By this I mean....do you sit down to write and have a specific plan and goal in mind and then by the time you are doing re-writes, it's expanded into something much "bigger" (both literally and figuratively) than you expected? Do you think this is a good or bad thing?
This is happening to me right now in the first draft! Yes, it is a good thing. More often then not, the story becomes better for it. Sticking to a plan no matter what can result in some disasterous writing if you're too stuck on it.
I sit down to write with a general IDEA in mind, but since I don't outline or plot out everything in advance, no, I don't know the exact idea the story is going to go in. It still runs away with me though. For example, in my current WIP there were a few particular characters I planned to show up (I do plan some things, just not the entire story), but neither of them found a place in the story, so with one, I decided she'll show up in the next story. (Have yet to see if she will.) But then one day, the other character who I'd given up for this story suddenly arrived, albeit later than I'd thought, and now she's a major plot point in herself. So you see, I honestly can never be too sure about anything. And yes, things tend to always get longer than I'd thought. My first serial was 110 chapters. I was sure the second would be shorter, but it ended up at 139 parts. And the current one is already at almost 180 parts and still going. I really never knew they'd be this long when I started out. It's all a surprise to me. In my case I think it's usually a good thing because I don't really feel like I create the story anyway, it seems to create itself and I'm just here writing it down. It's almost an unconscious process. If something is coming out of me, even if it's not what I expected, I see that as only a good thing. At least I'm writing! I imagine that in some cases though, people would not appreciate the story running away with them, but I'm not one of those people. *shrug* Oh. I don't tend to do rewrites until years later if my writing style has changed. I don't see the point in writing something if I'm not making it the best I can the first time around. But that's just me and most people obviously don't agree with that. (I'm not writing for publication.)
It has happened to me too, and I also think it's a good thing. Because if you stick to your plan religiously you might miss out on something that makes your novel/story even better.
I think it's a great thing when your creativity is in fire hose mode. Take advantage of it! You will tighten up the story in the revision phase--there should ALWAYS be a revision phase--and some of the material you end up trimming out may even find a home in another story. Never, ever complain that your creativity is getting beyond you!
While my writing doesn't run away with me, sometimes my works end up being a little longer than I planned for them to be. This can be a problem with respect to markets that will accept them. When I outlined my second novel, for example, I was expecting it to end up between 100,000 and 110,000 words. After I completed it, including editing and tightening up, the result was a 126,000 word novel. Not terrible, but not what I was shooting for. Sometimes the same thing happens with my short fiction. I devise a storyline and expect it to end up at about 5000 words and on occasion I end up with 7000 to 8000. With experience, I'm getting better. In the end one has to write the story, doing his best to keep it tight and on point/moving forward till the end, believing the numbers will take care of themselves. Terry
Yes, it happens with me all the time. Your ideas will grow even when you don't want it to. The best thing you can do if you cannot incorporate it into your story is to let it overflow into another writing.
Yes it happens to me, no I don't think it's a bad thing. I was bored the other day and I started reminiscing about my original plans for my novel, and comparing it to how it has turned out. It was really interested to see the changes I'd made, and why I'd made them. I think as a writer it's nice to be writing a story that surprises you,. It keeps it interesting.
