Verago

...Plan my Chapters?

I've been keeping my story pretty close to the original plans, but it's evolved in several places.

The question is...do you recommend planning every aspect of my story and then just writing it, so as to prevent plot holes and all that, or should I just write it, maintaining a light connection to the original, and just let it evolve naturally, while risking plot holes?

I've been letting it evolve...

Opinions? Preferences?

sammisan

By all means, let it evolve. I think writing only gets better when you don't try to bind it. Planning out has its definite place to help set the characters and general plot in your mind, but you can't limit yourself just becuase you wrote some sort of outline some random amount of time ago. As for plot holes, you can always work those out during re-writes and edits. If you get stuck, go back to your outline and let it remind of your original purpose for a character, setting, plot device, etc. But don't be afraid to change it if its evolved beyond that point.

Those are my thoughts.

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RebelGoddess

I completely agree with Sammisan.

If you let your story evolve the characters grow and become more like actual people and the readers bonds with them as you do.

Plus, if you let the story evolve it can take you to places not even you planned. A good outline can evolve into an amazing story.

But what I do is loosely plan in the beginning and as the story evolves, I plan more.

What I mean is I'll only loosely plan chapters 1-10 and once there I'll be more strict about what I'll eventually write.

Good luck!

Racheal

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Writers' block doesn't exist. It's actually called work avoidance procrastination.
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Verago

Good ideas...thanks!
Will do...

BrummysBride

I mix the two. I have to write down some sort of outline. I use the term "outline" extremely loosely...anybody who saw my notes would wonder what in the world they mean. I grab whatever available piece of paper I can find, write thoughts as they come to mind (I might be talking on the phone to a client at work, cooking dinner, etc.) and then try to remember to tuck it into my notebook. When I get down to the business of writing, I sort out my pieces of paper and incorporate them into my work. It's outline-ish but certainly not in the classic sense.

Generally, when I write, each chapter becomes its own little story within a story. The only reason I do any planning whatsoever is that I oftentimes have a great idea completely out of the blue but, if I don't write it down and put it someplace where I won't forget it, I'll...uh...forget it.

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Verago

Me too...I'm starting to wonder if I'm destined not to have any good ideas written, because, for some reason, every time I have a good idea, we're always on like a four hour outing to the mall, with no pens, pencils, or notebooks, because my Mom doesn't want her car stained. >_<

RebelGoddess

[quote="Veragofor some reason, every time I have a good idea, we're always on like a four hour outing to the mall, with no pens, pencils, or notebooks, because my Mom doesn't want her car stained. >_<[/quote]

I've always had the same problem.

That's why I've begun carrying a tiny notepad with me at all times in my purse. Since I'm guessing you don't carry a purse, maybe a small one that'll fit in your pocket?

Ideas can stike anywhere and it's a shame to lose a good one.

Racheal

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Writing is life.

Writers' block doesn't exist. It's actually called work avoidance procrastination.
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Verago

Liek oh my gosh girlfriend, my purse is liek soooo fabulous!!!
Lol.
Yeah, you guessed it. I don't carry a purse.
And most of my shorts don't have pockets in em. I don't know why...weird coincidence, I guess. And it's too freaking hot over here, down in Texas, to wear jeans...

My solution:
Don't leave the house.

RebelGoddess

That's like, so sad? No purse? Then, like, where do you keep your lip gloss?

Hehe. Kidding : )

I'd suggest trying to keep a pen with you at least, maybe write on your hand if necessary ( I do it!).

If not, then I guess just find someone with a great memory and tell them : )

Good luck finding ways to remember!

Racheal

__________________
Writing is life.

Writers' block doesn't exist. It's actually called work avoidance procrastination.
-Jasper Fforde

Dan101

Do a little of both, like said above!

What I do is I roughly decide how I want things to turn out in my mind, deciding on a very very rough plot. That rough idea only serves as the base, or the structure if you will, as I write the story and allow it to evolve. Like RebelGoddess said, there are events in my novel that would not have been included, let alone thought of, had I not allowed it to evolve and take on its own life, so to speak. If you allow it to evolve, you will flow more realism into your characters allowing the reader to connect with the character that has come to be thier favorite. Be spontaneous ^_-

Most of my ideas hit me when Im going to bed for some reason...Listening to music helps too, definitely! Listening to certain genres of songs allow me to think of what kind of scene would go well with that particular song if this were a movie I was writing. Once I have that going, I can think of scenes untill the cows come home...and I dont have any cows so thats usually a while, hahaha. ^_^

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Verago

Liek...On my lips...
Lol.

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably try writing on the hand...maybe I'll invent a runic symbol system to use.
Dan: You're right. Call me Darwin, but I'm going for evolution...

RebelGoddess

Funny you mention that... when I was young (and silly), about 10 or 11, I made up a runic/symbol alphabet so nobody would be able to read my little stories but me.

The things we crazy artsy types do! LOL.

Good luck!

Racheal

__________________
Writing is life.

Writers' block doesn't exist. It's actually called work avoidance procrastination.
-Jasper Fforde

Heid

A plan would probably help get from point A to B right through to point Z of your story. That's what I'm doing at the minute but even during plotting stage I'm finding myself coming up with new ideas that I can weave in the story. I'm just jotting them down quickly and putting them in my folder as notes. I'm pretty confident that even when the whole thing is planned out I will still keep adding and changing things when I start the actual writing of my story.

So I'm gonna go with what most people say and advice that you do plan out (simply so you know what will happen where and when) but don't restrict yourself to using JUST what you have planned out.

Think of it like acting. Although actors and actresses are given a script to read from they do sometimes add or change certain elements depending on how they feel the role should be played and to give a more natural flow to their character.

lisajane

I say have a very rough idea of chapters, but don't necessarily work out what scenes go specifically into which chapters and the orders and etc.

Example. My novel, while it has no chapters, it has a prologue, part one, part two and quite possibly an epilogue. The jury's still out there. The prologue, in time, takes place between parts one and two, and so I knew there'd be at least part one. I knew part one would finish with the scene directly before the prologue.

Other than that, no planning there.

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BrummysBride

I did that too (I thought it was so cool. Wait. I still do think that was cool!)

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