are simply a little bland. They need things tightened up or expanded upon, stronger chemistry and more interesting narration, more scenes and stronger themes.
Ah, which reminds me. You must be able to edit your own work, this much is true. But finding/hiring a proofreader like me can help you for a couple different reasons. 1) It can be useful to have another set of eyes on the material, especially someone who isn't going to be blithely approve everything you write. (...Though in that case, I may not be the best choice. I have two modes--nice and critical--and sometimes I lean too far in the first direction. So for all my clients, make sure to ask me for blunter criticism if you want it.) 2) Specialization of skills. As a writer, you should be able to write well, but editing and writing are different skills. Get good at writing, and we editors will get good at editing, and we can help each other. 
6. Iterating. So once you've done all of that, you get to go back and do it all again! 
Okay, you don't have to do all of it, unless you really need to. You may find after revising (or after drafting, or researching, or whatever) that your story idea just won't work the way you intended it. If that's the case, then there's no shame in going back to step 1 and changing your idea to make it more palatable. But if you need to change your plan, or do more research, or rewrite sections, do that as many times as you need to for you to get it write. Unless you're a mangaka or you've got a publisher breathing down your neck, you've got plenty of time.
7. Post-production. So... this is the part I know nothing about. I'm sorry, I really don't! (I did just say I'm a specialist in step 5, so... cut me some slack!) By this part, I'm basically entirely referring to marketing. I don't know how this works. You advertise, you spread the word, you create a fandom... I don't know. There's some kind of step somewhere between "you create your account" and "you have more followers than students in a high school," but darned if I know what that is. So this will have to join the ranks of those before it and be an unfinished symphony. Sorry, client who asked me about this! ...Actually, wait a minute. You don't need my help with this! You have 23 times as many followers as I do; you're in the top 50 of the most popular writers on the site! You've already got this well in hoof. 
Agreed, with caveats. This is going to sound bad, but for Discovery Writers, 2) Creating a Plan and 3) Research are optional. You can go straight to 4) Writing. (and 4A Rewriting. And 4B Re-rewriting) You may *want* to skip 5) Editing, but DON'T! AP here can testify to that. The first story he helped me edit had about one comment, repeated over and over "Comma splice. Comma Splice. Comma splice..."
Now, writing without a plan and research, or how to grab that parachute and jump out of the plane.
When I was writing the first Traveling Tutor story, my plan was *very* short. I had a 'Train Station Goodbye' ending in mind, a set-in-stone limited timeframe to motivate me, and 'He should be a magic tutor, coming into town.' That's IT. I didn't even have a name or a color until about 3/4 of the way through the first chapter and I had to go back and replace a bunch of (name) and (color) entries in my document. I didn't pick a pony type (earth pony) until part way through the second chapter (then had to backtrack and put a hat on him, and give the hat some character). By the third chapter, I had his family figured out, and so on. If you squinted at the process, you could call it 'Drafting with extreme effort' I suppose. Three chapters in the middle happened totally just because I typoed 'Consort' instead of 'Escort' during an introduction. You can't outline that kind of serendipity.
His name actually came to me while looking out of the window, saying "He needs to be as plain as green grass."
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I suppose this is as much a post for me as it is for everypony else, because I like to pretend I'm a seat-of-your-pants type writer, but I'm really not. And I guess I'm not saying that SOYP writers aren't real, but that 1) some people are like me, who need the preparation but try to skip it to be lazy, and 2) even SOYP writers could probably get some use out of preparation. (Research definitely isn't optional, though as step 6 attests, you can basically do it whenever the need arises.) I also still think that my claim in step 4 is accurate: if you're sitting in front of the computer and can't come up with a single word, you need to go back and either think about your idea, make a stronger plan, or do more research. "Write drunk, edit sober" means you just write whatever comes to mind and edit later; if you can't do that (i.e. if you're not an SOYP writer), then you need to make a stronger plan.
In the end, I'm a little biased against SOYP writers because, as I said, I tell myself I'm one when I'm really not. There's a certain value to serendipity and discovery, sure, but for me, that requires a lot more structure. Like, when I was writing "The Queen Beckons," I had basically the whole plot in mind from the start. (Considering I had a Shakespearean play to base it off of, that wasn't hard.
) But certain little details, like Lyra's scenes and the decision to change Twilight's name to
DarkBlack Nova, came spontaneously as I was writing. One of the themes that show up time and again in my writing is the power of names and identity over our actions, and both of those reflect that.4474419 4474715 I think the issue with ad-libbing isn't quite what everyone thinks it is. The problem with writing a story exclusively with improvisation is that it becomes hard to write any other way. And because improvisation is something that one ultimately has no control over, wriitng this exclusively puts one at the whims of inspiration.
This is the trap I fell into, and continue to fall into. I often put an excessive amount of improv into my writing, and over-relying on that causes its own set of problems.
Now obviously, I'm a proponent of some level of retroscripting. A little dash of it in the right spots can make a story more alive and real. But it is just another tool in a writer's toolbox, and a good writer should be familiar with all of their tools.
Rant aside, I have to likewise agree with the majority of this. I only have one caveat, though: do what works for you. If, at the end of the day, the story is written and it turned out alright, then the process you used to get there can be whatever you want. But that doesn't mean one should be afraid of trying a different approach, especially one that requires more work.
For my part, I have a large problem with step four. More than once, I've sat down to write a story, and a paragraph later I spent thirty minutes deciding on the main characters name, faffing around five websites in the process.
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You know, when I was originally going to write this, I was gonna say that step 4 was the hardest part, not the easiest. I got it into my head that because of the "write drunk, edit sober" concept, that meant drafting was as simple just sitting down and putting pen to paper, and if you couldn't do that, it was because you'd insufficiently prepped. Like I said, that point's sort of more to my benefit, as if to tell myself, "Hey, idiot! Finish your prepwork before you start writing!" I'd committed the classic "mind projection fallacy:" assuming everyone's brains are just like mine. 
Of course step 4 is the one everyone's complaining about.
...I think another name change is in order.
4476441 Well, I agree that step 4 can be made easier by having as many notes/outlines/prep done as possible. I don't know if a sample size of two people is enough to call yourself wrong
Ultimately, however, everyone's writing process is unique, and that's what makes commentary or advice about the process itself so difficult.
I think I would add one more method for "Conceiving the Idea." But it's also the hardest.
Basically, the original character-centered story. Almost completely new characters, new conflicts, new, scenarios, and possibly even new canon to fill in the gaps.
This is the type that requires a really good sense of world-building and planning. It almost always requires research, as you are creating lots of things you won't be an expert in. And it definitely requires a lot of imagination.
But it just didn't fit into your other categories.
(And by the way, thanks for the reminder not to edit while writing. While I find it fun, it does slow me down quite a bit.
Although I'm starting to think I'm the only person who actually enjoys editing.)
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Right, coming up with something whole cloth is pretty darn tough. I mean, I can do it if I strain a little. (Star Melody is a... vampire... who bakes pastries? Argh!) That's why most of my ideas tend to be inspired by things I interact with in my day-to-day. For example, I had this idea for a story about a little kid with the magic power to make imaginary objects real. So if he pretended to drink from an imaginary mug, or if he saw someone mime throwing a rock at a window, the mug would remain "real" for someone else to drink from, and the rock would go crashing through the window. I got this idea from watching Steven Colbert: I noticed that whenever he would perform a miming gesture, he would set the object down or put it back where he got it when he was done with it, as though it were real. That's basically how I come up with my ideas: take some quirk or interpretation and run with it.
Well, that or dream images. Have I ever told this story on the blog? Basically, Mother and Child was based on an image I saw in a dream. All I had to go on was 1) the image of Pinkie jumping to catch a gem falling through the air while a bridge crumbles underneath her, and 2) that scene taking place in the past. I took that and expanded it to my current plan.
4521135 Yeah, I definitely understand that.
Usually, my story ideas tend to come from world ideas that I have. Or headcanon lore.
For example, the story I came up with now is very heavily based on my "grand unified theory of magic" that includes earth pony magic. Yet at the same time, a lot of it spurs from just creating a character, and seeing how things turn out in different situations. And another part is a "what if" scenario within that universe.
I don't really think anything is truly "original," in the definition that all the ideas don't come from anywhere. Your individual experiences influence how you write, and you gain inspiration from any media that you interact with.
But for some reason, in my writing style, I don't tend to like using too much from the show. I only really like to use characters that have been only loosely defined. If I ever use any of the Mane 6, I tend to have the story set years in the future.
And some of the solidifying canon of the show I choose to patently ignore. (Like the Griffon Kingdom or Flurry Heart as a natural-born alicorn)
i guess I just really like characters that I have more freedom to shape and mold.
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Sure, sure. Though... why not just write original fiction? Why write fanfics?
4521274 Because ponies are awesome.
But seriously, I still like writing in the Princesses, and using Equestria as a country, etc.
I thought of that a while ago - writing a pony story for the general public without violating copyright. And I might do that someday. It might succeed just for the novelty of it.
But I couldn't come up with any good ideas at the time. Besides, I am still in the learning phase, and while I would say my fics are above average (now), I wouldn't say that I'm ready yet to start publishing novels. Sure, my ideas may be good enough, but the words that make them up? Not as much.
But that might just be my perfectionism.