Do you plot out your book?

Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Eddy, Jun 22, 2006.

  1. Novel Novice

    Novel Novice New Member

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    Being a "poet" (saying very, very loosely), I find that it is easier for me to get a line down, and see where it takes me. I always sit down with the intention of the poem in my head and ready to go, but sometimes the connection between my brain and my fingers has a subliminal path that heeds me no warning.

    With stories, however, I find that the approach listed above does little good. (Then again, that might be why I have zero stories, and 6 million ideas). When I try and plot them out, I feel cramped. When I try and let an idea wander, it gets lost along with my passion for the piece.

    I'll keep reading through the 3 pages of responses here, because I could really use some help myself!
     
  2. Dan Rhodenizer

    Dan Rhodenizer New Member

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    Same here, I find that works best.

    However, I don't plot the ending.
     
  3. dushechka

    dushechka New Member

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    I don't think I've ever really plotted.

    I mean, there will be times where I'll plot out what a character does, or how they're supposed to act, but an actual "plot" is never really plotted. (wow, bad grammar there.. lol)

    I like the freedom to go where my thoughts take me, but it's always a double edged sword; partly because my thoughts are never organized, and it can be very overwhelming.
     
  4. Marc

    Marc New Member

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    I'm a thoroughbred planning whore, through and through. I detail every last thing that is going to happen in any plot I conceive. If I don't I tend to end up with a load a filler material bloating out my chapters... and I really dislike filler.
     
  5. PrincessGarnet

    PrincessGarnet New Member

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    I think i should do more planning but i have so much buzzing around in my head I start writing probably sooner than i should but my best ideas come out when i don't know what's about to happen - if that makes sense. I wish it was different, i wish i could finish a piece.
     
  6. LionofPerth

    LionofPerth New Member

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    I try not to, it takes alot of the fun out of my writing.

    Yes, I have an idea of what the stories purpose is, and what happens, but I don't like to know all of the details before I write them. Yeah this means I do a lot of editting, but I like the idea that each little addition builds to nice complete, decent whole.
     
  7. mypensmysoul

    mypensmysoul New Member

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    I usually go wherever my mind takes me, but I always have a ten-scene tool sitting next to me (Any and all stories have ten basic scenes. Try it.) to help myself from overwriting or getting off track.

    Ten Scene Tool:

    1. Opener *duh
    2. Point of No Return Complication --aka PNRC-- *where your character cannot ever go back to how things were beforehand.
    3-8. Your most defining complications.
    9. Climax *duh
    10. Conclusion *duh

    Good luck!
     
  8. LionofPerth

    LionofPerth New Member

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    Ten scenes?

    Not something I would use, I find that for each type of setting, I want to show the characters being able to escape whatever 'fate' has for them.

    Look at the epilogue I wrote, it shows Sheree and Leon being very human, yet they fight some very inhuman things in the story.

    There is no set of rules that applies to writing, there is what works for you, and there is what does not work, that is all.
     
  9. aniolel

    aniolel New Member

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    I think it helps to plot for those who are learning how to write...it will give them a way to think how to write.
     
  10. InkDream

    InkDream Active Member

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    I only plot out what I'm writing if I've hit a wall. Things tend to change once I start writing it out so it always seems like a waste of time to get to carried away with the outlining stuff.
     
  11. Lalis

    Lalis New Member

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    I really just let it happen. I start out with an idea and it just flows from there.
     
  12. ajbc_08

    ajbc_08 Member

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    I usually always have no idea what I am writing when I start. Once I've written up at least something, then ideas start to formulate in my mind and I draft up a very rough mental image of what might take place. That initial plan that I have is extremely tentative and changes enormously over the course of the writing, usually evolving into something that I didn't initially anticipate.

    I think that going into any writing piece, blowing open the doors, guns blazing without any plan so to speak, is the best option. This way, your story evolves and changes as you write, and you can assess and evaluate it as you go, where as having a stringent plan might lead you to be constrained by said plan and not allow you to flourish as much. If that sounds cheesy, ignore it, but I have found that going in cold is definetely a good idea.
     
  13. gabs1515

    gabs1515 New Member

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    If I'm writing a long story then I like to plot it out. Nothing extensive, just some notes. I do this because I spend several days or weeks writing and I tend to forget specific details, especially if I needed something to play out later on in the story that i hinted at early on. It's more or less for the little things.

    But for short stories I just let it flow out of me and make itself.
     
  14. bruce

    bruce Active Member

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    I'm the kind that plans every single detail for every aspect of a story especially character bios and scenes. I keep the story design separate from the implementation, I mean, the writing. :D
     
  15. Blackwaltz

    Blackwaltz New Member

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    I tend to plot out any key points to give the story a bit of structure but I try to not set them totally in stone. I like having certain things written down in order because I have a terrible memory so it can be almost necessary for me at times.
     
  16. LadyLazarus

    LadyLazarus New Member

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    Simply put, I don't. Not until I've got the first chapter done, then I read it back. I get a feel for the characters I've crafted, then go from there. I make a rough sketch of what I want to do, but I wont force a character to do something they don't want to do. I let them take my by the hand and show me their lives.
     
  17. Tallyp `

    Tallyp ` New Member

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    i found that if i did a plot then i get bored so i dont plot anymore and i find it better and more exciting to write
     
  18. Smithy

    Smithy New Member

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    I find that when I try and plot I actually can't write afterwards, so I tend to leave it quite vague apart from the really important events.
     
  19. TimAyro

    TimAyro New Member

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    When I get an idea, I throw a huge summary out. Then start to write and follow the summary. Helps me keep focused, and remember my ideas.
     
  20. maya

    maya New Member

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    Personally, when I write, I usually sketch out the characteristics of each character, and draw out their relationships with each other. I'll write the main events, but if my writing doesn't head in that direction, it's nothing I should worry about too much. So you can say, I don't really plan in details. I find it to be harder than just writing and seeing where it takes you.

    Happy Writing~
     
  21. NyeLew

    NyeLew New Member

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    I do a little of both. I like to start writing without a plot in mind at all, and then when it's done I look over it and say "Well, what's good and what's bad?"

    After I trawl through it and see what I actually like about the story I'll stick it all down in a rough plot. When I've got that down, I'll further refine the plot until it's something I'm pleased with. When that's done I start on the rewrite.

    My current project is at the rewrite stage, but it's getting a rewrite of its own after this because I realised that I'm unhappy with the plot as it is (and it doesn't set up the sequel very well).

    I have all of the important aspects of the plot written down, but I leave dialogue and characterisation to happen during the writing of it. That way I get to know exactly where I'm going but have some fun on the way, too.
     
  22. writewizard

    writewizard New Member

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    I prewrite, but I don't plot. Or perhaps the correct term is that I predream. I think about what I want to write and the senarios. I have a very, very good visual imagry that helps me out with this (although sometimes it's not wanted :D). I can "see" what is happening in my story and start putting it down on paper.

    Sometimes I plot, but I generally find plotting more distracting and less helpful than anything else.
     
  23. Cosmos

    Cosmos New Member

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    I'm one of those obsessive outliner types. I like to have things in neat little packages. Now I'm not obsessive to the tune of making sure everything follows the outline as oftentimes when it doesn't I can something fun and fresh. But if I go on ahead without any sort of plot in mind (and on paper) I get distracted and confused very quickly and easily which quickly kills the story. I need direction to be able to function, simple as.
     
  24. Samomo

    Samomo New Member

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    I usually get the general idea down- the plot, the summary. From then on, I plot the book out as much as I write. For example, when I'm working on chapter one of a book, I'll open my word pad and jot down pointform notes of what I'm trying to say, or what I'm trying to do within that one specific chapter. More often than not though, I do stray away from my agenda and do something completely spur of the moment. I guess I'm not a very organized writer
     
  25. TedR

    TedR New Member

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    I've done it both ways, planning out my story and just writing and seeing where it goes. I've found that when I write randomly, I often want to go back and revise major points. Not that it's a bad thing, but rewriting whole sections of a story can take up some time. I prefer to plan out the major points, the basics of what happens, so I have some direction of what to write. I like to have a set idea of where the characters end up, and then write without premeditation how they reach that point.

    But I don't plan out to the point of what each character says. Might as well just write the story then, instead of outlining it.
     

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