Workshop: Writing Without a Plot

[devilsduplicity]

Hello everybody! devilsduplicity here, ready to teach you the masterful art of literary bullshit. Or in more technical terms,

Writing Without a Plot;
Eating the Chicken Before Hatching the Egg

Raise your hand if you've ever had a flash of inspiration and thought, Holyshit this is going to be the best thing in the entire goddamned world. Now raise your other

Comments

[kiwiana]

This is going to be my Bible during NaNoWriMo, just so you know! :D

[devilsduplicity]

I can give you the King James Version if you like?

\o/

[twinsarein]

My favorite stories to write are ones that I have at least a vague idea of what I want to happen. If I have snippets of dialogue in my head, even better. Just a sentence is enough, and then I can build on that. Your automobile analogies fit my style pretty well

[devilsduplicity]

I'm more dialogue-oriented than visual-oriented when it comes to any sort of basis for a story. I don't necessarily see what's taking place, but I hear what the characters are saying and that's good enough.

Oh, I hear you on the dropped story front. Mostly, I'll end up pushing a story to the side when I get interested in another fandom, or something else entirely comes up to distract me. It's difficult to write something when you're just not interested anymore, but I think a lot of what helps that disinterest is the constant pull towards something new (at least in my case). XD

Ohh, that's a really good method for getting past a bump! I'll have to try that next time -- in fact, I'll probably be utilizing it for NaNo this year.

I'm glad you liked the post!

[prettysilent]

LOL! Very cool article, spot on too. I agree with the organization thing, it does take away the original enthusiasm of finding a good story. I think the best way to write is to see what YOU would like to read yourself. Visualizing a scene helps and while writing, if a new angle seems more likely, it should definitely be added. The problem is sometimes the story doesn't go any deeper than the words and I can tell that it pretty much sucks. Anyway, I'm new to writing fiction and don't really have a style yet. I'm just trying to stick to basics and look to my favorite writers to figure out what works. But I'm enjoying the learning process, even if it's frustrating at times. Thanks for the article. It was pretty neat.

[devilsduplicity]

You're doing just the perfect thing if you're new to writing. Read up on what you like, and refine, refine, refine. Style changes over time; I've been writing for years, and I'm just now getting comfortable in my author's voice. It's becoming a little easier to slip into other styles from there, too.

Organization can be a wonderful tool in writing, but in a lot of cases some authors can focus more on the outline than the architecture of the story itself. Writing has always seemed like this delicate balance to me... both having the heart and soul to tell a meaningful story, and having the skills to properly portray it.

Glad you enjoyed the post!

[queenklu]

Haha, also gearing up for NanoWriMo and let me tell you i am bookmarking this so hard. XD

Luckily (unluckily?) I am one of those drive-blindfolded-through-the-dark-while-directionally-challenged-to-begin-with writers already (gulp) but i've found that if i know exactly where a story is going, i get bored with it. I write each story as if i'm reading it for the first time, and twist the plot into something that would entertain/shock/amuse me as an audience of one.

And yes, i do fall into the research traps anyway, because what if one of the crazy fangirls who reads the fic actually knows shit about carpentry, what if i wind up looking like a total asshat who's never seen a hammer in her life? Which leads to completely random conversations with my dad about things called plumb bobs, and hoping to high heaven that he never asks to read the story i'm grilling him for information about.

Then i take a step back (this usually takes a couple days of fretting) and ask myself--okay, do you honestly think lack of correct carpentry terms

[devilsduplicity]

I'd say luckily for you; unluckily for the pedestrians crossing the street. And that's a really awesome way of putting it -- if you know where the story is going, you get bored with it.

That's definitely something I believe all of us fall into at one point or another. The whole, "Ohmygod if I can't paint a picture of this sigil from memory, everyone will know" mentality. It's awesome for picking up knowledge (case in point, I've been researching Egyptian Mythology for the same reasons) but it can also be extremely hindering (case in point, I've been researching Egyptian Mythology, but I haven't been trying to develop my characters. And that's... kinda important.)

[orehime]

This post pleases me immensely! \o/ Nanowrimo here I come!

[devilsduplicity]

Yaaay, thank you! ♥♥