Authors... How Do You Write?

I usually start with a story inside my head.Then I have to create everyday surroundings and believable persons.Then comes the hardest taskt; I always feel, that there ought to be, what I prefer to dexcribe as the raisin in the end of the sausage. This will often take a very long time.

Sometimes I have storyline thought out, sometimes I have scene in my head and I write the story around it (how did they end up in that scene, what happens after that scene). A few times I've planned to write in the style of another author (The Magistrate and Arizona Vacation were both written in the style of those old Blue Moon/Olympia books). Some stories came about when I became annoyed at something (usually a commercial) and decided to parody it in a way that involved spankings. Other times there are stories based on previous stories, when I decided "that could led to this this" - not sequels so much as writing stories set in the same world (the Sylvan Cycle comes to mind).

But mainly, I write when I have free time and decide to devote to sitting in front of the computer - typing. Without making that decision the ideas never leave my head to be shared with the world. Sometimes I'll tyoe while watching TV or watching something I've I downloaded. When I do the later I'll open Notepad and adjust it so that only about 6 lines can be seen, then have a movie (or TV show) running on the rest of the screen.

But however you write, actually doing the writing is the most important step. Without that, the rest of the discussion is pointless.

Goodgulf

I've only winged it with one story: An Epic Tail of Ridiculous Proportions . I thought of the entire story in bed one night, and then, not being able to sleep, got up and wrote it all down. I created the dialogue along the way, and finished the 6000+ word story it in a couple of hours. I did very little editing later on. I liked the way it came out; the story reads the same way it was created, kind of like a faux stream-of consciousness flow of words from both the author (me) and the narrator. I didn't get too many comments on it, so I'm not sure how it was received elsewhere. But this really was one of those stories that I actually DID write just for my satisfaction.

Most of my other stories are more conventional, and are written in the more conventional ways that the other posters here have described. I usually get an idea - sometimes based on something I've read, or seen, or maybe just out of the blue - and I write it down somewhere. Often, I don't get back to that idea for weeks, or even months. When I finally do sit down to write, I find that I can write most of the story pretty easily, much more easily than I would have thought. In fact, I'm often surprised how easily it comes out. My own theory is that the idea has been germinating in my head from its inception until the day I write it, so that when I am at the keyboard, most of it is already written, though I don't consciously realize that.

I find the hardest part to get right is the dialogue. I can (and often do) write a lot of dialogue, but just as often I go back and change it, because I'm not satisfied with the tone, or the point of view: Would a 15 y/o teen age girl actually SAY what I'm making her say? Would she say it that way, or would she use simpler language, or maybe more complex language. Would she find a spanking situation funnier than I think, or would she be more surprised at it, and show her surprise in her tone, or in her words. Would she giggle and laugh in that situation, or would she find it weird, and maybe even a little creepy? It's been a long time since I was a teenager, and I'vie never been a teen age girl, so I'm not sure if I'm getting it right.

The same thing happens with adult stories, though I think I have a little more experience in that area, so the dialogue is easier to write. But dialogue is so important, that even if you are a little off, I think it throws the story off too.

Spanking stories are relatively short so I don't usually write an outline first. I usually have the whole story set in my head before I start writing it. Of course it doesn't always come out exactly as I originally imagined it. Often new angles will come to mind as I'm writing. Characters sometimes develope a strange will of their own and take off on an unexpected tangent even as I'm typing. That's a big part of the fun of writing though. It's best not to fight it.

You are so right. Bad dialogue can destroy an otherwise good story. An author has more discretion on how he/she tells the rest of the story (unless, perhaps, it's told in first person, where the ENTIRE story has to be in the authentic voice of a character), but any dialogue needs to reflect what the character would say IN THAT SITUATION. The author has to be extremely careful when he/she's using a character's words simly to tell the reader what needs to be known. ("Oh, it looks like that big, heavy two-foot long paddle with wholes drilled in it would hurt terribly if it smacked my bare bottom." Sure, I exaggerated here, but I've sen similar if not quite so blatant examples in actual stories.)

One of the things I feel destroys dialogue is good grammar. People don't speak the way they write so if the grammar is too good it stops being believable. Unless you have a pair of grammar teachers talking there should be grammatical mistakes in the dialogue.

And in a way we're lucky that we aren't writing to a word count. We can write sentences such as:
"Um, well, er, you know, um, it's, um, well..."
where professional authors can't. This summer I had a chance to listen to a "how to write blah fiction" presentation at a sci fi con and the author hosting it bemoaned that she couldn't use "um, er" and all the other words that teens pepper their dialogue with. She had wanted to do write some dialogue like that, but her editor pointed out that people weren't paying to read line after line of havering.

But she did have some good tips about dialogue. When it came to believable teenage dialogue, she recommended sitting in a food court with your laptop open and earbuds on (but iPod off) - and listening to the flow and tone of the teenagers while they talked. If you do it for a few days (while making notes on the laptop) you can pick up most of the recent slang. Then she pointed out that the earbuds were optional - that most of the kids will talk as if you're not there (because you're too to exist in their world). The author pointed out that the worst that can happen is someone clues in on the fact that she's listening and started trying to shock her...

When doing dialogue, there's a difference between "Hello, and how are you doing?" and "Hi, how are ya?". One is clearly right to use to use while the other is clearly wrong - but which is right and which is wrong depends on who is talking.

Goodgulf

Name the day and I will tell you how I wrote the story. Other then that I have no clue as to how I come up with these stories. Sometimes when I go back and read them after they are posted I wonder where the heck did that come from.

Oddly enough, I find the dialogue the easiest part to write. I just seem to 'hear' my characters talking.


Up to a point, I agree, though I do know dozens of people who use accurate grammatical constructions when speaking. They may use contractions (I'm, he's, we're) but these are not grammatically incorrect. I also know many people who say things like "I've saw that film," or "I done that yesterday." The confusion of past tenses and past participles (yes, I am a 'grammar' teacher) is so common in this part of the world that it's almost part of the vernacular. However, if I was writing a character who would say it that way, then I would write it that way.

I agree,and would do the same, within limits. It can be grating (to some of us anyway) to read too much of it. Of course, if I want the character to be grating...

Here's a sample of dialogue from a half started story set in the Appalachia Mountains in the early 70s. I was using a Appalachia / English dictionary and phrase I'd found on the net and eventually reached the point where I said "No, I can't keep writing this".

"Your mama still whup you don't she?" Mary asked.
"Hush yourself. That ain't no question to be axin'." Bessie retorted as her face began to flame.
"Your mama'll tell me." Mary smiled. "Still got that brush in you drawer?"
"Ifing I does why not take to mama and ax her forwhat its."

According to the source I was using, the above is correct spelling and grammar for that dialect. I just couldn't keep it clear enough in my own head to get the story out.

Goodgulf