Story Plans

I plan. I plan, or the plot dies. It's not set in stone, and I don't plan it sentence by sentence or anything, but it's never made me feel less creative. I still put things in as I go alone, and change it, and cut bits and add etc. My characters break free of my plan every no and again (attacking people and getting thrown in a cell when they get to angry, starting relationships etc.) so I change it to fit what they've done.

I think it is necessary to have some degree of planning, but it should not be followed too closely. Allow yourself to discover new things. You may latch on to what Brian Froud calls a "happy accident." While working on the novel I am writing right now, I met two characters that I hadn't planned on ahead of time. In the end, it added to the conflict, made it more interesting, and gave my protagonist that much more reason to do what she will do lter in the story.

I never write out plans but I plan my stories in my head. But I never write the plans down. But sometimes I will change them because I came up with a better idea.

I'm not able to use story plans. I try but i'm a really impatient person and prefer to get stuck in to writing the story...but then after a while i get bored and don't know where to go with the story. So my way doesn't really work...

[points to Akisha] What she said, lol.

I almost always have a basic idea of where the stories going to go before I start writing, but they're never written in stone. More often than not the plot totally changes somewhere along the way. I have a really good example but I won't bore you with it. The same goes with characters. I once re-created one character 3 times!

Well, the thing is, i think that I write better freeflow. It lets me get my ideas out. Plans don't let your imagination fly

When I wrote in Spanish (actually sometimes), never outlined.
Now, outlining for English written is neccesary for me.
However, sometimes I don't care if I outline or no.

Generally I write without plans. I just let the story go where it's going to go, with maybe a general idea of how I want it to end (e.g. the Evil Supreme Bad Guy is defeated, the romantic couple get together, etc.). Then, come second draft, I have a more clear-cut idea of where I am going, so I can shave off a bit more.

So, in general, the first draft is just "blah" on paper (everything gets put down, no matter how bad). Then the second draft uses the first as a spring board and I will do a little more planning, now that I know actually where the story is going.

Maybe this sounds like a lot of work, but it is the way that works best for me. If I try to use a story plan/outline the first time around, I just go crazy and it goes all over the place. I just have an idea of how I want it to go, but I don't write it all down concretely, because otherwise I guilt-ride myself when it doesn't go the way I originally planned.

~GryphonFledgling

I definitely cannot survive without my outline. I just can't. It would be impossible for me, I swear I have ADD.

I once tried to write a novel without outlining it first...(it was like two years ago). In the beginning, it was a normal high school kid who travels abroad and falls in love with a woman who speaks a different language. Somewhere midway, it ends up ALL OVER the place and I've got some crappy Atlantis back story and my protagonist catching some fatal illness and battling a league of cannibals who're after him --but end up killing one another (?)

Yeah. It's a lot worse than what I've got here, trust me...I haven't even told you about the mind-reading monkeys...

Outlining is a must-do for me. It's not like I plan out every single paragraph or anything quite like that. And nothing is set in stone. I have a general idea of where I want my story to go, and I write to that point, but how I get to that point is discovered as I'm writing it. Like the story that I'm writing currently, my outline looks something like:

1.) Hospital Scene
- Liam awoke from a fatal accident...
- Discussion with friends...
2.) School Scene
- Liam meets Fiel...flirting ensues
3.) Banquet Scene
- Liam & Fiel fall for one another...
- Andy arrives and ruins everything...
etc. etc. etc.

It's really very simple and acts more like a road-map for my story. I find it very useful, and whenever I get an idea or an exchange of dialogue that I really like, I jot it down. So now my outline looks like a bunch of scribbles and post-its everywhere with arrows all over the place. I always move things around, or add more things in, etc.

I think for those who have a problem of finishing a story, or don't know where they want their story to go, or if you have /my/ problem and your story resembles nothing you've originally wanted, might consider some kind of outline. Flexibility is the key of course. You shouldn't force yourself to stick to your outline, although sometimes that might be a good thing, but just use your common sense.

But you know...all roads lead to Oz ;D Writing is different for everyone, just do what works for you.

I only write plans once I've got the plot set in stone, and only to know how I'm splitting up chapters.

I can't change them once they're written.

Sometimes I write without plans until the last few chapters even.

I think it probably depends on what sort of writer you are though; if your characters run the show without you, plans probably aren't that helpful, if you plan it and act as God making your characters do what you want then I guess they might be.

They're at least valuable so you know what is in each chapter and you have a good idea how things go from A to B.

I write plans because I do world building and character development first, so it is rather hard to do a story that I simply do not have the basis for. I feel like I am going to get lost in the details and divert away from the story plot if I do not stick to the plan. As a result I usually have a large amount of work that goes by as background information or entirely dropped, but it still helps the characters grow and become more realistic. I am a fan of the replay genre which is a rather dead genre as of late, but I still love it.

It takes a lot of work to control 4 or more characters at the same time and I simply need to be able to use my experience as a Storyteller to make the scenes play out. Its habitual and very much based on prior experience through years of RPing. I am a Storyteller in a Player Character's world, but get often treated as a Non-player character by many Storytellers, so I go off and do my own thing.

I'm writing a six-book series, with plans for TWO more TWO-book series, and a few standalone (but expandable) books.

I very much need plans to make sure they kick ass.

I've only written a plan for a story once, the one I'm writing now. But this one seems to be the best because I actually know where I'm headed not just putting any old cliche into the story. Character's don't listen to me!
Talking to self:
I said you had to fall in love with Luthando, not Tokato you idiot!

I'm not crazy... Am I?

Swottielottie wrote:I've only written a plan for a story once, the one I'm writing now. But this one seems to be the best because I actually know where I'm headed not just putting any old cliche into the story. Character's don't listen to me!
Talking to self:
I said you had to fall in love with Luthando, not Tokato you idiot!

I'm not crazy... Am I?

You're just as sane as the rest of us. ;P

~JFW1415