: I'm addressing the below edit to the question specifically as I think both of the previous answers would still apply. Both answers (by CLockeWork and Dale Emery) recommend to not get stuck

@Jamie945

Vote Up Vote Down

I'm addressing the below edit to the question specifically as I think both of the previous answers would still apply.

Both answers (by CLockeWork and Dale Emery) recommend to not get stuck
on missing information and instead use a placeholder and continue.
That is what I did while I pumped out the first draft of my novel in
the course of ten days. It is filled with placeholders. Now I am
writing my second draft, and the writing process consists mostly of
filling those placeholders and polishing my prose. Not writing
finished sentences is not an option anymore.

I use a very similar method whether I'm writing fiction for pleasure or technical documentation for work.

After finishing the first draft, marking place holders where I've gotten hung up on words or ideas, I make two lists. The first list is a list of all the placeholders where I need just a word or phrase. Synonyms, idioms, specific technical terms, error messages, these all go into that list. The second list is a list of all the placeholders marking places where I realized I need to do more detailed research. Anything from the steps in a related process to more information on the command structure of Russian Intelligence during WWII would go on this list.

I take a day or two to work through the first list. During this time, I'm not actually writing or editing. Just filling in the placeholders with the necessary words. After I'm finished with that, I break the second list into chunks. If it's a novel, for example, I'll do the research for every placeholder in the first five chapters and take copious notes. Then I'll go back and begin the actual revisions to the chapters, incorporating the new information into those placeholders based off my notes. If I again get stuck during this process, I'll start with fresh placeholders and new lists for later. Then, I'll take on the research for the placeholders in the next five chapters.

Once I've worked my way through the original lists, I start over again with the new lists I've created during revisions. This way I've essentially split my time into a cycle of "research time", when it's okay to go online or read offline source materials, and "writing time", when it's just me and my notebooks.

(0)

Login to post a comment!