I have a question for you fellow authors. Can you live through the novel you are writing when you are writing? I don't know about you, but personally, (only when I'm writing) I feel as if I was a part of it. I can laugh at my own jokes while writing, sob a little when I am writing an emotional part, feel slightly aroused when... *cough* *clears throat* and such... XD It feels strange. I don't feel this way every time, but there have been many cases of this happening, like today. And so, I'm here to discuss this.

It happens almost every time when I ignore Discord and other such places and I can really feel what I'm writing. At other times, I'm just living my life normally, though sometimes I think about my novel to have new ideas and how to proceed and how to connect this with that, etc... But that's an obvious thing to do as an author.

But when I'm writing, it happens that I fall so deeply into writing, that I can feel every word, sentence, paragraph. It's a bit strange feeling since it's as if you were stuck in your own world. Have you experienced such a thing? I literally cried over a reunion scene once. XDD

My point is, does your writing touch you deeply or are you just writing a story? Do you pour yourself into it?

P.S:. I think that bad reviews hurt much more those who are writing this way, though I can ignore those fellows on the biggest part and focus on those hundreds/thousands of people who are liking my novel instead. (After writing for months...)
Also, I'd rather see serious answers. Thanks for reading this long ass thing. I wanted to make it shorter...

I'd say that's a positive sign that shows what you're writing has emotional resonance. On the one hand you have the scene in your head so it doesn't guarantee the writing is conveying that; but on the other, there's the fact that the scene is never going to be as sudden and fresh as it would for a reader (you can't hide plot twists from yourself, after all), so if you're hit by it then chances are your reader will be.

But getting back to your question, yes I think you definitely can. I've written moments that have made me tear up in spite of myself. I've felt the rage of a character at another's actions spilling over into me. Personally, if a given book or story I'm working on hasn't fired up sympathetic emotions for a character at some point, I'd be concerned. Your mileage may vary, of course. I'm sure there are writers that don't feel this way and still produce great work. It's much like the concept of characters as people in your head who feel separate from you, like you just listen to them and write down what they say but don't have much control. Many writers describe their process as being that way, but there's a lot of variation in how our minds work.

Also, there is one pitfall to be mindful of. When I get emotionally invested in a character, I find myself subconsciously making things easier on them because I want them to succeed. It can take the random element out of events that work against your attempts at forging a plot, but only if you don't clock it. Depends how important that aspect is to your style, too.

I swear George RR Martin writes with a handful of dice, though...

It's the same for me. When I'm writing a snippet, I think about being the guy of the POV, and I immerse myself in the scene, then I simply describe what's happening. Than it's an iterative process about thinking of an overall plot, and story threads, and filling chapters with snippets that makes the story thread progress. I find it very enjoyable! It's an hobby after all. It has to be enjoyable.

What I like the most are scenes in which things are happening on an epic scale relative to the settings. Right now I'm writing a fantasy novel. For example there is a scene in which dragons try to fight off meteors and fails :D While writing it I can see the meteors schorching down, and dragons trying to deflect them with magic of various kind. And collateral damage happens all around.

After this is done I'll do a sci-fi novel. I can't wait to explore a naval battle! I have a battle for Sol already in mind, pitting a pathetic human fleet, an advanced but small alien-elf fleet against a gigantic zerg like fleet.

'Novodantis' pid='826925' dateline='1502276373' Wrote: -- || --

Yeah, that could be a problem, though I think that I'm doing pretty well when it comes to this. This might be because when I'm writing I have the whole novel in my head, not just a given scene. (Since I always start writing after planning the ending and a few main arcs.) Such being the case, I can write a scene while I'm invested in it and still see the whole picture.

Haha, the thing about making it easier for the character is definitely a pitfall, but yes, it is dependent on what the author wants. Thanks for the reply. :3
If you have the time, read my reply to the post below yours. What are the times when you have this immersion feeling? Battle scenes? Romantic scenes? etc... I'm curious.

'Reya Dawnbringer' pid='826926' dateline='1502276772' Wrote: -- || --

It's good to be excited, isn't it? XD To be honest, I can't really relate to fighting scenes most of the time and rage is likely to be the same. Personally, I don't show too much emotion. It's not that I am hiding it or I want to cover it up. It's more like... I don't care about many things. So rage is a bit hard for me to convey. That's definitely one of my weak points. XD
Luckily, I can make characters who would be hated by many, so that will take care of the readers' rage lmao.

I mainly have this feeling when I'm writing inner monologs, reunion scenes, characterization scenes and such. At times when my characters open up and talk with each other, showing their inner selves. That's the time when I truly have this immersed feeling.

I tend to get invested to my writing too.  :D 
Often I found myself looking through my characters' eyes, but most of the time, I try to avoid this for reasons Novodantis mentioned and some. 

For me, it's not the scene I'm immersed into. It's the feelings they go through. I feel particularly into it during scenes where the characters make choices that not only affect themselves, but also the lives of others. When writing those scenes, I'd find myself burdened by a heavy sense of responsibility and start second-guessing the choices they make. At this point, I'd distance myself from the characters and start looking at it from "above". That way, the characters can make choices that go with the plot and their own personalities, instead of making them do things that align with my own conscience or whatever.

'Tanaka Tomoyuki' pid='826933' dateline='1502283196' Wrote: My protagonist is a self-insert. I live my story through him and get too deeply immersed and attached that...well, yeah. The whole point of writing for me is to live through my imagination and have fun, or have an adventure. My protagonist is a vehicle for that, a vessel for me to occupy when adventuring through a fictional, often fantastic universe. That's what make writing so fun for me. I don't just put words on a paper, I actually immerse myself in a fictional pseudo-reality. I try not to make everything work out for my opponent because it's boring if everything goes my way and there is no failure - half the fun is overcoming the failure and the challenges, the excitement of fighting an uphill battle against all odds. Curbstomping opponents just because you're on a power trip and enamored with the idea of wish fulfilment doesn't make it fun to write or read.

In any case, I probably attach myself too much to my writing. That's why I'm not a writer who is as good, talented, skillful or amazing as you guys.

That's why bad reviews, 0.5 star ratings (1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 as well) hurt me pretty badly.

Those hurt me too in the beginning, but I'm caring less about it after 700k words. XD Now that I finished writing my main novel, I feel even less interested in these reviews/ratings, though they sting a little.

About self-insert. What can I say? All of my main characters have a good chunk of my own personality. I can write about other types of people as side characters, but I couldn't even imagine somebody else as the MC. On a side note, giving challenges is truly enjoyable. Although WIILTBE was lacking in that since that novel had a completely different meaning, it was still enjoyable to write. though it turned really tiring to write towards the end.

Now that I'm writing QoD, I am doing it in a completely different way. It's very fun to create real opponents, who pose a threat. After writing such a long-ass OP theme novel, this feels very refreshing. Since my MC is mostly me, it's really annoying when somebody says that the MC is unreal/unnatural. Am I not real/natural in that case or what? They are literally questioning my existence by saying such things...

Either way, ty for the reply :3

I think that's the best sort of writing, when it comes to fiction. You aren't just in flow, but so caught up in what's going on that you lose sight of everything else going on around you and are lost in the story and the feel of it.  It's great, when it happens.

Me though, I think it isn't the be-all end-all.  I mean, it's great when it happens -- it's amazing, really -- but I'm so scattered that I can never seem to focus on the story often enough for it to happen properly.  Either I'm writing the scene, or I'm excited/sad/angry/whatever about what's going on, and it's a very knife-edge thing for me to walk, most of the time.  It's a battle between getting the words out and feeling what's going on.  I can think of only one time where I was able to really be both very emotional and write a scene, and that scene... it still makes me cry on rereading it, but it's still a mess, too.  It never got to the stage of working.

Now, I freely admit that part of this has to do with the fact that, up until recently, I was so scattered that I would write scenes out of order and in chunks, on a sentence and paragraph level.  Heck, half the time it was more like editing than writing, because I'd go back and add in words that weren't there before, reshape a sentence, flesh things out, stuff like that.  It's only really recently that I've switched to doing things more linearly.  And, I imagine, that will help with getting more emotionally invested with what's going on, but it's still a struggle I haven't overcome yet.  In time, and maybe typing more words per minute, but not yet.

'I'm not telling' pid='826974' dateline='1502391070' Wrote: I think that's the best sort of writing, when it comes to fiction. You aren't just in flow, but so caught up in what's going on that you lose sight of everything else going on around you and are lost in the story and the feel of it.  It's great, when it happens.

Me though, I think it isn't the be-all end-all.  I mean, it's great when it happens -- it's amazing, really -- but I'm so scattered that I can never seem to focus on the story often enough for it to happen properly.  Either I'm writing the scene, or I'm excited/sad/angry/whatever about what's going on, and it's a very knife-edge thing for me to walk, most of the time.  It's a battle between getting the words out and feeling what's going on.  I can think of only one time where I was able to really be both very emotional and write a scene, and that scene... it still makes me cry on rereading it, but it's still a mess, too.  It never got to the stage of working.

Now, I freely admit that part of this has to do with the fact that, up until recently, I was so scattered that I would write scenes out of order and in chunks, on a sentence and paragraph level.  Heck, half the time it was more like editing than writing, because I'd go back and add in words that weren't there before, reshape a sentence, flesh things out, stuff like that.  It's only really recently that I've switched to doing things more linearly.  And, I imagine, that will help with getting more emotionally invested with what's going on, but it's still a struggle I haven't overcome yet.  In time, and maybe typing more words per minute, but not yet.

That's another type of author. No offense meant. I think that this has a lot to do with personality types too. I know what you are talking about since I too have that kind of problem from time to time. I keep wandering around, opening everything, procrastinating writing.

My advice would be to open a Word Document. Plug out the Internet/disconnect from it or anything, and start writing. You won't have anything else to focus on, so you will be able to fall more into it. Just don't lose sight of the whole picture. :3
Also, good luck, fellow author! :D

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'CorpseDead' pid='826979' dateline='1502406507' Wrote: That's another type of author. No offense meant. I think that this has a lot to do with personality types too. I know what you are talking about since I too have that kind of problem from time to time. I keep wandering around, opening everything, procrastinating writing.

My advice would be to open a Word Document. Plug out the Internet/disconnect from it or anything, and start writing. You won't have anything else to focus on, so you will be able to fall more into it. Just don't lose sight of the whole picture. :3
Also, good luck, fellow author! :D

Haha, I think if it where that simple, I would have finished my first million words of fiction already.

I have ADHD, so I don't think that unplugging the internet is going to do more than make me irritated because I can't listen to my music. That and my anxiety, while not all that emotionally taxing, makes me really, really twitchy, so pacing and doing other things instead of writing for the first hour or two while my meds kick in is kind of normal.

'CorpseDead' pid='826929' dateline='1502278817' Wrote: If you have the time, read my reply to the post below yours. What are the times when you have this immersion feeling? Battle scenes? Romantic scenes? etc... I'm curious.

I get this kind of immersion at very different times. I still get a big grin on my face when I read a certain line by Elzie, from my novel Cloudgazer, at the moment when her attitude to main character Kiy completely changes. I feel the seething anger and frustrations of Ambra, the mutant psyion from Metrodome Tyran, when the world is just fucking unfair to her yet again. I suppose the thing most of the moments have in common is that they're usually pivotal in some way. But I feel that when I am in this mindset, I'm essentially applying that human ability to fabricate reality, our imaginations, to my emotional (as well as rational) brain.