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A Little About My Process... (Foxtrot Writing Style)
5 years ago
General
It occurs to me that it might be helpful for my audience if I gave you a little insight to my particular creative writing process, and what to expect when working with me. At first I thought maybe I should keep this information to myself... but in the end I decided that I would be most honored if other writers felt they could learn something from me and use it to improve their own work. So, feel free to use this format yourself if it sounds good to you. Just call it... "Foxtrot style" ;)
Foxtrot style was developed as a countermeasure to writing while suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but will still work fine for the neurotypical writer. It uses a blend of Descriptive and Narrative writing styles, and is conducted in 5 main phases. These phases are: Research Phase, Freewriting Phase, Storyboarding Phase, Drafting Phase, and Proofing Phase.
Writers: If you suffer from ADHD like I do, you may find yourself bouncing between these phases a lot at first. That's okay! If you keep up using it, you'll get better at staying in chronological order with them over time. I designed it to be functional even if you're having a hard time staying focused, so do your best to stick with it for a while, until it starts to feel natural. Do not let ADHD stifle your creativity!
Now, these stages may sound familiar to you, and that's because many of them are inspired by a common progression system used by many visual artists in our community. Whether on the page or on the canvas, the creative process manifests in similar ways.
Research Phase - I examine all of your reference material and make notes. If I don’t know your fetish (and there aren’t many I don’t), I research that here too. If you think of anything else you want me to see, we do that here.
Writers: Do not be afraid to ask your client questions about their fetishes if you aren't an expert. 99 times out of a hundred, they will be happy to tell you everything they know about it. You want this information. The more you know about their desires, the more likely you'll end up with a pleased customer.
Freewriting Phase - I start spilling out disjointed ideas, bits of prose and chunky dialogue until something sticks. This is analogous with a “sketch”. Make comments and edit anything you like during this phase if you think I need even more ideas or hate something I threw out there.
Writers: I use a technique I like to call "infodumping" here. Just hammer away at the keys, typing everything that pops into your head whether it makes sense right away or not. If you start drawing a blank, just keymash (asfnjgahwiarhdfg) until you think of the next real words to write next. Try not to worry about your spelling or punctuation here, and most importantly, do not backspace anything! The idea behind infodumping is that by freeing your fingers from the normal restrictions of your conscious mind, they will begin to also type things from your subconscious mind. You may find an idea in this text you don't even remember having!
Storyboarding Phase - I write descriptions of the scenes from your story in a matter-of-fact descriptive tone, one “block” at a time. Minimal dialogue and minimal detail. Think of this as “line art” but with text. When I’m done, I will summon you to make any desired adjustments and sign off on them.
Writers: It may help to think of this phase as "RP with yourself". Here you can just type out what happens without needing it to look super well crafted. Every time the scenery changes significantly enough, hit 'enter' a couple times and start another storyboard. This is a good way to get your ideas on the page and have a visual reference to refer to when you're writing your prose and dialogue.
Drafting Phase - You can think of this as “coloring the line art”. I start elaborating on the storyboards and turn them into prose and dialogue. I don’t necessarily write them in order, but I’ll smooth out the edges in the next phase. When they are all finished, I will summon you once more to review it. This is your last chance to make any last minute changes to the story.
Writers: Do not be afraid to draft your storyboards out of order. You already wrote out what happens, so you aren't likely to create any massive continuity errors by working out of sync. Also, this keeps you fresh. Hopping between different points of the story will keep your mind on it's toes, and creative ideas for your dialogue and prose will jump out at you more obviously than they would if you stayed on the same train of thought from beginning to end. Don't worry, you will be able to smooth out the edges between them in the final phase.
Proofing Phase - I will ask you once if you have a preference for the title, if not, I will title it for you. I then go through the final draft word by word and correct any and all grammar and spelling errors. I format the document professionally on a Microsoft Word .docx file. This is more or less the “shading” step of an equivalent art piece. This phase is conducted in private, and no more changes can be made at this time.
Writers: Remember, Proofreading and Editing are incompatible. No one can feasibly do both at the same time. Before you begin proofreading, make super sure neither you nor the client wishes to make any more plot related changes. Then, read your piece one word at a time checking for spelling, grammar, and phrasing errors. You can and should change certain words with synonyms to make them sound better, but don't change what happens anymore. If you do, you have to start proofreading all over again, and that's super annoying, I promise.
When the piece is complete, I then lock the document with a password in read only form. The client does not get the password. If edits need to be made after the Proofing Phase you will need to contact me again and explain what needs to be changed and why. If it's my fault, I will edit the piece for free and send you a new version, also locked in read only format.
Writers: For more information on how to password protect your final document from being edited by others, click here: https://www.bluepecantraining.com/restrict-editing-parts-word-document/ . SAVE YOUR PASSWORDS BUT DO NOT GIVE THEM TO THE CLIENT. Have them bring the document back to you if they need any corrections made. This is to protect *you* from having your portfolio corrupted. If their complaint is your fault, I recommend fixing it for free. If it is not, you should be allowed to charge them for repairs.
And that's it! If you like Foxtrot Style, please feel free to implement in your next piece of work! And if not, please leave a comment about what you would do differently! If you have any questions about some of the finer intricacies of my process, send me a note and maybe I'll tell you a little secret ;)
Now then, grab your pens, and let us craft some masterpieces together~
Romeo Del Zorro
Foxtrot style was developed as a countermeasure to writing while suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, but will still work fine for the neurotypical writer. It uses a blend of Descriptive and Narrative writing styles, and is conducted in 5 main phases. These phases are: Research Phase, Freewriting Phase, Storyboarding Phase, Drafting Phase, and Proofing Phase.
Writers: If you suffer from ADHD like I do, you may find yourself bouncing between these phases a lot at first. That's okay! If you keep up using it, you'll get better at staying in chronological order with them over time. I designed it to be functional even if you're having a hard time staying focused, so do your best to stick with it for a while, until it starts to feel natural. Do not let ADHD stifle your creativity!
Now, these stages may sound familiar to you, and that's because many of them are inspired by a common progression system used by many visual artists in our community. Whether on the page or on the canvas, the creative process manifests in similar ways.
Research Phase - I examine all of your reference material and make notes. If I don’t know your fetish (and there aren’t many I don’t), I research that here too. If you think of anything else you want me to see, we do that here.
Writers: Do not be afraid to ask your client questions about their fetishes if you aren't an expert. 99 times out of a hundred, they will be happy to tell you everything they know about it. You want this information. The more you know about their desires, the more likely you'll end up with a pleased customer.
Freewriting Phase - I start spilling out disjointed ideas, bits of prose and chunky dialogue until something sticks. This is analogous with a “sketch”. Make comments and edit anything you like during this phase if you think I need even more ideas or hate something I threw out there.
Writers: I use a technique I like to call "infodumping" here. Just hammer away at the keys, typing everything that pops into your head whether it makes sense right away or not. If you start drawing a blank, just keymash (asfnjgahwiarhdfg) until you think of the next real words to write next. Try not to worry about your spelling or punctuation here, and most importantly, do not backspace anything! The idea behind infodumping is that by freeing your fingers from the normal restrictions of your conscious mind, they will begin to also type things from your subconscious mind. You may find an idea in this text you don't even remember having!
Storyboarding Phase - I write descriptions of the scenes from your story in a matter-of-fact descriptive tone, one “block” at a time. Minimal dialogue and minimal detail. Think of this as “line art” but with text. When I’m done, I will summon you to make any desired adjustments and sign off on them.
Writers: It may help to think of this phase as "RP with yourself". Here you can just type out what happens without needing it to look super well crafted. Every time the scenery changes significantly enough, hit 'enter' a couple times and start another storyboard. This is a good way to get your ideas on the page and have a visual reference to refer to when you're writing your prose and dialogue.
Drafting Phase - You can think of this as “coloring the line art”. I start elaborating on the storyboards and turn them into prose and dialogue. I don’t necessarily write them in order, but I’ll smooth out the edges in the next phase. When they are all finished, I will summon you once more to review it. This is your last chance to make any last minute changes to the story.
Writers: Do not be afraid to draft your storyboards out of order. You already wrote out what happens, so you aren't likely to create any massive continuity errors by working out of sync. Also, this keeps you fresh. Hopping between different points of the story will keep your mind on it's toes, and creative ideas for your dialogue and prose will jump out at you more obviously than they would if you stayed on the same train of thought from beginning to end. Don't worry, you will be able to smooth out the edges between them in the final phase.
Proofing Phase - I will ask you once if you have a preference for the title, if not, I will title it for you. I then go through the final draft word by word and correct any and all grammar and spelling errors. I format the document professionally on a Microsoft Word .docx file. This is more or less the “shading” step of an equivalent art piece. This phase is conducted in private, and no more changes can be made at this time.
Writers: Remember, Proofreading and Editing are incompatible. No one can feasibly do both at the same time. Before you begin proofreading, make super sure neither you nor the client wishes to make any more plot related changes. Then, read your piece one word at a time checking for spelling, grammar, and phrasing errors. You can and should change certain words with synonyms to make them sound better, but don't change what happens anymore. If you do, you have to start proofreading all over again, and that's super annoying, I promise.
When the piece is complete, I then lock the document with a password in read only form. The client does not get the password. If edits need to be made after the Proofing Phase you will need to contact me again and explain what needs to be changed and why. If it's my fault, I will edit the piece for free and send you a new version, also locked in read only format.
Writers: For more information on how to password protect your final document from being edited by others, click here: https://www.bluepecantraining.com/restrict-editing-parts-word-document/ . SAVE YOUR PASSWORDS BUT DO NOT GIVE THEM TO THE CLIENT. Have them bring the document back to you if they need any corrections made. This is to protect *you* from having your portfolio corrupted. If their complaint is your fault, I recommend fixing it for free. If it is not, you should be allowed to charge them for repairs.
And that's it! If you like Foxtrot Style, please feel free to implement in your next piece of work! And if not, please leave a comment about what you would do differently! If you have any questions about some of the finer intricacies of my process, send me a note and maybe I'll tell you a little secret ;)
Now then, grab your pens, and let us craft some masterpieces together~
Romeo Del Zorro
Fatal_Foxtrot
~fatalfoxtrot
OP
Well, as you can probably tell if you read to the end, I didn't proofread this journal entry XD
