I never plan. With poetry, I might have an idea of what I want to say but usually it turns out as something completely different. Most of the time, however, I go with the images that come into my mind. With stories, I sort of plan as I go along often heading in a different direction to what I thought of when I began.
Poetry is not planned out at all, at least not for me. And I've written extremely long, story-type poems. As for stories, I have a general idea, but I have to start writing to get further, but I can't start writing until I have a more specific idea. And then I get stuck.
I think it depends. If you're writing a novel that you're wanting to get published, you probably shouldn't take the time to write the whole thing out. When you submit your proposal to an agent, it's usually important for them that you have an ending in mind. Of course, you should always submit excerpts to show off your unique, intriguing writing abilities as well. After all, wouldn't it be awful to finish a book to find out that no one is interested in it? This is all, of course, just in the case of writing to get published. You can, of course write for yourself or save stories to be published later after you've established your name.
I don't do any planning in regards to the plot as a whole, but I do plan certain scenes - albeit slightly (by way of jotted down phrases/questions). I much prefer to just sit down and write, with a few 'sign posts' along the way, even if I end up ignoring them. I find that for me, I end up with work that is much more raw, and far less inhibited. Conversely, I do sometimes enjoy the challenge of 'this is what you have to write about, now'. (I used to participate in a now defunct forum game elsewhere called Duck Duck Goose, basically, if you were goosed, you had to produce something within the guidelines set out for you, including theme, the use of certain words or the appearance of certain items - much fun ).
Great thread topic! I usually start with a loose outline (with a tangible ending in mind). But as I write, I let the story evolve if necessary. This is just my opinion, but I think it's good to have at least a general structure for the plot- one that gives enough of a direction but doesn't confine you if new, spontaneous ideas happen to spring up.
Write as I go while simultaneously outlining. Because if I don't outline I tend to leave important details out, but when I write the story seems to take on its own life sometimes.
To the poster above me...I may have to do the same thing. >< I need to start writing but I can't because I feel like I need an outline but then I can't do the outline because I feel like I need to be writing. Ah, this vicious cycle >< ~Lynn
Lynn, you should give this technique a shot. It has revolutionized how I come up with stories. It is more of a mental thing. You don't even have to write anything down if you don't want to.
I make a plan, then write as I go. Then plan is like a map that reminds me of where I am going, even if I get side-tracked.
I actually write just for fun and for myself mainly. Of course if people happen to like my book as much as I do then that's a plus. So even if it doesn't get published I would still finish it for myself. This isn't going to be my career so I guess I don't care as much about all that.
I have a lot of difficulty with this.... I've tried both, and neither seem to work well and fluidly for me. If I plan everything out I find I get bored very easily and sort of start feeling... trapped. However, when I don't plan anything out and just go with what pops into my head, I feel somewhat lost and like I'm improvising; then as I go, in the back of my head, I'm questioning myself where I'm going with this, and so I become discouraged and just stop altogether. .....so I can't say I choose either. I'm not entirely sure what works for me best yet.
Honestly, sometimes i just write, and sometimes I plan. Mostly, I try to plan ahead, for me, it keeps things straightened out. I try not to over outline though or over plan, then I feel like I trap myself. I just write sometimes because I just feel like working on an idea, and am not really planning on it turning into anything- but you ever know. I have just wrote out scenes, turned out to not work with the chapter it may have intitaly been written for or if I was just writing a situation not really knowing where it would fit into my story, but had it work for another chapter or scene.
I've usually got the general "feel" of the writing down. It seems that my writing style seems to change from novel to novel, some being abstract with fragmented sentences and others with a load of fun adjectives and long, detailed sentences. Once I've got that figured out, I begin to write. The whole story begins to unravel within the first week or so. Then I just keep going.
I am not a stickler for planning, but I do have a rough outline before I start. I tend to know what I want the mc to do. Other characters may not have an outline, but are in the back of my mind. The plot needs to be better planned, or it gets lost.
