Planning when writing a story

[pink_silk_glove]

dang. all these years and i've never seen that before. so obvious too, once you point it out.

Figured it out through experience, so I know what you mean. You don't see it that way at first but eventually you realize, a-ha!

 

[AchtungNight]

For me, it depends. I think about the story and characters- what do I need to write to establish setting and mood, intro the characters and get them together in conflict or friendship, how do I need to progress through the plot? Then I visualize everything in my head, walk through it with the characters like I’m a film director. This is where the characters frequently surprise me with new ideas. I take notes as I visualize things, outline the story. Then I go over the outline and edit it into a full story with dialogue and detail. Continue until story looks good to me. Then I put on my “new reader”, “big fan”, and “committed critic” hats in succession and read through it again looking for issues these people might find. I fix what issues I think I should. One more read through and edit if necessary of the finished work, then if it all flows right, publish!