feathersescapism:thisdiscontentedwinter:aggressivewhenstartled:rennemichaels:dls-ao3:chickwithmonkey
feathersescapism:thisdiscontentedwinter:aggressivewhenstartled:rennemichaels:dls-ao3:chickwithmonkey:writers-hq:Forever indebted to @mostlysignssomeportents for this one. THIS IS BRILLIANT I should definitely start doing this. I’ve lost HOURS doing research for a line that I ended up scrapping. Oh I like TK I usually do this with brackets like [number] or [thing]. Or, obviously, [joke] and [funny thing] and I think once [chad help]. TK (or whatever format you use–sometimes I highlight the blank space or just leave some random asterisks) is a lifesaver! If this is the permission you need to write it a way that works for you, great! In case there’s anyone out there who IS like me, though: for me this is a huge wad of horseshit. If the detail I don’t know has stopped me then I’m not going to be able to move on without finding the answer because what comes after will be built on that detail. If it turns out there AREN’T any Catholic churches in Brooklyn that could reliably be assumed not to say something that will piss off my character during their Midnight Mass on the 24th then his friend isn’t going to advise him to go anywhere for Midnight Mass which means this entire next part of the story where he has a particular convo that is PROMPTED by the experience of going to Midnight Mass is not going to happen.And that means everything afterwards is going to be different and yes it will be in meaningful ways. The thing is, for me, I won’t get interrupted in my writing momentum for anything that ISN’T like this. I might go back and add local colour details that weren’t necessary for the story later, but that stuff isn’t going to interrupt my flow. Other people’s “composition brain” works different from mine. If I’m tired or having a hard time, my drafts get very spare - down to dialogue and (boring repetitively phrased) blocking plus any thoughts that are actually immediately relevant expressed baldly. They’re chunky and stilted that way. Because those are the absolutely crucial elements I need in order to find out how this moment happened, how this series of events led to another series of events. Not everyone does that! So yeah. Too many of my details rely on nuanced understanding on places, things, and institutions. If I don’t research, I can’t write with nuance. Also, this ends up being something your editor will have to correct later… -- source link