Comments on: Writer’s Corner: What’s your writing comfort zone?

By: Kathleen Givens

Kathleen Givens — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:41:36 +0000

My process is much the same as yours, Julie. I have to know the characters and have a really good idea of the major turning points, then I take off. A good part of the fun for me is discovering the story as I write it. But I need a basic framework or I waste a lot of time and churn out pages that have to be trashed later.

By: Kathleen O'Reilly

Kathleen O'Reilly — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:38:56 +0000

You could tell???

By: Julie Kenner

Julie Kenner — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:25:52 +0000

ROFL. So, um, you feel strongly about that?

By: Julie Kenner

Julie Kenner — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:25:18 +0000

So true! Was the first, actually. Nobody Does It Better dude

By: Julia London

Julia London — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:08:18 +0000

For me, I think in thirds — the conflict set up in the first third, what the hell are they going to do in the middle, and the conflict resolution in the third. This is rough, rough, rough…but it’s at least a general road map.

What I have to really think about is where the story really starts. Some of the things I see in contests, etc., is a lot of beginning writers don’t understand where the story actually starts. That’s so critical IMO. For me, it takes me a few attempts to find it, but once I know it, I can start writing.

By: Kathleen O'Reilly

Kathleen O'Reilly — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:18:26 +0000

I just start with a fig of something that I need to transform into the opening scene and I usually know at least the initial conflict between the hero and the heroine. I can write three chaps without knowing nothing about anything, but at the point I get to chapter three, I have to step back and look at the road. I think it’s important to figure out your process and respect your process. For instance, I will NEVER, EVER crank through a rough draft of a book again. Yeesh. Vomit. Hurl. Many, many lost days.

By: Dee Davis

Dee Davis — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:06:36 +0000

I still remember when the hero in your second novel realized he had a brother—who knew???? LOL — great topic!

By: Korean Celt

Korean Celt — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:55:43 +0000

The most important thing for me is knowing how I want a story to end. If I don’t have an ending, I feel like I don’t know where I’m going. Even if I only have an ending, I can building something around that much easier than if I have everything but. It’s weird.

By: Julie Kenner

Julie Kenner — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:33:23 +0000

Oh my gosh! How awesome is that! Congratulations (and thanks!)

By: Julie Kenner

Julie Kenner — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:06:47 +0000

I didn’t used to be a talker…maybe it’s my way of rebelling against too much cyber communication? LOL. I find my process evolves. And good point about Mateo. You are so smart….