[John]

I'm pretty sequential.  I kind of write it as if I was living the story out while writing.  I do have a general starting point, and a somewhat vague "goal", but sometimes I just swerve and end up somewhere completely different than I thought I was going to go.

[The Highlander]

Well I've writen exactly 2 stories, but here goes.
I normaly start by thinking of a cool seen or event and trying to work backwards from there.

[baditude41]

Usually, I write when I'm bored, lonely/sad, but I usually do my best writing when I'm angry, or frustrated.  I also play out the whole part/story in my head first, then write it down bit by bit, making changes along the way.  Primarily, I've also been inspired by movies and people.  I ask myself a question like:  "What movie would you like to see, or what woman would you like to see 'Hulk Out'" and "How would it happen?"  It seems like a long process, but once I'm in the "Zone", I can write pretty fast. 

[Mimi]

I typically write out my story in long hand, having a vague sense of where I see the story growing into.  I typically start with an idea.  For example, my newest story, I came up with a concept, “What if a beloved young queen from 4000 years ago were seduced by a colossal female warrior?”

So I lay out what I think should happen… the intro, seduction, something pulls them apart and they fight to be together, and eventually marry.  At first, its all long hand on my stenopad… from there, I translate it into Word; that way it acts as a built in editor from the page to PC.  I suppose one of these days I need to hire an editor because my stories are turning into ‘Harlequin Romance’ type sagas. 

I am trying to make FBB stories more emotionally driven instead of just physically.  Don’t get me wrong, I spend a LOT of time crafting the intimate love scenes, but I also make the FBB character have a heart and soul too…  one of the most rewarding parts of writing FBB love stories is having a reader write me a thank you e-mail, saying they never considered a FBB sexy until they read my story.  That’s what I REALLY love, making women readers open their minds to new possibilities and ideas.

Just my $.02 worth…

Peace and Love,

~Mimi 

[Chuck]

With me, the idea comes to me, I listen to some music to get in the zone, and then I write in silence. I might have a bowl of salsa and chips along for the ride, but I like writing in peace and quiet.

Then sometimes I write something and don't know if it's good so I send it out to other people to read and forget to keep on writing in the first place because I need to know the quality of something before it's finished.

[stmercy2020]

It's funny, actually.  I've used most of the techniques previously described, kind of all depending on the story that I want to tell.

For me, generally, I start with a character concept.  I write that down, making notes about other people as they intersect with the character's life, describing their physical and emotional traits, any unusual skills or abilities they have, etc.

If the story is going to be episodic (one reasonably self-contained story in a post), then I pretty much just write from there.  That's kind of how One Shot happened, and how the early Sylph stories happened.

For serial stories, I generally try to have a very loose outline- usually the beginning is pretty detailed and the specifics of the end are pretty clear, but the events that get the character(s) to that point may be somewhat nebulous.  These stories also tend to have more characters pop up as I go along, thus necessitating more note-taking as I go.  Once I have a general outline, I start filling in the gaps, trying to figure out what things have to happen to get the characters to the various events in the correct emotional, intellectual, and physical state.

I also keep in mind something one of my all-time favorite authors, Lois McMaster Bujold, once said when talking about writing the Vorkosigan series: I imagine the worst thing I could do to a character, than I do it.  I don't always do this, of course (Sylph stories, anyone?), but it is a really effective technique to add emotional clarity and poignancy.

Oh yeah- one other thing- I research.  A lot.  If I don't know something, I look it up and I ask questions until I know enough to write about it confidently.

Just my meandering ramblings…

[Author]

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