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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Instinct vs. Analysis


So you’re writing along. Everything is going great and then…BAM! Your story hits a snag! What do you do?

Do you analyse the problem, or do you act on instinct to fix it?

Myself—I’m an analyzer. I analyze when I write. I analyze when I read. I love to see how stories work. Why they work. I also love to find problems in books and see how I would fix them if it were my story. Why doesn’t the pacing work? Why does it?What is wrong with the characterization? How do you handle a flashback?

But there is a part of me that wished I was more of an instinctual writer. You know the kind of people who can “sense” problems. They can also “feel” the pacing and “discern” plot holes. It’s kind of like a super power. Super Writer to the rescue!

So what about you? Are you an instinctual writer or an analytical one?

-Angie

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Angie - I'm the same as you. I had no idea there were Super Writers - if only!

What do these super writers do? I'm curious now that I'll have to come back to this comment thread later. : )

Sarah Tokeley said...

Umm, I ignore it and wait for the edits :-)

Angela Cothran said...

Freya - Super writers are all the writers who do things better than me :)

Abby Fowers said...

I can usually sense the problems and the holes, but I like to analyze it too. It helps me in my own writing to realize problems that I may have or how to avoid them in the beginning.

Kelley Lynn said...

I'm am a total instinctual writer. For my current NaNo manuscript I knew where I wanted to start and where I wanted to end but whole middle was BLANK. I just let my fingers go and so far I haven't hit a snag... granted when I go back to edit I'm sure they'll be a LOT to fix.

Emily R. King said...

I dunno, what do you think. : ) LOL!

Ruth Josse said...

I write instinctually but I'm in no way a super writer. Analyzing things makes me nauseous. And that why it takes medap long to fix problems because I'd rather not think about it.

Ruth Josse said...

Ah autocorrect, you're so cute. That's why it takes Me So long. Not medlap. Whatever that is.

Deana said...

I'm going to have to say I'm a little bit of both. I notice it pretty early on when there is going to be a problem and if I don't make a note of it right then I'm afraid I will lose that moment of knowing, so I do and often times I change it. BUT as the day wears on and I'm doing other things it will hit me as I analyze the situation and usually I have to go back and change it again. This is why my first draft is a big pile of mess:)

Jenny S. Morris said...

I tend to fix on instinct, but there are problems that I have to analyze. I wish my instinct always knew how to fix a problem.

Jolene Perry said...

Completely instinctual to a point. Then there comes a place in EVERY MS where I really have to sit back and look carefully at what needs to happen, where I need to go, and what I need to go back and set up.

Jaye Robin Brown said...

A little of both, if I'm revising I really think hard (analyze) about how the character would react in the situation. Drafting is more instinctual.

Sara Bulla said...

I have no idea. I haven't analyzed it enough to know. I guess I just answered my own comment. :)

Cassie Mae said...

I never analyze anything. I'm starting to think I should though, lol.

Small Town Shelly Brown said...

Wow, deep question.

I would have to go with...it depends on how difficult the problem. I can usually fix pacing and such on the fly but when I hit a "THEY CAN'T DO THAT AND THEY ALREADY DID-TWICE!" I usually have to stop and analyze.
So, I would lean towards analyze.

Unknown said...

I'm a mix between both. I wing through any first problems, then, when I hit a brick wall, I have to stop and think hard about the problem. After then, I'm back to normal.

Tara Tyler said...

i'm both. when instinct fails me, i switch to analyze mode, if that doesnt work, i go away and try again later
last resort, consult the magic 8 ball

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