Tuesday, May 19, 2009

What is Your Favorite Stage in Writing?

I've said it before in one of my blogs (don't ask me which one, I've had a horrible attack of mommy-brain this week) that writing has many stages. I've listed what I think to be the more important and popular ones.

The Embryo Stage: A flicker of an idea sparks in your head and you jot it down, then spend days (or weeks--or longer for some) pondering about how to make it into a full fledged, interesting story.

The Fetus Stage: Content with your lose idea, you jump head first into outlining, plotting, listing characters, and overall developing the core of your story. This is a rapid stage of growth, but to you it takes forever because you just want to start getting that story written!

The Baby Stage: The beginnings of your creation. The ideas flow, and though the first couple of chapters are hell because you haven't gotten into the flow of your voice or of the story, or perhaps your main character, you are filled with an exhausted type of excitement. You can't sleep at night because your characters talk to you, or scenes from an unwritten part of your story play in your head instead of dreams. You obsess over every little thing.

The Love Stage: You are more than obsessed now. You are completely and hopelessly in love with your project. It's all you think about, all you dream about (it still keeps you up at night but now you tend to look forward to it). You're body has adjusted to the lack of sleep your ideas are at fault for, and every chance you get you want to spend time writing. Words flow like the most beautiful waterfall you've ever seen. You're on a roll, you've found your voice, and everything is coming out perfect.

The Oh-My-God-I've-Written-A-Book Stage: You've finished. Your brain feels empty, you feel drained. All of your creative energy has out poured into this project and you're thrilled at having a finished manuscript, but are terrified you'll have no creative juices left for the next one. You walk around in a daze, not quite believing yet you have an actual, written story.

The Toddler Stage: Revisions. Revision hell, more like it. Tedious, challenging, not to mention you rely on caffeine and Ibuprofen to keep the headache away. You fear you have no idea what you're doing. What kind of crazy person where you to think you could write? Everything seems to look like crap, but you trudge through because you love the story, the characters, everything, and hope that with proper care, it might turn into a shiny hardcover with beautiful illustration.

OK, I could seriously go on and on. I, personally, love The Love Stage, when (aside from my family at times) it's all I can think about and everything seems to work to my favor. But which one do you hate to love? Or love to love?

5 comments:

  1. Definitely the "Toddler" stage, when you are teaching your baby to walk. ;)

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  2. I love that metaphor! Yep, I can see that . . . it's striving for independence, where it doesn't need you to sell the story anymore, it's getting to a point where it will sell on its own. Good thinking, Rie! And thanks for stopping by.

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  3. I like the pre-embryo stage: what I like to think of as "makin' babies" stage, where I'm all passionately excited about the idea and I want to spend every waking moment with it. But before the hard part begins.

    I also like the "kindergarten" stage, where I'm entering the final edits and am getting reader comments back.

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  4. Bryn, I'll agree - - making babies is always fun! And it's such a thrill when you get one of those awe inspiring ideas, too.

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  5. I love the baby stage, when the characters are talking and you are filled with adrenaline and hope.

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