The three books I've read on novel writing and how to do it, say very similar things. Do those of you who are writing books all use a similar process, or are your systems unique to yourselves?

There's a system?

And here I've been pulling my hair out and listening to loud music.

Back to the drawing board...

Seriously though, what books have you read, because I have no system whatsoever!

my system - such that it is - imagining, feeling and dreaming it - then writing as quick as possible before the passion and enthusiasm fades...taking a deep breath and waiting for inspiration to strike again....
Shads
(unprofessional writer who has read all the "how to do it" "how not to do it" books and never been able to do it their way)

Becca - please do post some brief summary of what you know on the subject - I'd be very interested.

Agnieszka,
Well, one book I read suggested that you make profiles for all your characters and he divided characters up into master, major and minor characters. In these profiles you built up a whole description, psychology and a life for them. You kept this info in a card index that you could easily refer to. I'd have thought that was the sort of thing you kept in the card index in your mind unless you were writing War and Peace.
He talked about knowing what your ending was first and working backwards to build up the scenes before, each having to be relevent to the ending and each building up the complexity and tension through the novel. That made some sense to me.
A lot of it was general stuff about making your characters believable, being careful about names, the sort of thing most people who write already know.
The other guy had an interesting system in which he used things called section pages and it was based on the idea of cause and effect, i.e. something happens to the main character, say, and he/she responds in such and such a way, consequently such and such a thing happens and the consequences of that thing bring about another reaction. I know this sounds like claptrap as I write it, I'm not explaining it well. I think what these guys were trying to do was to analyse the processes of telling a story and create 'maps' of the story if you like, before ever starting the novel, so you've got specific guidelines to follow all the way through the novel, so you don't wander off anywhere and forget things you've already written etc. Does this make any sense?
Becca.

Yes- but also sounds very much the complex, technical process that screenwriters often use- and there are hundreds of books on theory of screen. Most of it's similiar to what you describe, actually, characters' journeys, story arcs, subplots, cause and effect of actions.
I think when you're writing a whole book/screenplay/any really long, complex piece, it's probably useful to map out vaguely where you're going- I always do, experience has ataught me I need to aim for something- but I agree with you about the cards. Having said that, if it works for you as a writer, great- try it and see. One 'how to' book I will recommend however is 'The Creative Writing Coursebook', edited by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs, published by Macmillan. Not what it sounds- a collection of really inspiring ideas to kick start writing/refresh your ideas, from working writers who use them themselves, also essays from contemporary writers- novelists, poets, stage writers etc- on how to challenge/solve problems etc. Really fab- good onbe to have to hand if little blips/blocks occur.

Thanks for that tip Anna, I've just ordered it from Amazon, but had to find it by subject matter rather than title. I put in 'creative writing' and found it. It had good reviews.
Becca.

We may have various waystations in common, but each author follows a unique path. Personally, I have found that my planned stories end up what is best described as "a bit clunky", wheras my better efforts sprang from running with an idea and seeing where it led. If this is so, then our major works may come when we manage to get ourselves out of the way.
I wasted years [decades, even] trying to emulate favourite authors rather than be true to myself, even to the point of excising semi-colons after reading Kurt Vonnegut [I put most of them back later]. The world isn't waiting for a Vonnegut clone or the next JK Rowling - it wants the unique, refreshing YOU waiting in the wings for an agent to pick up on.
"How to..." books DO contain useful pointers, but if the authors of these books really knew how to, they would have done it rather than write about it. Okay, apologies to Orson Scott Card...
The only unique system I have for writing is to make myself available, to constantly revue and improve my efforts to date, and to be true to my style and perspective.
Be yourself, and hopefully someone will want to publish it.

I don't like writing with an ending in mind.

For me, part of the enjoyment is seeing what happens to the characters I have created.

As such I tend to spurt it all out in one go, then leave it, when I really should be revising it.


I suppose if you're writing a novel with plenty of characters it would be worth noting certain things about them, but then again, if it's that complicated to write, will any reader be able to keep up?

bjlangley,
Good point you made. I suppose I'm attracted to the idea of the ending first because a lot of my short stories start from an incident or event that becomes the end, or very near it.
Becca.

Hmm, a lot of possible routes. If I had known all there was to achieve and avoid before I started, I might not have begun. I started wanting to write because of a plot in my head. I then wrote something else for practise (no plot - just starting and letting characters play). From this point I learnt a lot from kind friends. The big jump came with submitting to strangers, particularly trained writers.

I think (once you have got the bug), you should read everything about writing and every thing written that you can manage in your own field of writing. Then, knowing all the alternatives, do it your own way.

I build, like a sculpture on a framework, there is a basic plot - some exciting conjunction people and circumstances - but I don't mind changing it. Then I build on it. I tend to write an outline in terms of chapters, but this needs endless updating. Then I build non-linearly on the frame. I sometimes cheat and write an exciting chapter way down the line. This will give me a headache later on when it doesn't fit the character that has developed and I don't want to throw it out.

All this on the strength of one whole, one half and many outlines of novels? I will probably work quite diferently after another year or so's experience.