Young Writers Society

Prior to putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard ) most authors do plan their work. I'm not naive to think it just flows and they're done in hours. But, when your planning a piece (novel or short-story) how long do you tend to plan for before getting underway with the work?

Also, more importantly, what kind of stuff do you plan - how do you do this?

I write notes on everything relating to a character, and draw (poorly) a little picture of what they look like, so that when I'm writing I can have a visual picture of them and it will enable me to write more descriptively.

I write detailed notes on the plot and all the key features involved in the piece. But, one thing I've neglected so far is setting.

As of yet, I've not started writing my first piece.

It usually depends on the project I suppose. I outlined my current novel, but I'm not done with it. And even when I hit chapters, sometimes they end up changing entirely because what sounded like a good idea at the time turned out to be a really boring and worthless scene.

I usually think on it for a long while and get to know my characters, because I always know them before I know the plot. Heck, I don't even know when and how my novel ends. *shurgs* So it's like it doesn't have an ending.

If you want suggestions, go check out the Elements of Plot user group [I think that is what it is called?] Magicman is awesome ^_^

I don't tend to outline the plot or the chapters, just the characters. And even then they change from their original outline.

Currently one of my characters was just a loafer. Suddenly he's the son of a dead master carpenter who is apprenticed to his grandfather but slacks off and dreams of life as a soldier.

I do just let things come to me. Even names of random people (like the blacksmith of whom I'd never intended to be there!) just popped out because I looked at a food label.

It really depends on the author and the project. I doint really plan until after the entire first draft is done. Then i have a notebook that a go crazy in and write down all the rules and characters and history to the book.

The when I do my editing and rewriting I make sure everything follows my guidlines.

As people have said, it depends on the project. I've had projects where I plan myself so far ahead I get overwhelmed and don't ever write it. But my latest project began with no planning/outlining whatsoever, and I outlined and started planning when I was already immersed in it.

I find that writers can get so caught up in planning and developing characters that they never get around to writing. Getting to know characters before writing is good, but, in my opinion, it's hard for an author to truly know and develop a character until the character appears in writing.

What kinds of things do I plan? Well, my last project began with an idea for a single scene which was the first scene. Then, as it started to grow on me, I planned individual scenes, turning points and some predictions on character growth and eventually wrote an outline.

Basically, I'm unorganized.

Planning is great, but it does really depend on the author, since there are different ways of outlining that works for different people. And like WritersDomain said, getting too immersed in outlining can delay actual writing and may even get you sick of the plot.

An answer to this dilemma is something called a Story Question, a topic that I cover in the Elements of Plot usergroup. It's the most simplest of outlines, and is like a destination that you need to work to. This makes sure you don't get sick of your plot, and ensures that you don't get sidetracked either.

But again, it's up to you what kind of outlining works, whether it be really generalized and loose as opposed to extremely detailed and well planned.


MM

Start writing!

Some pretty cool stuff can just pop into existence when you're writing, and anyway, if you start you easily find the ideas you need to work on more.

Planning, for me also, depends on the project, and I would also agree that is depends on the person. Some people like a clear structure and direction, others prefer a bit more freedom and like it when they don't think they know everything before they start (I say think because you always find out something). You just have to experiment and have a go at things until you work out what works best for you.

For me, I'm just starting on my first novel. I've read tons of writing books, and some of the advice that ALWAYS sticks out to me is get to know your characters. So, that's what I'm doing. Figuring out physical traits, whimsily daydreaming about different parts in the plot, and so on and so forth. I now carry a little notebook around with me so that whenever ideas pop into my head, I write them down so as not to forget. My main character, Fineena, is also coming alive for me because I've written a few "journal" entries for her. By doing so, I discovered she had lost her first love, Sean. I had no idea she even had one until POOF he popped out on the page!

I'd say plan, but don't overplan. You may overplan so much that your book becomes dead because there's no freshness left for the writing. Allow some unknown things because, as El said, they may just "pop out on the page."

I make character webs, and plot via timeline. I love colorcoding things, even if they don't really require colourcoding. I just walk around thinking about the people in the story though. For a long time. And write down random stuff that they might do.

And then I stop planning once I start writing and never finish planning, hence, I've never really finished a story.

It depends for me. If I get an awesome idea that I think can really go somewhere, I'll write down notes about the plot and can easily change them, but my short stories are usually whatever comes out of my brain at that moment. I've always hated the 'traditional' way of planning they teach in schools, because that feels to me as if it's set in stone. I like being able to change everything around in case I get another brilliant idea.

I usually only plan after I'm well under way.

Mostly because I write the major events first and then bridge the gaps between them. That's where planning comes in.

And I do a lot of revision before it's even relatively coherent. Character development, plot changes, research, stuff like that.

So my planning is kind of a trial-by-fire method. xD

I don't plan, well on paper at least. I have a mental time-line and picture of what's going to happen, and just use that. The only time I ever write any notes down is if I'm going to leave a project for a while, and don't want to forget all the little things.

I found that if I plan and plot before I start, I just feel smothered and don't write anything at all XD

I saw Snoink and WD do this and I thought it was quite cool- writing chapter titles. It's quite fun, and you can get a vague idea of what happens in that chapter without having to painstakingly plan it out.

And the vagueness allows for expansion. Quite nice, when you're a person who gets new, crazy ideas often.