I think every writer has to find what works for them. This is great advice. ;)
 

Okay, that REALLY made me laugh!
 

The point "Let some stuff that you think is interesting drop away," is an important one. My mentor, Neil Postman, used to talk about how people fall in love with a sentence, but sometimes need to let it go because it just doesn't fit in with that they're writing. And for myself, after putting a lot of words down in a first draft, I think of my task as akin to that of a sculptor, chipping away everything that doesn't look like it's part of the article, chapter, or poem.
 

Writing begets writing. I love that. I've written so little this summer. Last night I worked on an article. That gave me the initiative to edit a story. Today, I'm eagerly jumping in and having a rendevous with the computer keyboard! Writing does beget writing.

You have a great week, too!
 

LOL @ the sketch. Great advice as always. Now back to writing.
 

Whatever works for any given writer. Thomas Hardy wrote from an outline. I find my first drafts as sparse and I go back and add details and fill them out. According to his essays on writing, that is how Mario Vargas Llosa works.
 

Yes I totally agree with the quote about not planning your work with sketch cards etc. When I plan my scripts I have a basic idea in my head what it will be about and where I need to take it but what happens in between is all part of the writing process and anything can happen from then on. I usually write over a period of time too. I write a basic script maybe 20 - 30 minutes long and then leave it for a period of time whilst I create new concepts and then I add them making it longer and then leave it again and then bombard it until I have a 90 minute script or thereabouts. It isn't actually tjhat difficult taking something from 45 minutes to 90 minutes because creative freedom permits any opportunity to be discovered.
 

I have to work from an outline - I suppose I'm just not talented enough to make a complicated structure work by winging it. That or I'm just anal. Besides, I don't find outlines confining at all. Just a guide--even if it's very developed because everything needs to be fleshed out and new ideas will come. I feel more confident with a foundation than without one.
 

I couldn't agree more, I am finishing my first novel this month, and the first chapter I wrote ended up being chapter two in part two of the novel. I used a rough plot outline, and a character outline, but then when you throw the characters into the plot strange things happen.
New side stories pop up and demand to be told. Tangent unfold and collapse and the taperstry of the novel is weaved richer for the unexpected anecdotes that creep into a story.
So in my practice an outline is good to use, like a road map, but sometimes you have to take the scenic stop-off and explore a little.
 

This is so me. I'll spend time counting my credit card points to avoid writing. Need to print this out, inflate it and post it on the ceiling above my desk :)


Allie Standifer