Writing From A Plan
I don’t think there’s an absolute answer to this question, as there very likely are as many solutions as there are writers out there. Therefore, I’m going to consider this from a subjective point of view only: drafting a precise plan and outlines for a story before writing it, is it an effective method for you, or not?Weirldy enough, I’ve always worked with a plan for non-fiction writing, such as school essays or technical documents later on. For fiction stories, on the other hand, I work much more loosely, not even writing chapters in order. These days, I’m trying to use both methods, so that I can compare them and see which one is more efficient for me. It’s not that evident to define.It doesn’t have anything to do with what chapters I decide to write: as long as I know where I’m headed to, I can work on chapter 12 one day and on chapter 6 the day after. What I wonder is if it would allow me to be more efficient. I have a tendency to never be satisfied with my ideas after a while, which is a problem, as it fuels my Inner Editor and pushes it to rewrite or throw away entire chapters, with the result of not letting me finish the story itself. If I were to write down precisely what I intend to putting in each chapter, would it minimize this tendency of mine?.(Also, when I say “I don’t use a plan”, it doesn’t mean that I don’t use anything. I have tons of sketches, scribbled down ideas and various other maps of my fantasy world lying around—they’re just scattererd, as everything that takes life on my desk for more than two days.)So I’m trying now to draft more precise plans of what I’m going to write, and so far it doesn’t seem too bad. On days when I’m not terribly inspired (I’m not going to call the famous writer’s block to help me find an excuse!), it may give me outlines to bounce off, and if only for that, then it probably would be a valuable method for me.I know people who systematically draft a plan before starting writing, and others who don’t make a fuss about it. Perhaps my method is indeed to go through a plan. What about yours?
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Jennifer
Wow! I have to write in sequence (for the most part) if a scene meant for a chapter further down the line comes to mind I’ll write it, but usually gets changed by the time I get back to it.I usally hve a plan. I know my chapter layout. I know my story. I know my characters. However never do I set anything in stone. So the plan can change (in fact usually it ALWAYS changes) but I have one to start with none the less 🙂
ME Strauss
Wow Yzabel,If you can write fiction chapters out of order, you should be doing movies! I have to do my fiction in order. In fact I get so involved in the action, I have to go back to check that I haven’t moved the characters from A to D, forgetting to move them through B and C.Like you, I approach fiction more loosely. I have a plan of where the story is going–sort of a big picture story map. But I worry that if I get too specific I’ll lose the spontaneous action and dialogue or that I won’t go where the characters lead me.Anyway that’s how I do it.Thanks for asking. Liz
melly
Yup, I’m pretty much all over the place and then tie it all together. It doesn’t always work though.I know where I’m going, I think that’s important, but I don’t have good outlines. I think that would help me a lot.I’ve seen Jennifer’s plan (or notes) for that new idea she’s working on (which is amazing) and I never had that much detail.Gees, that was a real fun post. Thanks.
Gone Away
For a book, I’ll think about it for years beforehand. And then just write it. Plan? What’s that? I know the essential story from having worked it out in my head and I allow the writing to lead me where it will within that framework. Part of the enjoyment is in the surprises and little bombs the characters prepare for me.
Yzabel
Jennifer — I know my characters and story too, that’s why I usually can write without following any specific order; I know where they’re “going to”, sort of, it’s all in my head, and noted down on slips of papers and other notebooks around me. I simply don’t write a full, ordered plan, with every little detail about what happens, probably because, as you said, “the plan can change”. Of course… if I find a way of better developing a part of the story, what followed and had been written before tends to get modified as well, so I’m not sure if the method is that efficient.
Yzabel
Liz and Gone — I must admit that “losing spontaneity” may be one of my deep fears in not having used the plan method until now for fiction. Especially after the long break I took in writing in the past years, my own perception of my world, the natural evolution of my ideas, made it so that some of my characters and plots changed a lot, and perhaps I simply didn’t want to let myself be trapped in a precise schema in case such an evolution was to occur again.On the other hand, I can’t postpone finishing a story until Hell freezes over, so there’s a point when I need to draw a line and perhaps force myself to work within a more rigid frame. This is what I’m attempting to do by comparison: going on working on my “main” story, and using a detailed plan for short stories, just to see what works better for me. Maybe trusting what’s in my head only will prove better in the long run, maybe not. Nevertheless, I’m eager to know what will become the best method for me.
Yzabel
Melly — It doesn’t always work, that’s indeed a good remark. I’ve had to rewrite pretty much entire chapters at times, due to noticing all of a sudden that things didn’t exactly fit. on the other hand, rewriting is less terrible for me than not knowing where to go with my stories, so I’m not complaining 🙂