cruiscin_lan | Hey writers. Let me poll your brains.

Man. I've got writer's block like whoa right now. I can't write anything smutty, and I can't write anything even remotely humorous that doesn't turn to crack instantly. The only thing I can write right now is angst, and that is not working out with my

heroes_exchange prompt.

So you know what I'm going to do instead of write? I'm going to do a poll. I love polls.

For anyone who has ever written before, this one's for you. We'll be playing it fast and loose with definitions, so don't stress it too much. I'm just wondering what you write, why, and how. Ticky box poll so you can check as many boxes as you need!

[Poll #1502315]

What
I think, for me, most of these poll questions would depend on the fandom I'm writing for. I haven't written much for Veronica Mars, but what I have written leans towards angst/romance. Glee lends itself more to cracky or funny fics. I've written so much for Heroes that it probably relies more on the characters or pairings (i.e. Mohinder/Elle tends to be fluffy and silly, whereas Sylar/Claire is really dark and angsty).

Why
As far as why I write what I write is concerned, lately much of my output has been generated by prompts. I would even say that I prefer working with prompts for one primary reason: I like to know that someone's going to read what I've come up with. Normally the length or genre is dictated by the prompt or challenge, so that's taken care of for me. When I choose prompts, it's often determined more by what seems feasible than anything else. I tend to stick close to canon when I can.

How
My writing process right now is kind of ridiculous. For some reason when I write a scene I always start by writing the dialogue first, and then I go back and fill in all the action and description. While it's really useful to do this a lot of the time, it's not the best way way to go about writing scenes that don't require a lot of dialogue, like a really smutty scene, or a scene driven only by one character. I very rarely do any outlining, unless it's a really, really long fic or I'm trying to make sure it fits a specific prompt; otherwise my stories develop pretty much organically. I don't write from beginning to end, though - I normally start with one or two scenes and then fill in scenes around them as I feel necessary.

Okay, flist. Tell me about how you do things.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I once managed around 25,000 words simply from the prompt 'watermelon'.
I'd say "there are no words for how awesome this is" but in reality there are 24,999 words for how awesome this is. That's, like, half a novel based on a kind of fruit... that isn't even a lemon. *ba dum cha*

I tend to avoid prompts/challeges that pose time limits/lengths, mainly because things like that 'watermelon' prompt happen on a regular basis.
I've been trying to wean myself off of prompts/challenges, to no avail. I find them addictive, even when a prompt grabs me for longer than I intended. I can see how it would make sense to avoid them, especially considering how you have to budget your time.

I play scenes in my head like mini-movies until I find the one that lets the general outline of the story flow through
I'd really like to hear more about this. I think I do something similar (playing scenes mentally before recording them in text - I think the same thing came up earlier in the comments, too) and I wonder what exactly you mean by letting the general outline "glow through."

I'd say "there are no words for how awesome this is" but in reality there are 24,999 words for how awesome this is. That's, like, half a novel based on a kind of fruit... that isn't even a lemon. *ba dum cha*
It's awesome looking back on it now, but at the time it was a bit intimidating because up until that point, I'd been lucky if I'd written something that cleared 2,000 words.

I can see how it would make sense to avoid them, especially considering how you have to budget your time.
I don't tend to avoid prompts/challenges in general, just the timed ones. Like, I'm never going to sign up for Yuletide or a big bang, know you?

I'd really like to hear more about this. I think I do something similar (playing scenes mentally before recording them in text - I think the same thing came up earlier in the comments, too) and I wonder what exactly you mean by letting the general outline "glow through."
I think I meant flow not glow, sorry. *headdesks*

For me, mentally playing through a scene makes it easier to stay IC. I can see and hear them in my head in a way that's similar to how I've watched the show, so it's easier to tell when I'm putting words into their mouth or when it's something they really would say/do.

For the outline/plot, I basically let it play out in my head. I start with the basic idea, ask myself something like 'ok, how would this start out?' and get a first line and let it go from there. My 25k fic started with me having a basic idea of where it was going, and initially it was going to have alternate POVs for different scenes, but I couldn't see the story playing out. It wasn't until I figured out that it had to be from the set POV of a certain character that I got the story. Then it became a matter of 'OH! So, this happens and then she sees this and then this works like this...' and I could see the story playing out in my head.

For me, mentally playing through a scene makes it easier to stay IC.
I think this is true. You have to imagine all aspects of the character - even the details that might not make it into text. Like, much of the time it doesn't matter what a character is wearing, but picturing it in your mind is helpful most of the time.

P.S. "Glow through" was my bad, not yours. I need a beta for my comments, I think. :P

Hey writers. Let me poll your brains.

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