it's IWSG Day!
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For the past few weeks I'm been contemplating the question we all must have asked ourselves at some point on our writing journey, should I plan or just go with the flow? It's not the first time I've had a worry about it either, and it's just possible it could have been a topic for a previous IWSG post.
There is a certain beauty about the thought of simply sitting down and letting the entire story flow through my fingers and out onto the page, the story unfolding itself before my eyes so it's as much of a surprise to me as to anyone else.
Unfortunately, I only get so far with this method. The initial enthusiasm I have for the idea soon begins to wane, I start floundering with where it could possibly go and then abandon the project altogether.
So, I'm going to have to try plotting, and given the kind of person I am I think this is probably the best approach for me anyway. I used to feel that perhaps this doesn't make me a 'proper' writer (whatever that means), that I should just produce everything from the heart in one wonderful stream, but I'm now beginning to realise this isn't quite how it works in the real world.
Writing isn't just the initial draft, the first labour of love. It's numerous edits and redrafting and polishing to get it right. And if I need some kind of plan, an outline and structure to keep me focused, then so be it. I shan't be shamed of that fact anymore.
How do you write? Plotting or not? If not, how do you keep your focus and strategy?
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I can't imagine just sitting down and writing whatever. I've always needed a detailed outline. (Maybe I just get lost easily?)
ReplyDeleteYou're watching Voyager seasons? Awesome!!
For me, I think an outline is going to be the way to go. I need to have the focus and background of the story in my head to be able to get into the world I'm writing about.
DeleteI haven't watched Voyager for so long now and just fancied it again. I've forgotten how much I love it!
Since I'm a detailed, analytical, I was positive I would be a detailed plotter/outliner. Well, the first romance novel that I tried that with is still barely 1/4 done. Since then I've written three novels by sitting down with an idea and just going with the flow. Amazed me! So you have to figure out what works for you and go with it. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna. As much as I'd love to be able to just sit down and get the story out like that, I'm slowly discovering that's not how I work. Like you say, I need to do what works for me.
DeleteI'm a little of both. I like bare bones plotting, but then like throwing in little scenes I think sound interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to writing, I don't believe there's such a thing as doing it "right"....as long as you write :)
Good point Mark, as long as some writing is getting done then the method of getting there is irrelevant.
DeleteI have to plan, otherwise I just don't get anything done. If I don't have an outline, I'll just stare at the blank screen for ages, then just write whatever comes into my head so the end result doesn't even make sense.
ReplyDeleteOh good, I'm glad it's not just me that does that! I go off tangent quickly and the story evolves into something unrecognisable.
DeleteThere's no shame in plotting or pantsing. You do what works for you. I always just go with the flow for the first draft, but then, with the revisions, I start taking copious notes. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm finally moving past the idea that one way is better than the other. It's all personal preference at the end of the day, and finding how my own mind works.
DeleteI'm a total pantser, it's just how I've always written, for as long as I can remember, certainly before I'd heard of pantsers and plotters. I've heard that ALL the great writers are plotters. I've heard that you can't really write a "good" novel without planning. I disagree. I think each writer's process is unique to them and is a combination of their personality, their experience, their talents (I fully acknowledge that we all have strengths and weaknesses, that some are better at character development, some are hopeless at punctuation, that sort of thing) and just plain preferences. I don't think you have to be ONLY one or another. I see it as a sliding scale, and we're all somewhere on that continuum. (I used to be a math and English teacher so I think in analogies and most of them are math...)
ReplyDeleteI say go with what YOU feel is best for you.
Great topic for and IWSG! I think today is my first time meeting you...but I could be wrong. I certainly see a lot of familiar faces in your sidebar ;-)
Tina @ Life is Good
A to Z Team @ Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2014
Co-hosting the IWSG
Thanks for dropping by Tina. I like the way you describe this dilemma as being a sliding scale. I don't need to confine myself to one way or the other at all, and just mix it up and find what works best.
DeleteI tried to "let it flow" once and gave up in the middle (after 30k of wasted words!). Now, I always plot everything out (and let myself change things as I go), but even then, it gets harder in the middle because I get bored... Writing is just hard. Period. But when I finally finish -- I'm so proud!! Good luck, Heather! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lexa. You've hit the nail on the head there, writing is hard. It's worth it though when you finally get to the end and have something you know you've created.
DeleteI'm half and half. Well, maybe more like 60/40 plotting VS go with the flow. I typically claim I used to be a pure pantster, but as it turns out, that might not be true. I've got this overactive imagination where I never stop mentally plotting a story. Typically I know 90% of what's going to happen before I start writing. The problem for me is all the research that has to go into some of these books. One story takes us to Italy in the 1700's. I mean, seriously, how much do you know about that time period off the top of your head?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how many people use a combination of both. Perhaps I'm over thinking this whole thing too much and should just relax a bit more and go with the flow.
DeleteI have to have to have at least a skeleton plot outline, if not I'm like a fool wandering the dessert. And yeah, I'd forget the water.
ReplyDeleteA skeleton plot is a good place to start. Baby steps I think might be key, just going a little bit at a time. After all, what's the big rush anyway?
DeleteI used to wing it, but now I'm a fully fledged plotter. My newest manuscript definitely requires it because a little more complex than some of my other stories.
ReplyDeleteI used to be able to wing it with my flash fiction pieces but now find that I'm less happy with the results. I've started plotting for them as well now and can see more improvement.
DeleteGood luck with your new manuscript.
Hey Heather I've written a big post on this very question a few months ago. Don't have the link here, but I could find it for you if you were interested. No matter how much I plan and plot I still let the story take me over, so I think I'm a true blue pantser.
ReplyDeleteHi Denise, I'll have a little look for your post, any help I can get would be appreciated, thanks!
DeleteI do a bit of both--I just keep trying until I find a method that works for me. Hang in there! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lara, I'm going to keep plugging away until I find what works best.
DeleteI started out as a heavy plotter, but I've recently come to the conclusion I'm somewhere between a pantser and a plotter. I like working up the outline before I start, but as soon as I begin writing, everything starts to change. I come up with new ideas and subplots and soon I have to go back and redo the outline to match my new vision. It's an interative process for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting the impression it's quite a fluid process too, from everyone. I need to worry less about this aspect I think and just concentrate on the writing.
DeleteI don't plot, because I can't. I have to write and see where the words take me. I think it's hard to learn a different style - if you're used to pantsing, you're a pantser. I do spend a lot of time thinking before I pick up my pen though.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a case of going with whatever suits the individual best. I'm getting more comfortable with this I think, so hopefully it'll lead to more productive writing sessions.
DeleteI think my problem is I DO get pretty far with pantsing - as in, I finish the novel - and then I have a big ugly mess of a novel that needs serious editing. :P
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely more of a plotter nowadays, but I try to be careful not to plan out every detail because that can feel way too stifling for me, and can ruin my fun.
I think that's been my main concern, planning so much of the detail it takes some of the fun out of the writing journey. I'm going to try and find a nice balance between the two.
DeleteI have to bounce back and forth between plotting and pantsing. No matter how much I plot, I always discover plot holes or I think of new ideas when I'm writing, so I'll pants for a while and then go back and redo the plot outline. Seems rather chaotic, but it works for me.
ReplyDelete