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Best way to plan fiction?
I often hear people say that you should have your entire story planed out before you start, others say you should just know where you begin, what do you think the best way to plan fiction is?
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The way I plan will be entirely different to the way another writer plans.
I also think the genre you're writing in- if it is genre based- will play a part, because science-fiction/fantasy has different requirements to say, romance.
Don't try and include a cast of thousands either as they will appear diluted as characters. Have a strong lead, plus the supporting artists.
The beauty of editing is that you can go back and add background flavour and character traits, but without the main nugget of the story, you have very little to work on.
Just get the idea and go - and try to start at an exciting point rather than using backstory, time of day or weather!
You don't have to plan the entire story; though sometimes it can come to you fully-formed. What you do need to know is who, where and when your main characters are and why they are interacting. What is it that makes them interesting? What makes them different from you and me? They are on a journey, whether physical or personal or emotional, and you have to take your reader along too.
Every writer works to their own scheme - there's no right or wrong way. Why not try sketching out a story from start to finish, and then see where that takes you? As you write it, you'll probably find that something better occurs to you with regard to plot, or you may want to introduce another character you hadn't realised you would need. Writing is an organic process: just listen to the story that's inside your head, and follow where it wants to go. It will be interesting to compare the end result with your original plan.
Quite profound, but true, as we all complete our word count after having started by different methods. I have worked from a broad 'written' outline and I have worked from an idea in my head that blooms along the literary road.
I think that if we know WHAT we want to write about, that is sufficient. It can be a blind journey, but even with a plan, one might have 3 A4 sheets of idea; we still have to complete another 250 to arrive at a completed manuscript.
My suggestion is: go with your idea, get as much down as possible, and then, as other correspondents have suggested, edit and build up.
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When I write a story I never know the ending - I start writing and see what happens. If your story is character driven they will take you to the conclusion.
Personally, I/we (as I'm part of a writing partnership) always have a rough idea of the plot - specifically the start, big plot points and the resolution. However, things change Nd adapt as you write and then again when you edit. For example the ending of our current book originally started life in the middle.
The most important thing to remember is whatever you write, it doesn't matter if the first draft is poor or riddled with holes. This is where editing comes in later, to tighten everything, to make sure things flow together.
You can plan and plan and plan but sometimes characters want to do something else or something unexpected comes to you mid-write. I like planning but I like to keep open minded and flexible just in case. Seems to stop any stalls in my experience.
I've been looking at planning and there's so many different ways to structure a novel e.g. 3 act structure, hero's journey. I think you need to find what works well for you. I used to write all my ideas down in notebooks but it was a mess. I started mindmapping that seems to work well for me to sort it all out and expand an idea.
Some people write scenes on cards. I haven't workout out my planning yet, I'm trying everything, I have a few writing books with different ideas. I've been distracted from planning the novel I want to write by a short story I'm working on.. And a novella I ended up starting. Whoops...
Do you use pinterest? A lot of people are making story boards on there for their novels etc I found this out recently. It's handy for me as I find images come to me first or an image will spark an idea. I did start finding images and saved them into word, until I discovered I could do this on pinterest. I think people can see what you are doing though, it's all public.
You can find one image and then look at related images, it can help build up an atmosphere for your novel.
I have a few for my various projects.
Then in the Edit your board box that comes up, go down to where it says 'Secret', just click on the blank space beside No, it will then show red and Yes. Then save at the bottom.
Then when you go back to your screen with your boards on, it will have moved to the bottom of the screen page with a padlock symbol and the 'Keep some boards secret' above it.
So only you can see them, until you're ready to make them public- if ever- by reversing the process you just did (click the space beside Yes above so it shows No, and save).
JMS must understand this question will forever be asked of writers. There's probably very few of us who would work in EXACTLY the same manner as another.
I think that when we start our writing journey / career, we want to jump to the top straight away and pluck ideas from those who have 'made it'. Very commendable and admirable in concept. But in execution, the new writer may not feel at ease with setting out storyboards or timelines, writing into a notebook rather than straight into a laptop, or editing chapter by chapter rather than waiting until the manuscript is complete.
So, for JMS, YOU will learn the BEST way after trial and error.
I am not one to exercise sarcasm in such a public forum, but writing is like marriage: sometimes you have to burn a few pages before writing the winning proof!
I know this is different to the planning of the actual story but it is all relevant.
Once you notice what you always do, and that works, and then it's what irritates you, or you're always annoyed at- those are the things to change and try a different way.
We all work in different environments. Some have an office or in my case an office area, others sit at the kitchen table, or elsewhere. So your planning has to take that into account.
After all, if you need a big chart on the wall to plan out your story- say with different colour sticky notes-you either need to be able to leave it in place, otherwise take it down it has to stay somewhere, roll it up and bits can get unstuck and an important point in the story could end up mixed up with another stray.
How you plan your fiction is as diverse as writers are. But personally I think, being aware of how you develop ideas and use the information is a starting point.
Once you notice what you always do, and that works, and then it's what irritates you, or you're always annoyed at- those are the things to change and try a different way.
We all work in different environments. Some have an office or in my case an office area, others sit at the kitchen table, or elsewhere. So your planning has to take that into account.
After all, if you need a big chart on the wall to plan out your story- say with different colour sticky notes-you either need to be able to leave it in place, otherwise take it down it has to stay somewhere, roll it up and bits can get unstuck and an important point in the story could end up mixed up with another stray.
How you plan your fiction is as diverse as writers are. But personally I think, being aware of how you develop ideas and use the information is a starting point.
These days, I write out a synopsis, in as full as detail as I can, by first writing out character profiles. Once I have some knowledge on the characters backgrounds, personalities and motives, I can move on from there and make progress. That seems to work for me.
I've found stuff here from 2002
I'm with you Lydia. The learned Mr Gates should have programmed something with far more simplicity!
Hold down the left mouse button while running it over the text you want to copy. It will highlight the words in blue. Then, holding your mouse over the 'blue bit', click the right button and a list of commands will come up. Click on copy. (You can also click 'cut', but that will remove it from the original source). I always imagine that the mouse is holding those words indefinitely for me in his little paws... When you are ready to paste that piece somewhere else, click where you want it to be with the left button, then click the right mouse button again, and this time select 'paste'. Hey presto, it will appear on your document, or in a comment box... wherever you want to put it.
I don't use a central pad, but aren't there left and right buttons to click? If so, same principle.