Young Writers Society

I have just finished the first draft of a novel (If you can call it that. It's really short.) and I realized that it was really a TERRIBLE story, but I like the idea of it, so I'm trying to rewrite it.

The first draft was not planned at all (which could be why it was so terrible), because I started it when I was very new to writing and didn't know any better. And I was impatient.

Anyway, I want to plan it this time, and hopefully it will turn out better. But my problem is, whenever I try to plan a novel, it just doesn't work. I was thinking I'd just use the old draft as a plan, but I think I'm going to rework the entire plot, so that wouldn't work.

So I was wondering if anyone had any tips or techniques they could share that might help me. If you do, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

-Sorceress

Go over to my Elements of Plot usergroup. There are topics on different outlining techniques you could use. I'd personally recommend the Snowflake Technique, as its the best for putting your plot in perspective. ^_^


MM

This is kind of a tricky thing to help with, because there are a lot of writers out there who will tell you that plotting squelches creativity, yadayada. And then others tell you that plotting every moment of the story out is essential to any good story.

Here's my opinion- you want to be somewhere in the middle. You want to have an idea of where you're going, but you don't want a script. What fun is a story that you're simply transposing from an outline?

A few ideas:

- Know where you start and where you end. This is key. If you do nothing more, at least know this.

- Write chapter titles. It's fun, sort of tough, and lets you get an idea of what's going to happen without writing out every detail.

- Write a few major scenes out in notecards and piece them together. There'll probably be huge gaps between a few of them, and this is where you'll want to focus planning attention on. There's nothing less fun than getting stuck and not knowing how to get from Scene A to Scene B.

Good luck! All first drafts are pretty icky, I've gathered...rewriting gets to be sort of an addiction after awhile, though. Don't be afraid to just put things down on paper just so you can say you wrote them. You can always edit later. ^_~

Here's what I've found DOESN'T work for me: writing chronologically. I had the same problem, and I'm just now starting to rewrite it. But I don't outline. Not in the beginning, anyway. I find that my story always seems to fall flat if I do. So I decide what scenes I want in the book, and make a list. Then I write it scene by scene. And, at the very end, I "stitch" it together. I've already written one novel this way, and am about a quarter of the way into my second. It's something that works for me, anyway.

PLotting is a useful tool. In fact you can even look at the first draft of your story as the plotline. You can always use the main plot and then plan around it.

You dont have to start in the beginning. Some writers start at the end of their novels and go back.

I suggest starting in the place you know the best. Thae part of your story you know like the back of your hand and then plot around it. From there you can start writing.

Plotting isn't always neccessary. I myself have little need for it. I just kinda go for it. Once I get to a certain point I realize where I'm going and then evrything falls right in.

You'll get there, when you come to the point where evreything fits perfectly and you know exactly what you're doing.

It all depends on what works for you. I have to have everything meticulously planned out from Chapter 2 on or it all goes to Hell, but some people don't need any kind of outline, everything just falls into place. I think that as long as you have an idea of where you're going, maybe take a few notes, it doesn't have to be a detailed outline, you'll be fine. Since you already have the first rough draft, you've got something to go on and build off of already.

Thanks! I wasn't sure if it was wise to just keep going, but I think now I might be able to figure things out a little better.

Thanks again!

-Sorceress

I'm probably just repeating what everyone else said but...ahem.

Anyway, I started a novel where I had most everything planned out in most every detail. Um...I got so bored I quit after 32 pages.

The novel I'm finishing up on had only basic planning, and I worked on a very basic outline as I went along. This provided for creativity, but also gave me an idea of the direction I was going, so I wouldn't "zigzag" if you get what I mean.

This second way seems to be the best way to me, but there is one main thing I'll change when I start another novel. All the planning went into the plot. The plot was good, not too much "detail planning," allowing me to be creative, but also not too little planning. Problem was I didn't do much planning on the characters, setting, or much else. YOU MUST WATCH OUT FOR THIS. Use which ever planning technic you want, but make sure to plan for characters, setting, and other things besides just the plot. There are many books with well planned plots, but they stink cause their characers or settings are left unplanned.

That's my thoughts for today .

-greenie

Here's what I do: start at the begining, then write whatever. I'm sure that doesn't help xD