Q&A with Farah Ghuznavi:
QTN: I feel like as I progress with writing a story, I lose the pace and the interest. As a result, the conclusion of my story/article seems rash and out of place. Do you have any suggestions on how I can control this?
ANS: The process of writing is profoundly individual, and sometimes even the way in which the same writer writes two of his or her own stories can vary considerably. So there is really no right or wrong way of doing things. But one way of getting the best out of your writing is to understand what kind of writer you are.
For example, some people like to plan what they are going to write and how they will do that well ahead of the time when they actually sit down to write. Others prefer to work spontaneously and see where the process takes them. And while it's hard to know without actually seeing you in action, it sounds to me as if you have been following the latter path. Perhaps it's time to find out whether that is in fact the best method for you.
Think through the plot of the story from beginning to end, and then consider making a few notes about what you have come up with. Check the logic of your story by drawing a brief outline for yourself, with a timeline for events and a sequence for how the story will develop. Examine whether the story logic stands up to scrutiny i.e. would the initial instances that you are setting up cause the chain of events to unfold in the way that you have outlined? This is a good way to see if the conclusion really makes sense, given what takes place in the story.
If developing the basic outline of your story helps you to verify the logic and address any inconsistencies, you may then wish to add further details to various aspects of the outline. This can be very helpful in the actual writing process, by reminding you of what you wanted to address, and keeping you on track so that you don't go off at a tangent and run out of ideas. The detailed outline can also help prevent you from losing interest, because it reminds you of what you actually want to say with this story, why you are in in fact writing it at all.
You may find in the course of putting the story on the page that new ideas will emerge, so adjust the outline if you need to. Work with concentration, and get the first draft done as quickly as possible, while everything is still clear in your mind. Leave it for a day or two before you revisit it. Looking at it afresh will make it easier to see where the flaws in the story lie, and how to improve the flow of the writing.
Your first draft is just that: a beginning. Repeated revisions are part of getting a story to the point at which it reads easily. However painful you find the prospect of revision, it's an essential part of the process. By playing around with some of these suggestions and assessing the extent to which you find any of them helpful, I believe you will be closer to identifying the writing process that works best for you.
Queries on writing may be sent to Farah Ghuznavi at [email protected]
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