Are You Writing Serious Fantasy?

[Maikadilwen]

One published author at the festival I attended said that she never writes from start to finish; she writes whatever scenes come to her

So do I. Which is one of the reasons why I keep my story away from others at the moment, since I'm pretty sure no one would have the faintest clue that all these different things, is actually one story. I know the story, I know the inportant things that will happen. Those are the things I write first and what then comes in between, is coming all by itself, when I'm reading through my work. Some think it's a very confusing way to write, since I may write 7 pages of what could be chapter 12, then 6 pages of chap. 3 then on to chap. 8 and so on. It works for me, and I don't end up getting stuck with an unused idea, because I write it down when it comes and save it as different files to put together later on.

The way my dreams come in, is that sometimes I dream entire scenes from the story. I really see it all happening so all I have to do is start writing. A good thing here is a dictaphone(sp?). It's a lot easier (and quicker) to speak all the things you've got on your mind, than to write it all down, even in short note form. And it's easy to carry where ever you go. Paper and pen is not. Then it's easy to start writing when you have the time for it.
Because I'm dreaming some of it, I also have very special feelings towards my characters, because I've seen them. Which is also why I would never have any illustrations. I cared deeply about the characters before, and I knew them, but to see them stand before me, that's just amazing.

As for how long I write before I feel it is finished

Oh, that's the difficult part. I'm one of those who are never really satisfied and keep changing everything (did anybody say Douglas Adams? [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] ) But I try not to overdo it.

Battles.... I've seen one of my larger battles in dreams. Actually I was in the middle of it and that experience was amazing. But how do I describe it so the reader will see what I saw? I still haven't figured that out. I've written some of it, but it's still not enough. Sometimes I really wish that I could draw or paint, because it would be much easier to describe it, if I could look at it. Maybe that "battle thread" would be a good idea.

[ April 22, 2002: Message edited by: Maikadilwen ]