Are you a swooper or basher?

[IronParrot]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Coney]

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]

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]

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

[Elvellyn]

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

[Earniel]

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!:eek: )

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]

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]

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

[markedel]

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

[Mark of Cenla]

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

[Ninquelote]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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. :D

[Willow Oran]

Well... I can swoop when I need to but only if I've already bashed it out in my head which usually occurs when I'm in bed and half-asleep. Most of the time though I'm a basher. I wonder... could the style have something to do with who our favorite writers are? I know that I for one like to read and re-read books that I like and then pick out the things I like about that writer's style. The end result is a mish mash of all sorts of styles that works well for me. Does anyone else do this? Does any one else suspect that being a fan of Tolkien might contribute to any perfectionest or 'basher' tendencies we might might have?

[Nurvingiel]

It's possible Tolkien swooped and revised heavily.

I like to swoop because I enjoy editing. I end up being a basher it I don't get on a good train of thought.

Sometimes I write out the key plot points so I can keep advancing.

[Laurus Nobilis]

I'm definitely a basher. I'm an extremely slow writer, but I just can't move on to the next paragraph until the current one is the best I can do.

I even tried to swoop from time to time, but it never works for me. :( I can't just write the main ideas and correct them later; no, I need to find THE word that goes in that place. *sigh*

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

I am definitely very much a swooper, my only problem is it takes a lot a lot of willpower to make myself go back and edit. Sure, I get plenty of ideas for editing and changing, but because I write so quickly, it seems such a daunting task and I get overwhelmed. Alas. And my current project is in serious need of a major re-write. More alas. :)

[Elfmaster XK]

Swooper. Majorly.

I can spew entire 27 page chapters in a day, and then ignore it for a week, and then revise it all again. This only works if I have all my character outlines, maps and backstory pages around me or in another window, though, or else I get distracted, lose the thread...

Swooping works for me though, but on reaching the final full stop at the end of my novel I left it for a few months, and am now into the revising, and this is taking up the time. Damn chapter three to hell, it won't behave. :rolleyes: :p

[Tessar]

swooper. I'll sit down for a few hours and slap out a short story , then go back the next day or so and refine it a bit.

[Starr Polish]

I'm a bit of both, but when I get past my writer's block I'm usually a swooper. I find that it works better for me, because if I use the basher style I'll get stuck on a certain word or sentence and concentrate too much on that, thus forgetting important plot points and characterization that is zooming through my head very quickly.

[Legolas_Frodo_Aragorn]

well....i am a "swooper" when i am writing a piece...usually the words just flow..but then between pieces and good ideas im more like a "basher"

[Snowdog]

I would have to say I do my best writing as a 'Swooper', though I have periods of 'Bashing'. The Bashing periods are where I work out conflicts in storyline and plot to get them to meld, whereas when I Swoop, I lay down whole sections of the story in its various times.

[Lizra]

Swooping all the way! I wish I could speed type cause I worry I won't get it all down fast enough before muddling, or forgeting. I should "talk it" into a tape recorder! :) I really enjoy the editing. Eliminating useless sentences and words is very fullfilling. I have to watch that I don't go to far when I'm on the computer. Picking paragraphs is annoying to me. The editor at the paper would do it for me, to suit the copy needs, and that suited me just fine! :)

[Linaewen]

Undoubtedly a basher. I cannot write anything without it being perfect. Then, I edit it viciously afterwards. Take for instance the time when my friend and I had to write something for History. We had to work together but I basically kept twisting everything she said so that it was good enough. :)

However, I am becoming somewhere in the middle now. Very glad - it took me only a 45 min class to finish this English essay- whereas previously it would have taken me that time, and much of that night as well to perfect it.

And if it's just normal writing, not for school, it still takes me ages to decide what I want to write. I hate awkward parts in my writing.