It's that time again when the planning and outlining is beginning to wrap up and I'm soon going to have to jump in with that intimidating first line. There are still a few plot holes I need to fix, but I'm very excited to start the actual writing. I actually have a lot of confidence in this idea, which hasn't happened to me very much in the past.
One of the best ways I've found for me to plan a novel is to make a big long list of plot points. I can change things up as much as I want to and fill things in where needed, but the list acts as a kind of road map that helps me move from point A to point B to point C...you get the idea. I've put in quite a bit of time and thought into my current outline, because I've found that it causes me huge issues when it isn't developed enough. Clearly I'm a big planner.
I have two basic questions. What do you do as far as planning goes, and how do you know when its enough? I would love to know exactly what your outlining looks like. I just find learning about other writers processes fascinating, and besides, it might give us other writers some good ideas.
As far as how extensive planning should be, I'm sure there is a wide variety of opinions. Some people hardly plan at all and just go, which actually makes me slightly envious because I have no idea how they do it. Others make detailed chapter-by-chapter summaries. That takes too much time. But the question is, what kind of information MUST you have before you can start the novel? How detailed must your plot outline be before you know its strong enough to carry a novel?
Sarah Allen
14 comments:
I don't plan much. I do have an outline, but I don't know if many would think it as such. I know where I want my story to start, where I want it to end (Well, I have several ideas there.)and a few points that I want my characters to cross while getting there.
I let the people (they're real to me) in my story decide where they want to go. It's lots of fun that way!
Thank you for visiting my writer's blog. I do hope you visit again. I will be following you to see how your life, as well as your book, develops. Good luck in your career!
Lily
Sometimes I get so caught up in the prep work for a piece of art or writing that get I bit of stage fright when it comes to actually starting. I only have two rules for myself in this respect.
1. It's okay to start off with a stumble. I jot down whatever comes to mind and run with it, even if it means a clumsy first few sentences. I can always revise a zillion times later. Once the ball is rolling and I am in the groove, I usually rewrite the beginning anyway.
2. I always let the piece go where it wants. Sometimes I think I'm off to one destination and end in a completely different place. I think sticking too strictly to an outline can cause a great deal of frustration.
That being said, my outlines are like daydreams. The idea pauses briefly in my consciousness, then melts away.
Hi. I'm a new follower and find all your posts very interesting :)
I've tried writing a book whith only some info in my mind that I wanted on it before starting it. I always dropped them. I would always get stuck because I had no ending and middle prepared before hand and my characters would run the show into wherever they wanted which is bad because I had parts of my story completely in different stages of relashionships.
I have tried outlining each chapter too... I ended knowing the ending and every single thing, basically, but I stopped wanting to write it. I already knew everything so my mind kept shouting it was already written and refused to.
I will now try to come up with an ending and a general idea for the characters and some stuff I want to happen and then try it again.
I've written without any idea on my mind, but that only works for small stories.
I think every single person has a way that works for them, some probably can work with all of them. I haven't found mine but I've also found what doesn't work for me.
If this doesn't work I might try yours. Might be a problem of my own and that I can't actually finish anything I start, though. If it's so I'm gonna be sad, but suck it up and try anyway.
Sorry for the long post D|
I've tried a lot of different approaches, but the one thing I've never done is to sit down and plan from start to finish. I may know what happens at start and end, but the stuff in the middle happens as I go. The most I've planned ahead is by a chapter or two and even then, what happens is vague.
The only information I need for my first draft: The end of the story.
As long as I know where I'm going, I'll be able to find my way there.
:-)
So no, I didn't plan my first draft at all.
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~Deirdra
hey,
I don´t plan that much, too. I have an idea and note it. Then a story is building up in my mind. I write scenes, parts of dialouges and so on down. I write down, how the story will start and go on and then the rest comes when I´m writing. New characters appeare and new ideas and situations, that add a very good atmosphere and the story designs itself during the writing progress.
Sometimes I have only one scene in my head and the rest comes itself.
To plan my writing very detailed makes me bored of writing it. I only note very important things and scenes and feelings down.
That´s the way I do it. And it´s very interesting, what add´s into the story while I´m writing. I could never find them while I´m writing about that what I want to write in my story.^^
First off, I'm a wiz at beginnings. Hence the reason why I've STARTED a billion projects, but have only finished a few.
I tend to have such a clear idea for the beginning in my head that I just start writing and keep going from there. Afterwards, I realize I have no idea what I'm doing or where it's all going and that's when I backtrack. Most of the time I do write chapter-by-chapter summaries. Only recently have I resorted to bulletpoint-style outlines.
So, yeah, the bulk of my planning comes after I've already started. It's probably not the most efficient way of doing it, but I find that I'm too impatient to wait.
Cool!!
I just have the bare overview in mind!! Eg: "A kick-ass navy girl, wants to become full time writer, hates to live in shadows and does lot of kicking"
That's it. I recite this to myself a few times and let my hands guide me!@@@ I just start immediately. My mind keeps developing plots as I go (usually during sleep). I note them down for future in Excel Sheets@@@@ Blimey I am done!@!@@@@
with warm regards
http://becomingprince.blogspot.com
What has ended up happening, though I don't recommend it, is this:
Step 1: Blitz write the full story, usually amounting to about 10-30k words.
Step 2: Realize once again, I have put absolute crap on paper.
Step 3: Go back and create outline, based on how I want story to go. Number into plot points (not necessarily chapters)
Step 4: Start fleshing out chapters. Write out the skeleton.
Step 5: Begin re-writing the crap from Step 1 into a better work. Go Chapter by Chapter. Most of the time I add Chapters. Finish with a not-so-crappy version.
Step 6: Re-Write work from Step 5. Rinse. Repeat. Have a nearly perfect copy.
Step 7: Send it out to readers, realize its crap.
Step 8: Go watch Newsradio so that I can find my happy again. Start back at 1.
I don't outline. I write a couple of paragraphs as a general summary - then I'm off. Sometimes I will write a character analysis, which I have loads of fun doing. I do spend a lot of time thinking about the story and characters before I ever begin to write. The whole story is in my head, and sometimes filling in the holes is the funnest part. I'm a free spirit when it comes to my creative writing. I let the words lead me, and if it is somewhere unexpected, that's great. Sometimes when writing, I feel more like I'm reading a book for the first time. It becomes a surprise even to me.
Good luck on your novel and the whole writing process. I hope it brings you loads of joy and excitement! :)
Like some of the other people who have already commented, I have run into the problem of planning nothing and stalling, and planing out so much that the book was already written in my mind.
So right now I am shooting for a happy middle ground. Currently, I need to have a rough idea how the book starts, how it ends (even though the ending almost always changes once I write the book), and a huge touch point in the middle.
Adding a touch point in the middle is new, and working out well for me. I find if I plan a big event in the middle, it gives me something to shoot for that isn't as far away as the end.
I also need to know: who the main character is, and their main goal, the conflict of the book, the antagonist, and I have to have a good feel for the setting.
Mostly I leave the secondary characters and plot points up for creativity.
One recent discovery is I also need to know how the special physics work before starting. If the character is using magic and it plays heavily into the plot, I can't seem to make that stuff up on the fly.
So while it seems like a long list, it's really super basic stuff, but it's the fundamental structure stuff.
Interesting post.
No amount of planning is enough, and half the planning gets thrown out by the end of Act I.
You want to think of your first draft as a detailed outline since half of that will be thrown out as well. Therefore I suggest get down as many scene ideas as you can, plot the overall arc, write a one or two-page story summary, then go for it. The real work happens during revision anyways.
Great advice everybody! I think these are some great tips, and great ideas for simple shifts in attitude that can make all the difference. Thanks!
Sarah
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