Writing things

[juliet]

The nice people at ServerWatch have given me a weekly column. First one now up here. (Unlike the O'Reilly blog, this is even a paid gig. Score.)

This has caused me to reflect on my experience of writing (tech/other factual stuff, that is. I have been known to write fiction, but not, as yet, in any kind of public. I can barely stand to re-read it myself, as a rule, in case I get embarrassed.). It goes a bit like this:

1. Structure (for article-length things). Makes the first draft a bit easier. Usually fairly happy at this point.
2. First draft. Very very hard to get started. Usually done in chunks of 500-1000 words for longer pieces, to make it a bit less scary. Has **FIXME all over the place as if I stop to do actual research I'll never get started again. Mild relief at end of it.
3. **FIXMEs. Easier to get going on as they're a bit more specific.
4. Second draft. At this point I realise that the whole thing is a total mess and will never, ever, be up to any sort of publishable standard, in particular not by the deadline I have been given. Red pen abounds (metaphorically if I'm editing onscreen). Am deeply grateful that at least I can splel & handle apostrophes, its/it's etc, even if I do write too many run-on sentences. Finish with sense of deep gloom.
5. Some more **FIXMEs which have invariably arisen in step 4, or were left over from step 3 as they gave me the fear. Deep gloom continues, also mild panic.
6. Third draft. Suddenly realise that actually this is reasonably acceptable and will probably not lead to me receiving nasty emails from the editor.
7. Final read-through and send off. Deep relief.
8. [optional] Finally read piece in print/on page (I can't always face doing this). Not infrequently surprised at how much better it is than I remembered.¹ Become smug.

For 250 words, some of the above is missed out, but I'm still occasionally unclear why I would nevertheless describe the process as a whole as "enjoyable"; and why I've volunteered to go through it weekly from now on. Unless it's like childbirth and the final step overrides the rest. (Well, OK, the fact that they pay me helps.)

1. (Actually I wouldn't mind a quick re-edit of that column, as it says "Condor" too many times IMO. Although I've just compared with my version & some of that is editing, so there we go.)

Comments

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

Cor you've got a little picture and EVERYTHING! :D

[juliet]

I know! It is v exciting. As was the article I had in C+ (a magazine I actually have a subscription to!) this month :)

[steer.livejournal.com]

Hey, congratulations. Is there any way to get just your columns on an RSS feed or is it "all or nothing"?

[juliet]

Looks like it's all-or-nothing, I think - sorry!

[steer.livejournal.com]

No problem -- I'll add them all and see how heavy the traffic is. :-)

[mrs-leroy-brown.livejournal.com]

Hooray for you! Well done lady!

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the gig! I always enjoy accounts of people's writing processes too.

[lovingboth]

In #4, shouldn't that be "apostrophe's"?

:))

If I could have one wish, it would be that I could write things as well on first draft as I do for the 'final' version.

Congratulations on the column.

[juliet]

I *suspect*, sadly, that that's some-variety-of impossible, or something. That the first draft babble is a necessary part of the final product. Having said that, I do occasionally find myself constructing something of second-draft standard off the bat, usually when it's something I've been thinking about for a while. (Often when cycling, which is a v good situation in which to construct sentences in one's head.)

[menthe-reglisse.livejournal.com]

My problem is writing the first draft at all. Structure is lots of fun, but getting actual sentences on paper is horrible. Once I've done that, I'm pretty much there. My first draft is pretty much my last draft with minor tweaks. It took me 18 months to write the first draft of my PhD thesis and then I submitted it a month later. But I don't know many other people who write like that - I imagine a succession of gradually improving drafts would be less painful, but probably that's just grass always being greener.

[infinitarian.livejournal.com]

I don't really understand what that's about (er... networking computers? Somehow? With a seabird?), but congratulations on the paying work gig. Hold onto it now you've got it...

[juliet]

Thank you! The editor seems to be happy at the idea of me filing in advance (or something...) while I'm away, so hopefully yes, I can hang onto it.

[tla]

Congratulations on the column! Your process sounds exactly like mine, except s/\Q**FIXME/[TODO ...]/, and that I always print out the draft for the red-pen stage.

I did try out the Scrivener-as-reverse-outliner trick (as mentioned in my LJ) for my Cambridge talk, and it actually worked pretty well. (I had to keep reminding myself during the "disassemble into outline" phase that I was only disassembling, and not yet rewriting or rearranging.) It would have worked even better if I hadn't left it until 12 hours before the talk. :)

[juliet]

I'm trying to break myself of the habit of *requiring* paper for the red-pen stage; partly because we don't have a printer at home, & I do half my work at work and half of it at home & don't always know what will happen where. I'm getting better at on-screen editing, but paper is useful when it's just not coming together.

Glad Scrivener worked OK! Sadly it can't help with deadline-avoidance-procrastination ;-)

(I tend to use Scrivener for fiction, & stick with vim for the tech stuff, because that's shorter & I tend to structure it in advance.)

[plumsbitch.livejournal.com]

Hurrah. Well done you. And I think you've just anatomised the way a huge number of people write. The ups and downs get easier, I think. Or at least less surprising.

[juliet]

Yeah, these days I can at least remind myself that I *always* think it's shit & that I won't get it finished for a significant proportion of the time, & it always works out fine.

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

Has **FIXME all over the place [...] **FIXMEs. Easier to get going on as they're a bit more specific. [...] Some more **FIXMEs

I've had to give up using this construction in my documents and code in the two years since I started referring to my son as **FIXME on LJ. It's just too distracting - it doesn't take much to get me thinking about him at the best of times, and the last thing I want when I've spent ages getting my head in to a bit of writing is to find myself going "Awww ...". I didn't think of that at the time!

(Congrats on the paid writing gig - go you!)

[uon.livejournal.com]

Hurrah, go you!