Do you plan ahead?

[fairlane]

When I write a story I have a definate idea of who the main character/s will be, and what the first scene will be. I also have a vague end point in mind, usually to do with the character/s emotions having reached some sort of clarity that I've decided on rather than a specific scene.

The rest I just make up as I go, one event leads to another and so on and eventually I hope to bring it around to the ending I have in mind. I find this does not work so well in a fan fiction format as I post chapters as I write them, so have no room to rewrite if I change my mind on a plot point, or decide it's implausible, or doesn't lead the story in any definate direction.

I try now to think ahead a bit more, but usually change my mind several times through the course of the story on how exactly I'm going to get to the end.

How much do you plan your plot, or do you make it up as you go?

[Keira]

The way I look at it, a story is made good by a plot and it's structure. It's made GREAT by the characters and in the ways we get to know them.

I usually have a pretty good idea of where the story is going, and how it's going to get there. Sometimes I write down these plot points, and other times I just let it come or not. If it doesn't work in the story after all, then I don't use it. But, as a general rule, I let the story guide itself through the points I set up for it. The story comes while working from one point to another.

What bothers me is when there is no plot to a story and it's merely scenes involving the characters that we've seen many times over again. These stories can start off with a purpose and then just drift into absolutely nothing, and it's rather irritating. No one wants to start a story that's going to end up with absolutely no point. Or very few people anyway. If there's no direction to go with it's substance, than it's going to struggle to be a great story. People who want to aim for mediocrity will do fine with no plot.

[zevie]

Most of my stories start as one shots, and I keep writing because I end up with a scene in my head from later in the same situation that becomes a pivotal scene in the story. I always have to know what the point of my story is, which for me aswell is usually either the ending or a character revelation - or both. I do a little bit of a random mixture of writing. I know where I want to story to go, and I have a huge file called "Extras" with scattered scenes that I wrote when thinking about the characters and what they might do. But, I also tend to post chapters up as soon as they're written which becomes a HUGE PAIN. I always just try to think what the character might do to keep the story moving, which can end up rambly. But, if I end up with an actual scene from the end written, then I write backwards from that as well. Like right now with my chapter story, I was thinking about the ending I'd planned, and I just got sucked into it and wrote down the scene I'm almost 100 percent sure I want, and I wrote backwards from that. Like burning the candle at both ends sort of...which has come to a head, and is now presenting a huge problem. I've got the first three quarters of the story lined up alright, and the ending all nice and straight, a pivotal scene that I need to stick in somewhere and right where I'm at is this huge tangled knot. Which sucks.

I've only tried the point-form planning thing once on a pretty small scale though (but it's definitely going to be what I do NOW heh). But, it worked amazingly before. Although, at the time when I wrote using the point form it felt very forced, and was very slow going, because I wasn’t just letting the characters do whatever they wanted exactly, I was trying to push them along. But, it definitely got things going where I wanted them and nowhere else. Otherwise, I've tried to trust the characters and followed them around and usually it ends up where I want to...but the problem with that is there's always this sort of meandering pointless couple of chapters or useless foreshadowing or unresolved side-plot, which frustrates readers and makes me feel guilty, heh.

[Nittanylizard]

This is a good thread.

While I generally have an idea where I'm going with a story, sometimes I have to start writing to figure out exactly what it's about and where the conflict is. My first drafts can be very different from my finals, which is another reason I don't like posting fanfiction as I'm writing it. Ten Years Later is a good example - there's so much going on in that story, it doesn't know what it's about ;D. If that were a story I wanted to get published, I would go back and remove some of the characters, delete parts that didn't go anywhere, expand on the Ponyboy/Vic plot and relationship, and either put it all in Pony's POV, or switch to third person and focus on Ponyboy and Vic.

Sometimes I know the characters before the story, and it takes me a while to figure out where the conflict is and what the plot is (i.e. Someone to Watch Over Me, where I knew that Mikey was younger than Ponyboy, he looked up to him, and there was something about him that connected him in some subtle way to Ponyboy). The story didn't come to me until about three months after I'd started mentally developing the character.

I almost always get hit with another plot point or subplot when I'm halfway through that I like to go back and foreshadow or elude to in some way. Also, I like to write fragments of the story as they come to me and then glue them in where appropriate.

I know there are authors who are so good at outlining that their final isn't much different than the first draft, but that doesn't work for me. Some of my best writing comes from just letting it happen, and allowing myself to diverge from the plan. Then I have to go back and do surgery to get rid of the six extra useless eyes, tack on a few fingers, and make sure the heart is doing what it's supposed to .

[fairlane]

A timeline is something I am seriously in need of doing, I have a problem with remembering how long is suposed to have passed since certain events took place in the story, and even what day of the week exactly it is meant to be.

I tend to write like it's an eternal weekend and then read back and realise that no ones been to work or school for about 5 days or something.

If I ever went back and rewrote my fics from the start I would be fixing countless continuity errors.

[Tensleep]

Structure kills.

I only made the mistake of planning out two stories. Neither have been updated in years because of it. So I go with my favorite technique: "Don't think, just write."

You can come up with some awesome things when you don't try to. I find forcing my writing only leads to problems and dead ends. That's not to say I don't have it all planned out in my head. Plotlines, characters, and meaningless details taking up all my head space is my excuse for not being able to pass math. I have no room left in my head for something so boring...

But as I was saying, a plan just makes things difficult. You either have to stick with it or scrap it at some point. Well, that's what I find.

See ya in the funny papers!!!

Tens

[printandpolish]

I honestly think the reason "When I Grow Up" has been sitting stagnant for so long is because I dont have this structure. I know how Cinnamon meets Clinton, I know how she fares in nursing school and I have a couple of scenes in my head that happen, but other than that? Nada.

I recently discovered that, for me, an outline is absolutely necessary. It doesn't have to very detailed, even, just something as general as

1. Pony is jumped, introduce the gang.
2. The Drive In -- Dally hits on Cherry.

Then what happens in between is more freeflow. I find with the writing the free-flow is more significant and somehow works itself toward the plot as a whole.

[Keira]

Those are my outlines too. Just moving from one point to another.

[Shadow]

Truth be told, I outline like mad. I haven't written much that actually needed a plot line, though.

[zevie]

I got stuck, so I outlined the rest of my fic so that I knew exactly how things work. I'm still stuck. Instead of thinking "what" I'm thinking "how" and I keep drawing massive blanks. I got no flow!

For all those people who outline (even a little bit) did it take time before it felt natural? Does it get easier??

[Nittanylizard]

Although I don't do formal outlines, I usually at least jot down a chronological list of what happens when. Sometimes it gets much more detailed, and I can write several pages, separated into bulleted paragraphs, that more or less read as if I'm describing the story to somebody.

There are some authors who write outlines that end up being 1/3 of the length of the entire novel in that way.

So, zevie, maybe try doing different types of outlines, see what works. One of the other things I do is to write fragments of the story as they come to me. The more of those I write, the more the gaps fill in, until everything starts meeting up.

When I get stuck somewhere (as I am now on one of my WIP), I step back and put my character into a completely different situation. It can get the flow back, and you can start to see things from a different perspective. One author suggested that if you're stuck, hit enter twice and type in something like, "And then, the door crashed open to admit three samurai warriors and a princess." Have the characters react, keep going for a few paragraphs or pages, and then go back to where you're stuck. Either it won't work, or your characters will be begging you to listen to what happens to them in the normal story ;D.

[zevie]

Haha, thanks for the suggestion. I may try that...although, this time I have a sneaking suspicion it's just a case of powering through and polishing it later.

[Rock]

Right now I'm working on a new story. I decided to go ahead and outline it. And when I say outline, I mean, really....very detailed. I'm going to have a character sketch for every one I need to, as well as a detailed outline. I decided to do this because I have never (yeah....maybe once) finished a story (none of which were outsiders fics).

Do you think this will help me finish? Its all I can figure out. But I'm the planning everything out kind of gal. I just don't know though, I'm afraid it will limit my creativity too much. Oh well, huh?

I'll let you all know - when the outline is done. (in a year? hahah).

Rock

[Stone Orchid]

I tend to over plan my stories. I have a structured outline that goes from beginning to the end with a seperate outline for sub-plots and significant events that are going to be worked into the whole plot line.

It helps with the writing end of it, and since my beta has a copy of said outline, it helps to make sure the chapters fuse together and flow like they should.

[murderofcrows]

most of the stories i write are one-shots [cuz i just have one or two scenes in my head and then i can't write past it, but they're still good] but those that are going to be extensive [like my current original fic] have definite points to cover...they're aren't really specific, just basic

1. introduce the characters
2. flashback to explain why they are on this quest
etc.

the inspiration for my original fic was actually a lucid dream i had that i felt so strongly about that i wrote down the major points and am now composing into a full-length novel-type of work.