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Slaygrim
Learned Scribe
111 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Aug 2010 : 13:51:56
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...to finish a chapter on average? Just an average length chapter; I am curious as to how long it takes them to write it and how many times one typically goes back to revise and edit a chapter.
I know it's an odd question but I am curious. Any time I attempt to write something I spend HOURS going over a few short pages of the story and am constantly fixing errors or rewording paragraphs. I feel like the length of time I put into it is among the main reasons I always give up a few pages into telling a story. I suppose I feel discouraged by my inability to be satisfied with what I am putting down on paper. I feel that if my pace was like this throughout the entire length of a short story I would never finish it.
I am not really searching for how long it takes unpublished writers, but established authors who occassionally make appearances here. Does the story flow from your mind and onto the paper (computer) effortlessly or do you typically spend a lot of time going back and revising?
Thanks!
Note: I am not attempting to be a published writer-I lack the talent in story telling-but I do have a lot of fantastic ideas that I wish to explore with writing.
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Watch my gorgeous wife sing at:
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Garen Thal
Master of Realmslore
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2010 : 14:08:31
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I happen to know a few of these fabled FR authors, and aspire to be one myself, so I can definitively say: it really depends. Different authors work at different paces, and some excel at speed with, for instance, fight scenes, while others fly through banter and witty dialogue.
I've heard authors say that they can get through a chapter in one very good writing day, but penning a first draft is just that. It's folly for any author to expect perfection, or anything approaching it, on a first run. The goal should be to get the story on paper, and then to tighten and clarify the telling of that story with later revisions.
Some folks need a day, others need a week. It helps to remember that a chapter (as opposed to, say, a short story) needs to relate to a larger, more cohesive narrative, so you don't do all your writing and revising at once. You write, and continue the story, and modify what you've written before to match the bigger tale.
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Slaygrim
Learned Scribe
111 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 16:59:38
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| Thank you for responding! |
Watch my gorgeous wife sing at:
www.youtube.com/Airicx |
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
4598 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2010 : 00:11:34
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Totally varies by author, book, work load, etc., and all sorts of circumstances. Sometimes I only get a few sentences out, and sometimes I write 4 chapters in a single sitting. It depends.
Cheers |
Erik Scott de Bie
'Tis easier to destroy than to create.
Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars" |
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Richard Lee Byers
Forgotten Realms Author
USA
1814 Posts |
Posted - 09 Aug 2010 : 06:41:25
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| As Garen and Erik noted, this is something that varies greatly from author to author. On an average working day, I produce at least 1500 words of new material. Everything I write gets revised and polished at least half a dozen times before the editor (and ultimately the reader) sees it. |
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Slaygrim
Learned Scribe
111 Posts |
Posted - 10 Aug 2010 : 14:48:42
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| Thank you RLB! That's exactly what I was looking to find out. |
Watch my gorgeous wife sing at:
www.youtube.com/Airicx |
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Anyone know how long it takes a FR author...
