What do you think of this list of writing tasks?

15 posts / 0 new

Mon, 2012-10-29 16:41

Hi All,

Pauper here again. If you didn't see my last post, I am doing a project for graduate school about the writing process. I received some great feedback from ABC tales and want to thank everybody who helped me out. I still need a little bit of help, however.

I've included below and attached a list of general tasks that writers complete during the writing process (the attached version is formatted better). I have focused more on what writers do, rather than how they do it. Please note that these tasks are not necessarily performed in any particular order and that not all people perform each of these tasks while writing.

This task list is meant to be as exhaustive as possible, so I would really appreciate it if you could give it a quick look and let me know if I missed anything, or if you have any corrections, clarifications, or suggestions. You could also let me know which tasks you think are most and least frequent.

Again, I appreciate everyone's help so much!

The Tasks:

• Inspiration — find an external or internal source that will inspire ideas and emotions (e.g. a book, dictionary, place, picture, feeling, etc.).

• Ideas — form, preserve, and evaluate ideas for your writing
a.Generate and record ideas
b.Reconstruct scenes, people, and emotions from
memory
c.Receive feedback on ideas
d.Decide whether to write about the idea

•Planning — organize a strict or flexible representation of the writing piece’s characters, plot, subplots, ancillary plots, emotional contours, and ultimate message (e.g. plot outline, emotional contour map, character notes, etc.).

•Research — experience or learn about the writing piece’s subject matter (e.g. if you are writing about a village in Peru, you may research Peruvian culture or visit Peru).

•Pre-writing — explore and evaluate ideas through writing and prepare the writing environment.
a.Create a pre-writing atmosphere
b.Do exploratory writing to see if your ideas work
in fiction
c.Further develop characters
d.Develop alternative plot threads and subplots

•Writing — transfer ideas, feelings, thoughts, plots, characters, etc. to paper/digital format.
a.Just write
b.Evaluate the writing piece while writing it
c.Force/encourage the reader to keep reading
d.Enjoy the emotions and physiological responses
experienced while writing

•Feedback — obtain and evaluate outside perspectives on your work.
a.Decide who to show the writing to.
b.Seek help from more experienced or learned
writers.
c.Focus on a part of the story you have been
putting off.
d.Evaluate Feedback.
i.Decide what feedback is useful.
ii.Decide between two opposite perspectives on
feedback.
iii.Decide what feedback to incorporate into
your writing.
e.Find answers to the following questions:
i.Do people like what I have written?
ii.Do I like what I have written?
iii.Do people understand the depth of the
writing piece and its subtext, or just
understand it at a superficial level?
iv.Am I writing to please people?
v.Where and why is the story unclear?
vi.Where and why is the story’s rhythm or flow
hindered?
vii.Is my writing publishable?
viii.Am I satisfied with what I have written,
or do I want to revise/edit what I have
written?

•Editing — make the writing piece better
a.Compare the original version and the revised
version
b.Make corrections to plot
c.Incorporate new ideas
d.Incorporate feedback I have received

Mon, 2012-10-29 18:05

celticman

yes, but seems very structured. There's no such thing as pre-writing. There's only writing and not writing. And is my writing publishable? is something a writer can ask but can't answer. It's outside his/her control and much of the belief that is is publishable may be based on delusion. So in a way it is an endogenous and exongenous attribute. And anyway, publishers don't really exist. With the growth of self publishing more and more questions are being asked about why not do it yourself.

Mon, 2012-10-29 18:21

Chinobus

"There's nothing to writing. You just sit down next to the typwriter and open a vein." -Red S. There are many thought processes, forms, and styles of writers out there that one way of doing it does not work for another writer and vice versa. The most important effort is just doing it and go into a zone I call "The Imaginary Conversation Zone." As you may have guessed its just a spaced out area in your mind where you talk to yourself until your on the verge of tears. Its like meditation and a cross of mild schitzophrenia. Stephen King was a college english teacher who threw away his first work of "Carrie" which was then saved by his wife who encouraged him to prove her wrong. Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird" with no exact prior education and writing projects and openly stated she really wrote it just for the hell of it. Two famous authors but two very different means of obtaining literary immortality. Do what you can when you can, thats my motto and best of luck writing friend. - Chinobus -

- Chinobus -

Mon, 2012-10-29 18:29

Highhat

I think Celticman is right in saying this is too structured. And Chinobus is right too. Just write. But there are a couple of points on your checklist that are relevant but there are also points that are quite obvious and which you do not need to have in a checklist. Go with your gut feeling most of the way.

Mon, 2012-10-29 18:45

The Other Terre...

Wow, this is like another world. Personally the key rule in that list is the 'Just write' one.

Mon, 2012-10-29 19:37

scratch

My guess here pauper is that for your post grad' dissertation you need to perform some stat's analysis and therefore you need some level of quantifiable data - hence the structured approach to the checklist. That's going to be awkward in terms of getting the feedback but I can see why you want people to respond in this way. Is this of your own devising or one that has been validated elsewhere. Validation is going to be an important point in terms of the reliability of the outcomes but I guess that you already know that! I'll try to answer your points in the way that you want and I hope that when others read this post they can see the rationale behind the structured approach. If I am miles off track and talking rubbish please accept my apologies.

Mon, 2012-10-29 19:47

(Reply to #6) #7

pauper

Hello Scratch, In a sense, the list is not meant to be structured, as it is not meant to list tasks in a sequential order or imply that all writers complete all of the tasks listed. For example, several people indicated that they do indeed skip most of these tasks and just dive right into writing. However, every task on this list was reported by an actual writer. I did not create the list of tasks from my own experience, but pulled the tasks from what writers have reported. All of your feedback has still been useful in understanding that the writing process is not normally structured and that many of these tasks are much less common. And for that, I thank you.

Mon, 2012-10-29 19:55

scratch

It is providing for a very interesting forum topic pauper.

Mon, 2012-10-29 20:14

The Walrus

Personally speaking, any structured and/or analytical approach I have tried (and I've tried a few over the years) fails to ring my bell, my mind just contracts, screams in indignation and refuses to play. Maybe it's just me..... Like a few others who have commented I find the best solution is just to sit down and write, see what you come up with and take it from there.

Mon, 2012-10-29 20:43

#10

jolono

Wow, I never knew that writing was so stuctured. Personally i just write! I sit down and i just write. Inspitation comes from everywhere. Good luck Pauper. As Scratch said anything we can do to help just ask mate.

Mon, 2012-10-29 21:32

#11

The Other Terre...

I'm really enjoying this insight into the academic approach Pauper. On inspiration, one of the best sources of inspiration is: the challenge. Whether it be a writing competition to a theme, the weekly IP tony sets, other writing challenges on other sites or challenges set by a friend. In terms of what directly inspires a story, 'listening to people on the bus' is a classic. If that doesn't work, the old 'take some existing characters and throw them into a new situation' usually does the trick.

Tue, 2012-10-30 11:00

#12

hulsey

I too just sit down and write, without referring to a task list. My imagination, imagination and ideas come from within. I usually base my characters on real people, who are unaware that I study them and their traits. For research, I either visit places or surf the internet. I write at home on my laptop and occasionally listen to classical music, which relaxes me, although when socialising, I prefer modern music. When I started writing some ten years ago, I had four friends, who read over my work and gave me their true assessment. Editing of course is an important part of the process, and I admit to sometimes having to read my novels four or five times before publishing. If you feel comfortable using your guidelines, Pauper, then do so. Every writer has his or her own method of writing. Whatever you decide, enjoy writing and good luck for the future.

Tue, 2012-10-30 14:00

#13

Sooz006

Hulsey, love, I think you ran out of fingers at ten, surely it's longer than that... isn't it? Bet you, if you take your socks off and count again, you'll find that it's at least twelve that we've known each other.

Tue, 2012-10-30 15:56

#14

hulsey

Really, Sooz? Nurtured Evil was published in 2003 and so I based my estimate on that. I suppose I was writing a few years before that, but doesn't time fly? Okay at English, shits at maths. I must do better. You make me feel so old now, Sooz.

Tue, 2012-10-30 18:56

#15

Richard L. Prov...

Hello pauper---each of us has a different style to self-inspire, and whatever works is the best method. Why not take one of your recent works and backtrack from finish to start? First rule---carry a workable pen and paper, at all times (pencil lead breaks, and besides, who carries a sharpener). Richard

Richard L. Provencher