Young Writers Society

Hey this is an aspect of writing that ive always struggled with. I either seem to do to much or to little

So what i wanted to ask was just how much to you guys plan out before you write. I mean when you start do you know what is going to happen in each chapter or do you just go with the flow and take a crooked path to the end point.

How much do you know about the characters before you start. Do you know there favourite movies? and personal dislikes? Habbits? or have you just got a basic outline of looks and general personalitly

thanks

My characters evolve to suit the needs of the plot, and the gaps that need filling. Of course there are exceptions to this, but generally if my character likes to whittle, there's a reason. If my character falls in love with a goddess, there's a reason. If that goddess falls in love back, there's a reason. That reason is the plot, which is made more climatic (and a little sad) by the ending.

When you plan, it's a matter of balancing structure with the imprisonment of an overwrought idea. You need freedom and wiggle room, but an unstructured novel is either crap or postmodernist (and that's not unstructured, that's a comment on structure).

Consider the great reads of your experience; the beginning, middle and end gel well because the beginning is written with the end in sight. Often the end derives meaning from the beginning, and vice versa. Ultimately a planned story is one that does not require the introduction to be rewritten.

With the novel I'm working on I've done some planning. I know what the characters are and the general direction of things. Anything more and I feel like I'm spending more time planning the novel than writing it.

With my short stories I tend to try to think up a situation or something like that and develop a story around it. A short story is too small to warrant planning. I feel if I start to plan out a short story it loses the magic in it's spontaneous creation.

I usually start it with a normal setting of a normal girl/boy. Everything is normal then BAM! I get a huge idea and write it down on paper. It usually takes a turn, but has some of which i had written down.

Okay, so you said you either do too much planning or too little. And you didn't specify what type of genre you write in.

There's a fine line with planning things, plotting them out, etc. First of all, you NEVER want to stifle your characters' personality, which also means when they do things it is of their own accord, not yours. It's them that are acting, not you.

For Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Adventure: Definitely, you'll want to have a plot outline and a more-than-general plan for this, because usually these aren't character driven and even if they are you'll need to track what the point of the story is and where the characters are. Only because usually you're in a whole different world with Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and even if this genre is called "Adventure", you'll need to know where everything is and when everything is. In addition to making a plot outline, which is helpful enough already, you can make a timeline if you've got 4 or more characters. It's just another way of keeping track of them.

Example[s]:
The Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare revolves around action, action, and lots of plot twists that still impact the character, but it's outside forces that are squeezing them, forcing them to change. It is a fantasy/adventure/action book.
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer is, of course, fantasy/sci-fi/adventure/action, all of the above. It also revolves around a tightly constructed plot and sharply defined characters.
Final Fantasy VII by Square Enix [NOT A BOOK, lol]. It's all about plot and plot twists and evil characters and whatnot. I picked it because it was very cleverly planned, and because it's probably the most popular out of the video game series. Plus, the movie is kick-ass. Haha. Fantasy/Sci-Fi, though it's mostly sci-fi. Also includes adventure and action and big guns and whatnot.

For [Mainstream] Romance/Memoir/Etc.: Usually these are character-driven kind of plots, where the character becomes the plot, the character is the book, and actions don't matter as much as the changes and morphing the character goes through [even though the actions should still, of course, be done through the character through what they would do]. You have freedom to do anything, really. This is the type of genre where it's okay to start out with a single sentence and go from there. Usually I'll do a loose plot outline and allow room for additional scenes and actions if necessary. Sometimes I'll stray. But it's okay, because when you're writing fantasy/sci-fi/adventure types of stories, it's the outside forces that are acting on the character. With these more dreamy, romantically-inclined kind of stories, the character is changing within themselves, not just because of their outside situations, though certain situations may influence them to change or to start changing. You could also say that other characters are helping them to change.

Example[s]:
Anything by Sarah Dessen. Just Listen and The Truth About Forever are good examples of character-driven plot, though all of her books reflect the same style. She is deeply delved into her characters. Great reads.
The Last Summer (Of You & Me) by Ann Brashares. This book has been especially inspiring to me. She has such a tight hold on her characters and knows them inside out, therefore they'd do as their character would do. It's amazing. Her bestselling series The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants are also great examples, since she's got so many characters that are really dimensional. She wrote this one without a plan, and it only worked out so well because she knew her characters inside out. All of them.
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The character's voice is very real, very raw, very unedited. It uncovers human innocence.
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. This is a touching book, and even though you might think it's the drugs that are affecting the character, it's really the character making her choices for the drugs. There's a fight going on inside the character, and this may very well be a great epitome of that. It's also very raw and easy to read [thin book, as well as The Perks of Being A Wallflower.]

Horror/Suspense/Other: I think, since these kinds of genres are more tricky and harder to pin down, it'd be a culmination of character and action driven plot. Horror and Suspense prey on the emotions, even though the plot is also important. To work on the emotions, you have to know the events that will happen. I think having a general outline and knowing how you want to work with each scene will help, but also work on character emotions and voice.

Examples:
Misery by Stephen King. I don't read much horror, but this is a great example. Fairly simple plot, complicated human character.

So basically, I hope I've answered your questions. You asked if you had to know your characters. Uhm, DUH. Haha. To be blunt, you'd be nothing as a writer if you didn't know your characters extremely well. You also asked if you had to know their favorite movies, books, people, etc. I say you have to know them inside out. Not just the above, but their often-used facial expressions, reactions to any situation you throw at them, overall personality, their friends, their inner thoughts, their style [as in speaking/thinking]. Treat them like a real person. Use examples of people you know to help realize your characters. Spend some time with them, I'd recommend about 2 weeks with each character trying to understand them [Though some people may take longer or less time]. THEN you can start on the plot, knowing how your characters would react. Therefore, your plot is based on your characters' actions, not on what you want your characters to do.

Sometimes you can't fully understand your characters. Hopefully, as you write, your characters will flesh out through the story and they'll evolve into their real selves by "The End". Or, your worst nightmare can come true and you will control them by "The End". Godmodding is the last thing you ever want to do in storywriting. After all, writing stories is about character change within, not YOUCHANGECHARACTER change.

Quite honestly, I never plan things out really. I just make it up as I go along...except for times when I have a clear ending or idea for a twist, I usually stick with improvisation.

Though definitely not a proficient writer, I do plan a lot before I start writing. Planning is important if you want your story to be original. I mean, as people, we easily fall into the trap of filling in generic things when we don't have a plan on how to use our creativity. So if you want to escape the generic realm of things, I think a good planning process is important.

I usually start with the plot first. I usually start writing little outlines of what I want, then I expand from there. For this novel I'm currently plotting, I'm even writing short stories for different characters as a part of the planning process. But depending on how heavy your plot is, you just need to do enough of planning to show the 'action' and 'reaction' of important plot events.

As for planning characters, you just need to roughly know who they are before they go through the plot. Of course, as everyone would say, the characters would change as they experience the events you lead them through.

I guess planning really depends on you, the writer. If you are a focused person and you are quite determined with what you want to be accomplished, go ahead and plan as much as you like. But then there are also some writers who think planning is a burden and will only get in their way of their muse... So it's really up to who you are. Personally, I'd go for planning a lot before I start writing. I live by the theory 'total freedom is anarchy'. But of course, that's my opinion.

o.o;; I'm currently writing a story taking place in a cafe. I wrote an entire dessert and drinks menu, including the types of fillings and icings on every cake, and all possible fruits that could be put in the fruit tart. I believe that should answer your question.

But as for characters, I always try to have a very strong sense of them. I may not list out every single aspect of their lives, but I always make sure to know their likes, dislikes, fears, quirks, habits, and the general way that they tend to react to things.

The way I see it, planning is important for realism and consistency in stories. Besides, it really sucks when you get halfway through a story and suddenly don't know what to do next, let alone how you want the story to end. Sometimes it's fun to go with the flow, but sometimes when you reach that writer's block, it sucks all the motivation away from it.

I never truly plan characters out. I just have a visual of them in my head and I know their basic personality. This way, I allow the characters more breathing room but sometimes I have controlled them. I think every author does that in his lifetime.

Plot is slightly less important. I have the beginning. I have the end. I need to write the middle. Got it?

This just depends on you, and on what you personally feel comfortable with.

And by the way, I really don't think you can do too much planning.

I filled an entire notepad with bullet points that basically summarise the story. Once I had that done (it only took me about 2, 3 hours), I started writing the actual thing. Simple.

I never plan fiction, i like to let it flow just come out because if i try and plan i can never stick to it! But i always plan anything none fiction because it seems to organise my thoughts alittle better and means it is structured better!!
But really i think the amount you plan is personal- its either something that works for you or doesnt

I plan my characters a bit... enough to suit what I need to get the first chapter going and to get a gist of the entire story. Although I need just enough space to let them grow. It's like getting to know your friends. At first, they're simply acquaintances, someone new and unexplored. Then, as you write, you begin to get to know them better and better through putting them through situations as the story goes.

Some others though, thoroughly explore their characters so that it's the plot that surprises them. For them, their characters are old friends whom they're sharing adventures with.

It all depends on the author. But sometimes, it all depends on the story too.

Try to work out what's easy for you first. It's hard, of course. But it'll be worth it.

i think the amount of planning depends on the person...

some people are anal retentive and plan

others are spacial and go with the flow



my advice... plan until it becomes a bore to you, and then start writing. if writing becomes difficult without a plan to go by, go do some more planning...

foolproof!

My mind works in the most insane way possible. I don't plan anything, I end up losing a page of my story, my plot doesn't make sense (or rather, lack of) and I forget about a novel and start a new one. And I think that pre-writing step is useless, for me anyways. I would never follow it, because new ideas would just pile up. Plus, it takes away my precious time that I could be started the draft of my new idea. So I always get marks off of my school work for not planning it out, but I would get 100% if I used it. (But I never will.)

I'll try and keep my advice simple, or at least, tell you what suits me.

In my first novel- I didn't plan at all. I didn't even have an idea for a story when I started it. I just decided 'I am going to write a book' and I did. The finished draft bore no reselbence to the orginal handwritten manuscript.

*Good things about not planning*

-It was exciting
-I didn't feel tied down when I was writing
-Things tend to be more creative

*Bad things about not planning*

-The plot became ridiculous
-I was forever going back to the start
-I completely wore me out because it took so long to write
-I became sick of it
-I grew to resent it

I have now moved on to my second novel. I started planning it in late spring, early summer. I have planned the whole thing to within an inch of it's life. I am going to write the whole thing in one month- for Nanowirmo.

And the killer piece of advice I would give to anyone

Write the end before you start.

It sounds absolutely crazy- but that's exactly what J.K Rowling did.