Are you a swooper or basher?

***IronParrot*** · 04-26-2003, 05:28 PM

In one passage from Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut talks about how writers fundamentally take one of two approaches, and can be described as either "swoopers" or "bashers". Swoopers write at a very fast pace, producing a lot of words quickly, and then go through the whole piece afterwards for careful revision. Bashers write slowly, perfecting each sentence or paragraph as they go along.

I am undoubtedly a basher. I unfortunately hit writer's block very often, and I produce very little (and VERY slowly), but I refine every paragraph to my liking before I move on to the next one. It's just my style, in a way - I'm admittedly not much of a planner or outliner.

Is anyone else like this? From what I've read in other threads, it seems like we have a lot of writers on both ends of the spectrum on this forum.

Coney · 04-26-2003, 05:38 PM

Definitely a swooper

When I have time to write I can sit spewing out words for 12-14 hours (allowing for food and other little necessities of course).......I'll write at that pace for 1-4 days then might not look at the manuscript again for the same length of time.......I enjoy writing that way but the revision/editing can be a nightmare.

I found that to effectively "swoop" while writing I do need to do a lot of preparation first.......names, maps, a rough plot outline etc........nothing stops me in mid-swoop faster than having to stop to think of a new character concept/name (or indeed, trying to figure out where on the world my characters are).

Lief Erikson · 04-26-2003, 05:43 PM

I suppose I'm more of a basher than a swooper. I always take careful care about my punctuation and correct and alter my writing as I go along. However, I'm not completely a basher because when I get really excited by what I'm writing, I tend to just move along without paying attention to errors. That's primarily because I don't notice them though until later, so I guess I'm a basher

.

***Jonathan*** · 04-26-2003, 05:43 PM

I'm a 'basher'. I carefully choose every word and slowly build up sentences. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to writing.

Sometimes, it takes hours to do my homework because of this

Lief Erikson · 04-26-2003, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Coney
I found that to effectively "swoop" while writing I do need to do a lot of preparation first.......names, maps, a rough plot outline etc........nothing stops me in mid-swoop faster than having to stop to think of a new character concept/name (or indeed, trying to figure out where on the world my characters are).

Yes, those are definitely details that I try to accomplish as thoroughly as possible before launching into a writing piece. Of course, as my novel goes on I keep coming up with new things, new ideas, and often new characters. So it's basically impossible to get every single thing planned beforehand, but I try to plan every single thing beforehand. Trying to accomplish the hopeless goal makes the situation a lot easier later on, as you seem to well know.

Ianua · 04-26-2003, 08:44 PM

A swooper....I just sit and scribble, for hours, then, i'll just suddenly lose inspiration and stop....t'is annoying

Coney · 04-26-2003, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ianua
A swooper....I just sit and scribble, for hours, then, i'll just suddenly lose inspiration and stop....t'is annoying

I used to be like that.

That's why I jot down the basic plot (with a more detailed outline of the current chapter I'm working on).............the frantic scribbling (or typing as the case may be) just didn't seem to stop when I had a chapter end-goal in front of me

Aralyn · 04-26-2003, 10:25 PM

Basher. So it's not a bad thing? lol I thought it was. But I'm a perfectionist in practically everything so doesn't suprise me.

But also once I finish a story I have to go over it again

Gwaimir Windgem · 04-26-2003, 11:17 PM

Something in between. I do a lot of mid-work rewriting, but hardly every paragraph (chapter is probably more like it).

Elvellyn · 04-27-2003, 12:24 AM

I am a basher. I am a horrible perfectionist about some things, and writing is one of them.

***Earniel*** · 04-27-2003, 06:26 AM

A bit of both I think. I usually write a whole part at once and then go over it several times. I can edit it nearly indefinately until I'm satisfied with it. (thank god for computers!

)

But I never write large parts in one session. Mainly because it takes so much time and because I like to work out the part in my head before typing or writing it down. So the amount of stories on paper accumulate very, very slowly.

Fingolfinrox · 04-27-2003, 09:50 AM

Swooper, when I'm actually writting. I really work it out carefully in my head first, then I just put it down as fast as I possibly can, which isn't very fast considering my typing skills.

Laurelyn · 04-27-2003, 12:37 PM

Swooper. When I edit, I'll edit some bits; and then I'll totally rewrite it all. I write all at once.

markedel · 04-27-2003, 02:09 PM

I swoop-I tend to write in bursts, then heavily revise. I tend to rewrite things wholesale several times.

Mark of Cenla · 04-27-2003, 02:28 PM

I am in between but lean more toward a swooper. I like revising. Peace.

Ninquelote · 04-27-2003, 03:45 PM

I am a complete basher. I haven't written anything original in months. I am at a total writer's block and I'm even stuck on a letter I'm writing to the people who read my stories on ff.net on why I can't write. I have writer's block for a letter for why I can't write! That is pathetic!

Not only am I a basher, I'm a basher going nowhere fast.

Celebréiel · 04-27-2003, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ianua
A swooper....I just sit and scribble, for hours, then, i'll just suddenly lose inspiration and stop....t'is annoying

ditto. I get a good idea or something and write it all down then go over it and change things until its better.

Lief Erikson · 04-27-2003, 04:17 PM

I think writing blocks are a different issue from being a basher or a swooper. A new topic should probably be made for discussing writing blocks.

Elenka · 04-27-2003, 05:53 PM

A swooper, probably. But if something doesn't sound quite right, well, then I'm a basher. I like things to be exactly the way I see it in my head.

Ninquelote · 04-27-2003, 06:00 PM

Hm. Well. I've changed my mind. I'm a swooper. Because right after I wrote my last message on this thread, I went upstairs and typed two pages straight for the third chapter of my story.

04-26-2003, 05:28 PM	#1
*IronParrot* Fowl Administrator Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Calgary or Edmonton, Canada Posts: 53,420	Are you a swooper or basher? In one passage from Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut talks about how writers fundamentally take one of two approaches, and can be described as either "swoopers" or "bashers". Swoopers write at a very fast pace, producing a lot of words quickly, and then go through the whole piece afterwards for careful revision. Bashers write slowly, perfecting each sentence or paragraph as they go along. I am undoubtedly a basher. I unfortunately hit writer's block very often, and I produce very little (and VERY slowly), but I refine every paragraph to my liking before I move on to the next one. It's just my style, in a way - I'm admittedly not much of a planner or outliner. Is anyone else like this? From what I've read in other threads, it seems like we have a lot of writers on both ends of the spectrum on this forum. __________________ All of IronParrot's posts are guaranteed to be 100% intelligent and/or sarcastic, comprising no genetically modified content and tested on no cute furry little animals unless the SPCA is looking elsewhere. If you observe a failure to uphold this warranty, please contact a forum administrator immediately to receive a full refund on your Entmoot registration. Blog: Nick's Café Canadien

04-26-2003, 05:38 PM	#2
Coney The Buddy Rabbit Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Trapped in the headlights.. Posts: 3,372	Definitely a swooper When I have time to write I can sit spewing out words for 12-14 hours (allowing for food and other little necessities of course).......I'll write at that pace for 1-4 days then might not look at the manuscript again for the same length of time.......I enjoy writing that way but the revision/editing can be a nightmare. I found that to effectively "swoop" while writing I do need to do a lot of preparation first.......names, maps, a rough plot outline etc........nothing stops me in mid-swoop faster than having to stop to think of a new character concept/name (or indeed, trying to figure out where on the world my characters are). __________________ Blessed are the cracked, they let the light in Beatallica

04-26-2003, 05:43 PM	#4
*Jonathan* Entmoot Attorney-General, Equilibrating the Scales of Justice, Administrator ♎ Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 3,891	I'm a 'basher'. I carefully choose every word and slowly build up sentences. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to writing. Sometimes, it takes hours to do my homework because of this __________________ An unwritten post is a delightful universe of infinite possibilities. Set down one word, however, and it immediately becomes earthbound. Set down one sentence and it’s halfway to being just like every other bloody entry that’s ever been written. ☻

04-26-2003, 08:44 PM	#6
Ianua Hobbit Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: England Posts: 28	A swooper....I just sit and scribble, for hours, then, i'll just suddenly lose inspiration and stop....t'is annoying __________________ Happy, Clappy, and annoying beyond belief ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her Lips were red, Her looks were free, Her locks as yellow as gold, Her skin was as white as leprosy, The nightmare life-in-death was she, Who thicks man's blood with cold -Intrveiw with the vampire- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'I can resist everything exept temptation'- Oscar Wilde

04-26-2003, 10:25 PM	#8
Aralyn FloraAzul Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Anywhere as long as there is a library in a one mile radius of here Posts: 751	Basher. So it's not a bad thing? lol I thought it was. But I'm a perfectionist in practically everything so doesn't suprise me. But also once I finish a story I have to go over it again __________________ Atheism: A Non-Prophet Organization Yet many shall be amazed when they see Him-yes even far off foreign nations and thier kings; they shall stand dumb-founded, speechless in his prescence. For they shall see and understand what they had not seen before-Isaiah 52:15a Civil War- 498,332 dead WWI-116,708 dead WWII-407,316 dead Korean War-54,246 dead Vietnam War-58,665 dead Persian Gulf-372 dead War on The Unborn=35,000,000 dead and counting

04-26-2003, 05:43 PM	#3
Lief Erikson Elf Lord Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Fountain Valley, CA Posts: 6,343	I suppose I'm more of a basher than a swooper. I always take careful care about my punctuation and correct and alter my writing as I go along. However, I'm not completely a basher because when I get really excited by what I'm writing, I tend to just move along without paying attention to errors. That's primarily because I don't notice them though until later, so I guess I'm a basher .

04-26-2003, 11:17 PM	#9
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	Something in between. I do a lot of mid-work rewriting, but hardly every paragraph (chapter is probably more like it). __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

04-27-2003, 12:24 AM	#10
Elvellyn The Redneck Elf Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: In a house Posts: 539	I am a basher. I am a horrible perfectionist about some things, and writing is one of them. __________________ Oliphants make great pets.

04-27-2003, 06:26 AM	#11
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	A bit of both I think. I usually write a whole part at once and then go over it several times. I can edit it nearly indefinately until I'm satisfied with it. (thank god for computers! ) But I never write large parts in one session. Mainly because it takes so much time and because I like to work out the part in my head before typing or writing it down. So the amount of stories on paper accumulate very, very slowly. __________________ We are not things.

04-27-2003, 09:50 AM	#12
Fingolfinrox Sapling Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: West Virginia, USA Posts: 11	Swooper, when I'm actually writting. I really work it out carefully in my head first, then I just put it down as fast as I possibly can, which isn't very fast considering my typing skills. __________________ "And Morgoth came." - The Silmarilion "To pursue the unattainable is insanity, yet the thoughtless can never refrain from doing so." - To Himself, by Marcus Aurelius.

04-27-2003, 12:37 PM	#13
Laurelyn Elf Lord Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Valinor, right next to Telperion . . . what did you expect, Michigan? Posts: 1,315	Swooper. When I edit, I'll edit some bits; and then I'll totally rewrite it all. I write all at once. __________________ The Third Age of Entmoot has begun. Angel of music, guide and guardian! Grant to me your glory! The country I eat and spend the day in is by no means the country I sleep and dream in. Define patriotism. Hold the boat, you spastic monkey! ~ Elenka

04-27-2003, 02:09 PM	#14
markedel 'Sober' Mullet Frosh Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Queen's Posts: 1,245	I swoop-I tend to write in bursts, then heavily revise. I tend to rewrite things wholesale several times. __________________ "Earnur was a man like his father in valour, but not in wisdom"

04-27-2003, 02:28 PM	#15
Mark of Cenla Elven Warrior Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: central Louisiana Posts: 105	I am in between but lean more toward a swooper. I like revising. Peace. __________________ Mark Wellman ><>

04-27-2003, 03:45 PM	#16
Ninquelote Elven Warrior Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Here. For the time being. Posts: 336	I am a complete basher. I haven't written anything original in months. I am at a total writer's block and I'm even stuck on a letter I'm writing to the people who read my stories on ff.net on why I can't write. I have writer's block for a letter for why I can't write! That is pathetic! Not only am I a basher, I'm a basher going nowhere fast. __________________ XIAN- for hating Wiccans. MURDERER- for hating vegetarians. PREP- for hating Goths. These are a few of my favourite things, the hypocritical stylings of the most "liberal" groups.

04-27-2003, 04:17 PM	#18
Lief Erikson Elf Lord Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Fountain Valley, CA Posts: 6,343	I think writing blocks are a different issue from being a basher or a swooper. A new topic should probably be made for discussing writing blocks.

04-27-2003, 05:53 PM	#19
Elenka The Negative Soul of Entmoot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: The Middle Distance Posts: 651	A swooper, probably. But if something doesn't sound quite right, well, then I'm a basher. I like things to be exactly the way I see it in my head. __________________ W00T for the M00T!! War doesn't determine who is right - war determines who is left.

04-27-2003, 06:00 PM	#20
Ninquelote Elven Warrior Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Here. For the time being. Posts: 336	Hm. Well. I've changed my mind. I'm a swooper. Because right after I wrote my last message on this thread, I went upstairs and typed two pages straight for the third chapter of my story. __________________ XIAN- for hating Wiccans. MURDERER- for hating vegetarians. PREP- for hating Goths. These are a few of my favourite things, the hypocritical stylings of the most "liberal" groups.