Version 1.0
The Writing Of The Work
SPOILER WARNING
This document may contain information that could
spoil the story for readers who have not yet read it. Readers are advised to
read <<<STATIC>>> before
proceeding.
The piece was physically written in about a week, but it took about a month for the whole idea to come together and took some two months since conception to be completed. Indeed, some may say: wow! that's fast!
Maybe. Maybe not. However, I am not here to say "yes, it's fast"
nor "actually, it's not all that fast if you look at it". What I am here to
say is how I did it. In Divine Inspiration? Or
Dark Imagination? I described the way in which the story came about. What
was writing. Now I will describe how I wrote it, my method of working,
to help understand, perhaps, some of the 'gaps'.
I tend to write the finished product, as opposed to drafts. This tends to be a bit of a problem because if I don't get the mood I have in my head after a couple of false starts I tend to lose interest with the possibility or not of re-kindling that interest at a later date.
The point is, when I get an idea writing it down really is the last thing I would do. Many writers keep an ideas book, where they jot little ideas they have. I tried this for a while but I ended up having so many ideas I could do nothing but sit back and daydream. The fact of the matter being I never feel that I have completed an idea until it is actually complete. I prefer to let it brew and get more flavour, like a cup of tea. If my head is the teapot and the idea is a teabag then I don't like to pour out the idea while it's still weak.
I try not to have an end if possible. If I do I try not to have a middle. I let it unfold by itself as opposed to tearing it open. If you tear open an envelope too quickly you might damage what's inside.
I hate structuring. I hate designing and planning a story. Or at least I hate doing it on paper. Structuring and planning happen as a natural part of the stewing process. The only time I put any kind of planning on paper is when I have a play with an end or a few major points I need to work to along the way. Then I will tend to give a general scene by scene plan for myself that I may or may not work to. Even then this happens only when the act of writing is actually under way.
By nature I am a daydreamer. My mind always thinking about
something. I usually daydream when walking somewhere, usually somewhere that
I know may way to well and don't need to concentrate on the journey. Usually
these are personal deliberations, but most of the time they are just weird
and wonderful stories pulled along by the motion of my legs walking and the
need to escape the tedium of the journey. So naturally, this is an ideal
time to pull out those old toys from under stairs and play with them for
a bit while no-one's watching.
<<<STATIC>>>
From the moment I had thought of the idea and had the 'go ahead' to work on it I let it stew for about a month in the back of my mind. I knew I had longer to work on this than previous projects so I did not rush it. My best ideas are either instantaneous or have to take a long time brewing - there's no in between. There's no working on an idea and developing it on paper, there's no writing plans, making notes, writing rough drafts. It's all or nothing! A bad habit, but one that works well when it works.
When I tried to work at it as someone else might, with notes and drafts it simply didn't work and I hit a blank every time. Eventually, on that eventful May Day I sat down to try writing some of it, and ended up with the entocyberensus' philosophy. That day could have gone two ways. I could have been uninspired and would have spent part of the day coming up with flop ideas before throwing it aside and doing something else - maybe enjoying the sun. But fortunately it was a fruitful day.
Having made a massive step in the work I left it to stew further. I had to know where it would be going. I talked to a couple of friends about the philosophy I'd created to see if they could follow it, understand it, and if it was any good.
When I felt (and only when I felt) that I had spent enough time cooking the idea did I served myself another helping. From this helping I was closer to the ending so was confidant of getting the actual piece written.
As I said, above, I rarely make rough drafts and usually write the end product. This is exactly what I did, with no alterations (other than a few spelling mistakes here and there) and no re-writing. This is not to say that it does not need it. But if I was to make a re-write, it would be expanding on areas that I neglected as opposed to actually re-writing it.
In the whole piece, the only part that had any kind of re-writing was the 'Children of Cyberos Website' section which had been written and prepared well in advance of the final writing. Even then it, the re-writing was very minimal.