There are two situations: I write with a minimal plan. Writing is fun because I get to use my imagination but the overall result can be better structured. I create a brilliant plan that has everything I want in the story laid out clearly. Writing becomes tedious as it is just a matter of describing how the events in the plan happen. I want to keep my plans and find a way to make the writing part more interesting for me. If I'm uninterested it also shows when reading. Can anybody offer suggestions?
I go with no plan, so yeah, the writing's mostly fun - but it's also tedious at points, and frustrating, and just down right unpleasant occasionally. Which way allows you to get the story finished and closer to the way you want it than the other? That's the one to use - until it quits working. Then you try something else.
I see the second option as two stages: the idea- phase and the creation- phase. The writing it down shouldn't feel tedious just because you know what is going to happen, you still have to find the best way of painting the picture to the reader, the most vivid descriptions and how to portrait the characters the way you see them. to me that is everything but tedious, I enjoy that phase just as much as the one where the ideas flow. But if you want you can still go for something in between: the one where you know what the story is about: who, when, where and why. Now you just have to figure out How.
To get my lead where he has to be, I had to write a traditional scene espousing everything I hate. I had to show the reader some dichotomy of "do as I say" and make people hate the idea as much as the lead does. I had/have a plan, and it is of specific goals, without it there was no story. I'm still writing that scene, and I hate every minute of it.
I write with a minimal plan. I know basically where I'm going, and a few stations along the way. The direction shifts a lot during the writing, but it's an organic shift. Working from a closely detailed plan, I often feel the story is being forced, and I think it shows in the writing. There is plenty of time in the proofreading and revision phase for fine-tuning the structure.
Writing out a plan is always much, much easier than writing the novel. And since we already feel as if we "read" the book we are writing, the rewards in page after page can vary. Outline/plan is exciting because in a short period of time it is done, it's condensed and it's ideas rather than polished sentences. Actually writing the book is the hard part, so I too find it tedious just before I start. But once I start, it's a lot easier to keep going
You guys are great. Quick and helpful responses, thanks Ahh. I posted about 500 words of probably thought-provoking material to have it wiped by the browser. Frustrating.
For me I write with the general concept so I can get the novel done and hen my revision is what is tedious. For example, the novel I just wrote, I decided on the seventh chapter to completely change my antagonist. I didn't go back and fix those seven chapters I just wrote the next 16 with my new attagonist in mind. So when I completed my novel I was very very happy as I had the concept and story down. When I did my revisions that's when being exact came into play. Not only did I have to make sure of a general proof but needed to make sure the story was consistent nothing was left out. Had to rewrite a lot of the first seven chapters and had to go back to add stuff here and there that I would think of and randomly put in but because I knew exactly where the story went and ended it was much easier.
