Writing - Planning or Stream of Consciousness

[tessarin]

Well real life and a general fatigue has slowed down my writing a fair bit recently. However, that slow down has proved useful in another way. It's forced me to reappraise whether I am over planning my fics. On some days I have struggled to write portions and yet on other days when inspiration has hit me and I have disregarded my plan, I have been

Comments

[keith5by5]

Do you just write loose outlines for each chapter or the story as a whole?

Depends on the length of the story, for Mithras and Faith, loose outlines for each chapter. For the rest, shorter stories, loose outlines for the plot.

"Do you outline character arcs and metaphors or just the narrative content and plot?"

Character arcs are just included in the outline of the longer stories, the rest only have narrative and plot outlined.

"How closely do you stick to your plan. Rigidly or until the roadblock you hit means the plan has to go?"

Depends. If I have another idea that I think's better, I dump the plan, if I can't see a way out of it, I stick with the plan.

"Do you when you have that splurge thing allow it to take you wherever it is headed, or reign it in when it runs contrary to plan?"

Hey, if I've got an idea, I run with it.

"Does planning hinder or inspire your inspiration?"

I often get most excited\inspired during plotting. Usually because execution doesn't match my ideas. -;)

"Do you do you do character bios as part of your planning?"

Only for original fics and original chars. If I'm dealing with pre-created chars I don't bother. The one exception was Mithras.

"Are these bios only for original characters?"

See above.
Are the bios redone for each fic?

[tessarin]

Thanks for this. It mirrors my own experience.My own are mainly narrative and plotline outlines but they do include a brief character overview for the leads but not the supporting cast. I have been wondering about doing it for them but have held off as its too much work.

Interested that you write bios for original characters. Are these WIP's, just brief outlines originally. Or are they fully featured including physical appearance, goals, quirks etc before the first line is writing.

I find without a plan stream writing leads to big plotholes but then so does overcomplicated planning. Futher I was finding that the plan was acting like a set of railroad tracks. The ending I had planned had a 'cool' reveal but characterwise was like kryptonite since the plot from the middle to the end led there I have been stuck. In the end when I let the characters dictate it it became easier but it was a pain letting that reveal go.

[keith5by5]

"Thanks for this. It mirrors my own experience.My own are mainly narrative and plotline outlines but they do include a brief character overview for the leads but not the supporting cast. I have been wondering about doing it for them but have held off as its too much work."

I do all this for my original stuff, but not my fan fiction. And of course as things go on, you might well add chars anyway.

"Interested that you write bios for original characters. Are these WIP's, just brief outlines originally. Or are they fully featured including physical appearance, goals, quirks etc before the first line is writing."

No, just brief outlines. Goals, past history.

"I find without a plan stream writing leads to big plotholes but then so does overcomplicated planning. Futher I was finding that the plan was acting like a set of railroad tracks. The ending I had planned had a 'cool' reveal but characterwise was like kryptonite since the plot from the middle to the end led there I have been stuck. In the end when I let the characters dictate it it became easier but it was a pain letting that reveal go."

Stephen King says he never plans, but he's a geius.

Of course Babylon 5's JMS plans everything intricately, but he's a genius.

In other words, different strokes for different folks. -;)