WOW, this is amazing Kris! It’s so fascinating to see everything comes together in the end (and also this excerpt intrigues me so much, your writing is so BUTTERY 👏🏽)!!
Thank you so much for this video! I've been procrastinating and putting writing aside for so long because of this perfectionist mentality of wanting to get everything right in the first draft. Slowly I'm realizing there is other ways of doing this craft than what I imagined
ahhhh this is actually the most HELPFUL tip I’ve seen for planning and discovering your characters and their dynamic, even if their dialogues change a lot by the time you write the scenes. I feel like my brain naturally does this when I think about my story but I get nervous about “writing out of order” so I’ll just scribble potential dialogues in my notebook, and it helps me brainstorm. this video just gave me so much validation to use dialogue and other external elements as my “outline” first then fill it out from there 👏🏻 along this line, I’ve also heard planning by settings that inspire you. if you can see a setting for putting your characters into then you can build the scene from there!
I’ve been doing this for a little while now, but didn’t realize it was a thing! For me it helps to sell me on the character dynamics, like a test run, to see if the rest of the story is even worth it to me to write at all. Really speeds things along. Also, new sub here and absolutely loving your videos! You have a super calming presence and this very clear, confident way of explaining your understanding of not just the ‘what’ but the ‘why’ of writing craft.
You are the writing teacher I've never had 😭I love it when you walk us through with examples 💛I think I do a very bootleg version of this LOL I had thought I was just rushing and not being intentional with my words, but maybe I draft in small chunks and build them out!!! Thanks for another TERRIFIC video :)
This is such a great breakdown, thank you for sharing and going so in-depth! The method here reminds me a lot of when I tried screenwriting (and struggled with it lol), and screenwriting definitely goes a lot faster lol. I think personally I weirdly enjoy getting lost in descriptions and the minute details of prose, even at the drafting stage, which makes me SO slow - I want to give this technique a try for sure
omg you are the opposite of slow !!! i agree though sometimes getting lost in description is the best :D I just usually am not in the mood until I’ve gone through a scene like 3 or 4 times over lol
YEEESSS you're so right. Honestly the worst thing that nanowrimo and typical writing advice did to me was make me abandon my back-and-forth drafting like this for measuring 'cleaner' wordcounts. It really is so much easier and faster to get the 'script' down first and put the cast and set pieces around that later haha.
Dialogue is the most fun part for me as well!! I used to do something similar where I'd write out the dialogue in sort of a screenplay format, then write around it, but I think I'm just that type of writer that has to do things linearly or else it bothers me 😅. I totally agree on staying in that state of flow, and usually, because of that flow, I'm able to get through the parts that don't really excite me as much. I like using flow as a tool to get through the dull parts 💞 Tysm for sharing this!!
Even just reading the title, this is what I've started doing automatically! It doesn't even have to be the final dialogue, it just needs to communicate the points my brain is making 💖
i thought i knew what this video was going to be about because dialogue is easy for me to write, but it was so much more in-depth than i expected! you've given me something to think about Kris
I definitely use a variation of this method. Typically, I don't love writing transition scenes, mainly because I end up dragging them on endlessly, but also because they're just...not that fun. So, when I get to a scene I really wanna write, I tend to skip over the bulk of everything and focus mainly on dialogue and how my characters are interacting with each other, then fill in the rest later. Though I have trouble sticking to a full outline, I tend to have a good idea of where I'm going in each chapter, so I might try doing your method and see how it feels for me! It might really help me when I'm stuck and low on energy. Thanks for the lovely video, as always. 💖
I usually don’t like writing dialogue but I have a cast of characters that I’m really excited to write in my next project and I think this will be fun to try out with them!
this is something that i would sometimes do unintentionally to just get writing, but I'm definitely going to try out this method more intentionally, cos i really think it would work for me!! amazing video as always (i've been in a bit of a writing slump recently and this has really inspired me)
i read your blog post on this and it's been great using the method for my latest two pieces. it feels much more natural writing it this way since dialogue comes easily to me. It also helps me remember to add more internal reflection and atmosphere since they are included in the steps (and im a big fan of checklists lol). thank you for sharing !
oooh so interesting! I realized recently that my first drafts are really sparse (very script-like!) and focus on the external (dialogue, tags, description of setting)....but it was never intentional. I always need to go back and add more reflection, internal thought, etc. to give it more soul(?) and slow things down. I think some writers have a natural talent for exploring the internal lives of characters, but it's something I'm still learning to do well.
true!! I actually love writing the internal stuff, but I can't do it *right away*. I often need some time to marinate in the scene which is why I do external stuff first :)
Okay, your excerpt is amazing and you have such an interesting process! I haven’t done it. My method for writing fiction is completely different since I’m a pantser. But I’m also a screenwriter and scripts are very dialogue driven with sparse scene headings and action lines. Thank you for sharing this! 💜
Love this technique! I think it's so helpful to work around dialogue and to write in a non-linear way- keeps things interesting. Also, I know you mentioned the examples are from an old project but I thought they were REALLY good haha! You have a true talent for writing :)
I'm two-thirds of the way through a screenplay, and it's already too long. Even though I disagree with some of your methods (despite being a plotter as opposed to a pantser), I find the exploration you've done on technique to be very stimulating. There are variations on this I might try when the next productivity crunch happens. Happy belated new year Kris. 💙
this baffles me because doing this feels like it'd give me a headache. i write everything chronologically and edit as i go, and only writing parts of a scene at once sounds... 😥 my brain likes everything to be connected so my writing feels more natural and authentic so skipping around like that would probably confuse or frustrate me personally. i discover a lot of stuff as i go so it csn be dangerous writing ahead and potentially having to edit something big because i came up with a better idea.
I dont write like this for every session but i tend to “store” a lot of descriptions in my head as i write the dialogue (or leave notes for myself in the process) so jumping around doesn’t feel as non-linear for me as it looks. I’ll also often revise a scene multiple times (even during draft 1) before moving on, but every writer’s brain works differently and it’s definitely not a method for everyone
I’m curious- how do you approach writing action scenes (which usually have less dialogue) or scenes where your perspective character is doing something alone? Do you still use this technique?
I do not! my characters are rarely alone but if they are, I tend to write those “normally” lol (as in linearly). this method is more for scenes I *know* will have a lot of conversation
I might have to try this out, at least on a scene or something My writing is already dialogue heavy and I struggle with finding what to even describe in between. which makes me a bit worried, that if I try this, it could make this problem worse, for now I have to think of only that and have no idea what to add. well, we will see how it goes
there are definitely some caveats with this technique! you have to fight the impulse to make your characters say TOO much. I used to do this a lot and it ended up making my dialogue heavy-handed. the more I practiced and developed my writing style though, I learned not to do this as much and when I do, I usually catch it in revision. it’s always good to try something new if you’re stuck but again, may not work for everyone :)
Coming back to try this after STRUGGLING with my current project and it's saving my life. Not a method I would have thought of on my own: Thank you 🙏
WOW, this is amazing Kris! It’s so fascinating to see everything comes together in the end (and also this excerpt intrigues me so much, your writing is so BUTTERY 👏🏽)!!
thank you rachel!! 💛 I actually cringed so much reading over this old writing but oh well 😭😭 all in the name of education LOL
@@KrisMF omg noooo it’s so good, I loved it sm! ❤️❤️
Thank you so much for this video! I've been procrastinating and putting writing aside for so long because of this perfectionist mentality of wanting to get everything right in the first draft. Slowly I'm realizing there is other ways of doing this craft than what I imagined
ahhhh this is actually the most HELPFUL tip I’ve seen for planning and discovering your characters and their dynamic, even if their dialogues change a lot by the time you write the scenes.
I feel like my brain naturally does this when I think about my story but I get nervous about “writing out of order” so I’ll just scribble potential dialogues in my notebook, and it helps me brainstorm.
this video just gave me so much validation to use dialogue and other external elements as my “outline” first then fill it out from there 👏🏻
along this line, I’ve also heard planning by settings that inspire you. if you can see a setting for putting your characters into then you can build the scene from there!
I’ve been doing this for a little while now, but didn’t realize it was a thing! For me it helps to sell me on the character dynamics, like a test run, to see if the rest of the story is even worth it to me to write at all. Really speeds things along.
Also, new sub here and absolutely loving your videos! You have a super calming presence and this very clear, confident way of explaining your understanding of not just the ‘what’ but the ‘why’ of writing craft.
You are the writing teacher I've never had 😭I love it when you walk us through with examples 💛I think I do a very bootleg version of this LOL I had thought I was just rushing and not being intentional with my words, but maybe I draft in small chunks and build them out!!! Thanks for another TERRIFIC video :)
I definitely like to draft in small chunks !!! not bootleg LOLLL nothing comes out perfect on the first try :')
This is exactly what I started doing on my own, but your tips really fleshed out my process! So excited to implement some of these ideas~!
This is such a great breakdown, thank you for sharing and going so in-depth! The method here reminds me a lot of when I tried screenwriting (and struggled with it lol), and screenwriting definitely goes a lot faster lol. I think personally I weirdly enjoy getting lost in descriptions and the minute details of prose, even at the drafting stage, which makes me SO slow - I want to give this technique a try for sure
omg you are the opposite of slow !!! i agree though sometimes getting lost in description is the best :D I just usually am not in the mood until I’ve gone through a scene like 3 or 4 times over lol
YEEESSS you're so right. Honestly the worst thing that nanowrimo and typical writing advice did to me was make me abandon my back-and-forth drafting like this for measuring 'cleaner' wordcounts. It really is so much easier and faster to get the 'script' down first and put the cast and set pieces around that later haha.
omg glad I'm not the only one! I've always enjoyed just jumping around because I'm scatter brained like that LOL
Dialogue is the most fun part for me as well!! I used to do something similar where I'd write out the dialogue in sort of a screenplay format, then write around it, but I think I'm just that type of writer that has to do things linearly or else it bothers me 😅. I totally agree on staying in that state of flow, and usually, because of that flow, I'm able to get through the parts that don't really excite me as much. I like using flow as a tool to get through the dull parts 💞 Tysm for sharing this!!
Even just reading the title, this is what I've started doing automatically!
It doesn't even have to be the final dialogue, it just needs to communicate the points my brain is making 💖
I’ve only ever known this method of writing so I’m glad to know I am not the only one who does this 😅
i thought i knew what this video was going to be about because dialogue is easy for me to write, but it was so much more in-depth than i expected! you've given me something to think about Kris
I definitely use a variation of this method. Typically, I don't love writing transition scenes, mainly because I end up dragging them on endlessly, but also because they're just...not that fun. So, when I get to a scene I really wanna write, I tend to skip over the bulk of everything and focus mainly on dialogue and how my characters are interacting with each other, then fill in the rest later.
Though I have trouble sticking to a full outline, I tend to have a good idea of where I'm going in each chapter, so I might try doing your method and see how it feels for me! It might really help me when I'm stuck and low on energy. Thanks for the lovely video, as always. 💖
I usually don’t like writing dialogue but I have a cast of characters that I’m really excited to write in my next project and I think this will be fun to try out with them!
This video gave me the boost I needed to do a little writing today.
this is something that i would sometimes do unintentionally to just get writing, but I'm definitely going to try out this method more intentionally, cos i really think it would work for me!! amazing video as always (i've been in a bit of a writing slump recently and this has really inspired me)
i read your blog post on this and it's been great using the method for my latest two pieces. it feels much more natural writing it this way since dialogue comes easily to me. It also helps me remember to add more internal reflection and atmosphere since they are included in the steps (and im a big fan of checklists lol). thank you for sharing !
yay!! I'm happy it's helpful :))
oooh so interesting! I realized recently that my first drafts are really sparse (very script-like!) and focus on the external (dialogue, tags, description of setting)....but it was never intentional. I always need to go back and add more reflection, internal thought, etc. to give it more soul(?) and slow things down. I think some writers have a natural talent for exploring the internal lives of characters, but it's something I'm still learning to do well.
true!! I actually love writing the internal stuff, but I can't do it *right away*. I often need some time to marinate in the scene which is why I do external stuff first :)
Okay, your excerpt is amazing and you have such an interesting process! I haven’t done it. My method for writing fiction is completely different since I’m a pantser. But I’m also a screenwriter and scripts are very dialogue driven with sparse scene headings and action lines. Thank you for sharing this! 💜
Love this technique! I think it's so helpful to work around dialogue and to write in a non-linear way- keeps things interesting. Also, I know you mentioned the examples are from an old project but I thought they were REALLY good haha! You have a true talent for writing :)
I'm two-thirds of the way through a screenplay, and it's already too long. Even though I disagree with some of your methods (despite being a plotter as opposed to a pantser), I find the exploration you've done on technique to be very stimulating. There are variations on this I might try when the next productivity crunch happens.
Happy belated new year Kris. 💙
this baffles me because doing this feels like it'd give me a headache. i write everything chronologically and edit as i go, and only writing parts of a scene at once sounds... 😥 my brain likes everything to be connected so my writing feels more natural and authentic so skipping around like that would probably confuse or frustrate me personally. i discover a lot of stuff as i go so it csn be dangerous writing ahead and potentially having to edit something big because i came up with a better idea.
I dont write like this for every session but i tend to “store” a lot of descriptions in my head as i write the dialogue (or leave notes for myself in the process) so jumping around doesn’t feel as non-linear for me as it looks. I’ll also often revise a scene multiple times (even during draft 1) before moving on, but every writer’s brain works differently and it’s definitely not a method for everyone
This is smart
Hey I love your keyboard. Do you have matcha caps on the Keychron k2?
yes! :)
I’m curious- how do you approach writing action scenes (which usually have less dialogue) or scenes where your perspective character is doing something alone? Do you still use this technique?
I do not! my characters are rarely alone but if they are, I tend to write those “normally” lol (as in linearly). this method is more for scenes I *know* will have a lot of conversation
I might have to try this out, at least on a scene or something
My writing is already dialogue heavy and I struggle with finding what to even describe in between. which makes me a bit worried, that if I try this, it could make this problem worse, for now I have to think of only that and have no idea what to add.
well, we will see how it goes
there are definitely some caveats with this technique! you have to fight the impulse to make your characters say TOO much. I used to do this a lot and it ended up making my dialogue heavy-handed. the more I practiced and developed my writing style though, I learned not to do this as much and when I do, I usually catch it in revision. it’s always good to try something new if you’re stuck but again, may not work for everyone :)
kris brain: 📈🧠🤯
LOLLL 💛
I have been waiting for this 🤍 thank you Kris