Story Planning

[TarnishedPenny]

I rarely write from start to finish and almost never with a plot laid out. My stories tend to start with one brilliant (lumens, not genius) idea or scene. More scenes get written, growing together like inkblots.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I rarely write from start to finish and almost never with a plot laid out. My stories tend to start with one brilliant (lumens, not genius) idea or scene. More scenes get written, growing together like inkblots.

That's a nice analogy, spreading in all directions. Also, cue Rorschach .

 

[karaline]

I'm curious how much planning others do for stories before they start writing them.

Each one seems different for me, but I find I can't go very far without at least sketching out somewhat of an outline at some point.

I plan meticulously, and people who don't plan are a constant source of bewilderment to me. I genuinely don't know how to write without planning, and on the rare occasion I've started writing without a plan, I've felt quite anxious. This might be because for me writing is such a slow and laborious process, I don't want to start something I don't know if I'm going to finish.

I don't stick slavishly to my plan. Commonly there will end up being more story, but everything in the plan tends to end up in the final draft.

 

[Voboy]

I plan meticulously, and people who don't plan are a constant source of bewilderment to me. I genuinely don't know how to write without planning, and on the rare occasion I've started writing without a plan, I've felt quite anxious. This might be because for me writing is such a slow and laborious process, I don't want to start something I don't know if I'm going to finish.

I don't stick slavishly to my plan. Commonly there will end up being more story, but everything in the plan tends to end up in the final draft.

Don't be bewildered. Some people are linear thinkers, some less so. My brother-in-law is an engineer, and the way he thinks is a constant source of bewilderment to me. No doubt he'd say the same.

 

[karaline]

Don't be bewildered. Some people are linear thinkers, some less so. My brother-in-law is an engineer, and the way he thinks is a constant source of bewilderment to me. No doubt he'd say the same.

I am though. I don't mean it as a criticism in anyway, I just cannot relate!

 

[SimonDoom]

Don't be bewildered. Some people are linear thinkers, some less so. My brother-in-law is an engineer, and the way he thinks is a constant source of bewilderment to me. No doubt he'd say the same.

We all have our own creative processes. I think visually and spatially. Writing a story for me is like designing and planting a garden. The placement of things is important. I can't just start to write and see where it goes. I want a picture in mind of the whole, and then I place things where they serve that whole. That's why I need to plot and plan before I write.

 

[KeithD]

I think planning is usually there--it just occurs in different places and to different extents/lengths from writer to writer. Most of my planning occurs in my mind (by my muse, I suppose) and is only delivered for starting to write when the necessary elements to begin writing are there (with what's necessary varying among writers). I worked on the stage before getting into writing. As well as acting, directing, and producing, I designed sets and the posters. When I was ready to get the plans executed was usually when they had formed as a "whole" (an visual outline, without some of the detail work) in my mind. I found my writing takes the same approach.

Others need to see it all laid out in some detail to where they can read the elements and how the story is to unfold. Some people haven't developed their planning to do any of this and they either spin wheels or don't write (which is fine; they have other means of expression available to them).

What none of them needs to do is to be telling others how it either needs to be done or is best done or the "only" way to sensibly do it. It really doesn't matter and isn't a problem if you can't figure out someone else's methodology. It's yours that is important to your writing.

I think the key is not to worry about how others get it done but to reach your own way of getting it done in a way that is rewarding enough to you to do it. Threads like this, of course, help you to understand what works for you--or is an impediment to your process working well for you.

 

[jack30341]

Yep

Each writer should definitely do what works for them.

Writing can be such a challenge that I am in favor of anything and everything that gets those words on that initially blank page.

I was curious how others went about it. It always helps to have the thoughts and suggestions of others.

What I realized too in even forming the question was that I vary how I go about this all the time. I can be pretty compulsive generally, so the fact that I didn't stick with a usual method surprised me.

What I'd also add is that, for me at least, a story can evolve, and a writer doesn't have to be enslaved by the original plan. I try to remember to give myself freedom.

Just keep writing!