Writing a story

Post by **Aleister** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 8:42 pm

This may be a matter of personal preference, but I want to know how you all start writing a story.

Do you tend to come up with the general outline first, and plan more and more until you are reading to start writing? Or do you like to just jump into it with whatever thought comes into your mind, expanding it as you write, and deciding on things as you write?

I am curious to hear your thoughts on this.. :happy1:

decadence · Post by **decadence** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 10:01 pm

Speaking only for myself, I just sit down and begin writing...

nortonew · Post by **nortonew** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 10:29 pm

Usually, I'll just be rumaging through some strange Fortean info or perusing some online copy of some Goetic text and I'll see something that just triggers an inspiration.

At other times, I'll just come up with a phrase I like and I'll just sit down to quickly type it down for later use - and end up writing a whole story around it before I get up again.

Lagwolf · Post by **Lagwolf** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 8:53 am

I generally have written the story in my head (partially in my dreams) before I get to writing. What takes me some time is actually getting what is in my head to the paper.

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 1:14 pm

I have an idea first. Only once did the title come first. The idea comes from real life and in the beginning is very normal and everydayish. But Ithink the most normal things are also the scariest. Anyway, its all about the feel.

Post by **Aleister** » Wed Aug 11, 2004 2:42 pm

Very nice answers indeed!

NickolausPacione · Post by **NickolausPacione** » Sat Aug 21, 2004 3:06 pm

I will let it come to me when it the time is right sometimes it would take me reading around at other stories online before I see myself coming up with an idea. Lake Fossil came about from reading the works of Angeline Hawkes-Craig and anthology mate on Tabloid Purposes, Nicholas S. Stember.

That story isn't a horror story but has elements of a Sci-Fi -- it is more Sci-Fi than anything and it was my first attempt to write a story that is a departure from the Mythos tinged horror. Insect came from a real life incident with some ground bees. A Cerebral Threshold was something I came up with because I always thought of Glen Ellyn having a Mythos vibe to it. The downtown area resembles something like Baltimore in parts so I thought I would have a little fun with it.

It is very hard to pinpoint the inspirations for a good number of my ideas -- namely from nightmares and health problems. Though the Sci-Fi story was inspired by Angeline's style of writing. I was trying to step away from Poe's approach which is also my approach now or days.

Some stories end up coming out very fast but others take a week or two to get written False Healer didn't take that long.

Benedict · Post by **Benedict** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 4:00 pm

I start writing by either slowing down my mind or speeding up my body. I can envision an entire story in my head in the time it takes me to write or type a paragraph, at which point, I lose interest in writing, or the details start draining out like water through a large clean pipe.

I wish I could give you folks some of my writing to read, but unless you want to read my 6th grade essay on nuclear war, I don't _have_ any for you...

Post by **Aleister** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 4:06 pm

It's ok

How did you do on the essay? *grin*

I give writing a thought every once in a while. That is the main reason I asked this question. I am not sure if I am going to attempt anything anytime soon

Benedict · Post by **Benedict** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 4:43 pm

I won first place in the contest (The Writer's Block contest, sponsored by the Athol Daily News), and was published on the front page of the Writer's Block supplement.

Just in the time I've been reading through these forums today, I've had entire stories go through my head... but writing them down...

When I do write, I usually write the first few paragraphs or chapter and the last paragraph or chapter (depending upon the length of the story), and then outline the middle, including any relevant details I feel I might forget. I then let it sit for a period of time, sometimes minutes, sometimes decades... (I still have unfinished outlines from that same 6th grade class, a decade and a half ago...) When they get finished, they get finished.

I have had very little of my work published, only a few items. Some of it was in school, and one or two pieces on the web. (Where oh where has my little gremlin gone? I can't find the url's, and I'm not sure that the stories are still there even if I could find the url's.) I've tried my hand at mythos fiction, and haven't been able to finish e'en one wee tale I enjoyed when rereading it... I think I threw those all away... Oh, well...

NickolausPacione · Post by **NickolausPacione** » Thu Sep 02, 2004 11:17 pm

It all depends for me -- I will sometimes get the core paragraphs written first then what I would do is expand on those and turn them into paragraphs. When I started writing the Mythos I was 20 years old -- but I was writing since the age of 14. The first story I wrote was a werewolf story that carried a machete, then it progessed from there into something like what would become INSECT or House of Spiders when it came to horror. The writing I did just got darker and darker.

Lagwolf · Post by **Lagwolf** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 7:42 am

I am writing a short story right now. I seem to write them when I have to do so to get the story out of my head. Most of the time they are fairly fully formed and its a question of getting it down.

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 1:14 pm

I for one cant seem to write creativly when I am idle and have nothing to do. I have to be under pressure or crowded with physical work or so on.

Post by **Aleister** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 2:41 pm

I guess everyone is completely different when it comes to inspiration.

NickolausPacione · Post by **NickolausPacione** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:31 pm

Very much so -- I am working on a shark story right now and it is my close to the length of my longer stories right now. Lake Fossil is 6,314 words and The Statue is 6,170 words. This new one is currently at about 6,000 even but I am working it up to making it one of my longest stories to date and it will be exclusive to Tabloid Purposes. I got an artist for it and will be getting the introduction in a few days. The story is when its done will be the longest I've written and by the sounds of it will be longer by about 2,000 words if possible. I will be happy if it reached the 7500 word mark. One thing I noticed this year is that I have gotten a lot longer with my short stories and some of the longer ones will appear in the upcoming anthology. I will read something and it will come out into what I am writing sometimes -- much as what I am reading these days, Twelve Days of Terror, JAWS, and a few collections of short stories then The Everborn by Nicholas Grabowsky.

The Temple of Dagon

Writing a story

Writing a story

How I begin writing a story...