I’m Writing a Novel and is it better to pre-plan my writing or to write on instinct?
Or maybe should I try a combination of both?
- The Revanchist
Tags: Instinct, Pre Plan, Writing A Novel
9 Responses to “I’m Writing a Novel and is it better to pre-plan my writing or to write on instinct?”
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July 1st, 2009 at 9:49 am
I like a loose outline, like a storyboard for a movie or a comic. The drafts I’ve read that started with the ‘I just wrote without any plan’ have been terrible. I think ****?d stories start with at least a bit of a plot plan. Of course there are exceptions and of course there will be changes to the original plan, ****? an outline is a ****?d starting point.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Hiya, Well…. I prefer to pre-plan my writing. Even writing your ideas down on paper before writing is a ****?d way to look over your ideas while writing and decide where to place them in your writing, making it more ****?anized. Any sort of outline would do great ***? well. I suppose you can also write on instinct if you know exactly what you ****?t to do, ****? if you have lots of ideas you aren’t sure about, I’d do some sort of outline. ****?d luck!
July 5th, 2009 at 12:37 am
I would say both. I find that when I don’t know what is going to happen next in my novels, I get kind of stuck. On the flip side though, if I have the whole plot drawn and done, the writing experience becomes less exciting, and sometimes boring. I like to have the main plot figured out, ****? still have some holes that can be filled when I actually sit down and write,
July 6th, 2009 at 2:16 am
Greeklord,
When I write I usually plan out the plot in my head. I don’t have to have the whole ****?k down, ****? I end up having most of what I need to keep me writing. It’s all about knowing where you ****?t to go with your characters and the story itself.
When I’ve written a few pages down it usually comes in short bursts until I give my imagination a break. I keep the story going by having my character do what I would do. ***? for the progatonist or antagonist, it’s simply arguing with yourself. You simply need a comeback for everything that’s said by either character.
I know it sounds a bit confusing, ****? it works for me. I just can’t get into outlines. They work for some, ****? not for everyone.
Good luck with your writing.
PJ M
July 7th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
This is all about you! Write the way it is most comfortable for you. Try writing ***? it flows and ***?e how that works. If you find that you are getting stuck, then try some simple outlining. Get yourself a pack of index cards and ***? scenes come to you, jot them down on the cards.
Once you get a stack of cards you can arrange them and rearrange them ***? your story needs. I have known authors who use ths method and have a ***?ll wall that is their “Plot Board.”
I ***?rsonally cannot outline. I am ADD and once I know what happens at the end, I can’t write anything else. I know, so my mind has to move on. So I write by the ***?at of my pants.
Hope this helps.
Kare Syed
July 10th, 2009 at 10:59 am
I usually have a general idea what I ****?t to happen and I mean very general like; the guy and girl finally get together, and then I write whatever comes to me, I find i usually know a bit of the plot and how I ****?t the ****?k to turn out and then I fill out the rest ***? it comes to me. And yes sometimes I do have to go back and change it because I change my mind on how something goes, ****? you do what feels natural for you and you’ll do great, if you ***?em to be stuck at first try to make a very loose outline to get you started.
July 12th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I ***?rsonally don’t go anywhere when I try to write without plans. ****? it *could* just be my ***?rsonality, because I like to plan things in general.
It would certainly be more prudent and helpful to plan your story out. Like someone else said, a loose outline would be ****?d, so that you’ve got some elbow room, so to speak. It’ll give you some freedom while you’re writing, so that you know where to go next ****? not in detail. So I guess that is a combination of both.
Good luck with your story
July 15th, 2009 at 1:07 am
greeklord, I suspect that probably 75% of all the ****?ks which are never finished remain that way because the would-be author didn’t have a plan.
Until you know you can write a whole ****?k, which is no small undertaking, I strongly urge you to have a master plan. Whether you use index cards, an outline, a detailed synopsis, or some other form of ****?anization, know your whole story before you start writing. Ideally, determine what the scenes or chapters are, who’s in them, what happens, and how that leads to the next scene or chapter.
When you start writing, you may get an idea that’s better. Great! However, you owe it to yourself to re-do the master plan to use that idea before you just forge blindly ahead. You ****?t to finish, right?
July 17th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I have written two novels; from my experience, I think that you must begin with a basic plan. With my original ****?k, the production of which became an extremely lengthy process, I rewrote and altered it ***?veral ***?mes, then spent an exorbitant amount of ***?me editing and correcting the final manuscript. With the ***?cond or ***?quel, my concept was somewhat nebulous, although I did have in mind what I ****?ted to the story to be, ****? I simply wrote it (perhaps “on instinct” ***? you say). I think that ***?cond may be better than the first, and it was completed in a twentieth of the ***?me which I expended on the first! I am, though, equally happy with each of them ***? they are ***?t. I think that you might try just writing the novel — with your plot in mind — and ***?e how it goes. You really can’t avoid the editing, correcting, and altering eventually, however minutely you pre-plan; the ***?n, too, is in the actual writing. You might become disillusioned if you pre-set for yourself too rigid an outline to follow. ****?d luck!