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mrsren · 3 years

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Hi!! What does your writing routine look like? Do you write with or without music? What is something you like to do for each of your stories (outlines, character blurbs, etc)?

Hi!!

Over a year ago, my hobby of writing took up my life 24/7. I’ve since set some boundaries for myself and my habits look a lot different now. So while no one routine fits all, here’s how I manage my writing.

I don’t set word count goals anymore.

I had heard people say they didn’t, and I just could not let go of my tracker, or goals. Then I realized how it was draining me, and since I picked it back up, I didn’t set a real goal. I put a number there of what would be nice to do, and then found I surpassed it by just enjoying myself.

In my mind, goals have always been more of a I better hit this or I will have failed type of mentality. So goals just aren’t for me.

I tend to write with music. When I was sprinting in groups or with other fic writers, sometimes I got the surprised reactions. I’ve been asked how I write so quickly. Here’s what I do and it’s not for the faint of heart. Step one is the listen to music that is fast. Personally, I listen to Eminem. I tend to type as fast as the words. Step two, I use the most dangerous writing app and set the timer to three minutes (because I’m a chicken) and if you stop writing, it will delete everything.

I wrote three thousand words in 30 minutes just my muscle memory alone. It’s an excellent way for me to spit out rough drafts. The three thousand words I wrote was for Wanderlust, in the chapter where Hermione goes on a road trip with Pansy, Luna, and Ginny.

I always outline first. I write oneshots by accident because I always tend to want to write longer things. Outlining is different for everyone, but my first outline is always written by hand. I have found the ideas flow better for me when I’m putting pen to paper. I finished an outline last week and started another last night.

Outlining for me is structured like this on the page. (usually)

What are the core conflicts?

What are the cause and effect of these conflicts?

How do these characters know each other now versus the past. So, this part is where I put down minor things. Like events in the past, inside jokes, small details that you don’t have to tell a reader, but they will bleed in naturally if you know them.

From there, I start to tell myself the story. I tend to go in chronological order (or what I think it may be) but I almost ALWAYS end up rearranging plot elements, So, it’s one building block on top of another for me. And I keep going up, trying to make it more stable as I do or it will all fall down.

After, I type it. I don’t think I’ve ever had an outline under five thousand words. The one for Kismet is 10k (which that story is now hidden because it has not been updated and is potentially facing a rewrite). When I type it, it helps me remember the story.

Then I share it with someone who helps me storyboard. We usually call each other, arrange the plot, and create what I think of as the final outline.

Scrivener is what comes next. I break up the bullet points of an outline and form them into scenes. Each scene has a card, and when I’m writing in full screen mode, all I can see is my words and the scene card.

I don’t tend to do character blurbs but did use them for Hogwarts: Summer Camp. And this was super long but I love hearing about other writing routines and also talking about myself.

Here is a mild example of an outline. This one was for Fortuitous. If you’ve read the story, you might see how these are the bones for what was actually published. Thanks for asking me things!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/145-HEV2xes7QJsAbKxCWYYfHuIX46sotVANIpnEENKY/edit?usp=sharing

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