Blood_Writer

Hey,

Being the end of the Summer Holidays, I've come to a conclusion in which I've planned far too much. I haven't got down to writing, as I've been planning different ideas, but then getting bored after putting so much effort into all the details and then having to expand as it wouldnt make sense.

Is there anyway you can plan too much before you write anything? I want to come up with a good idea, but not have to go into so much detail with it before I begin. Can I do that? Or is all this planning necessary and it's just me being impatient?

Thanks in advance to those who reply.

Yours,

BW.

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surrealist

It really depends on the person. I've read Bret Easton Ellis interviews where he talks about creating outlines three times as long as the novel, and using those to guide him point by point through the actual writing. So you can definitely make a huge plan and run with it. On the other end are people who don't outline, and write whatever comes to mind. I'd say it's up to you to find what works best for your style. I'm curious about your comment that it "wouldn't make sense". Does that mean you don't think the story based on your plan would make sense? If so, that either suggests the plan didn't make sense to begin with, or (what I'd wager) you're not sure you can pull it off in the story. My suggestion in either case would be to try it out anyway, or you might find yourself forever planning, and never actually writing anything.

Blood_Writer

Thanks Surrealist.

'Cos your interested, I meant I could not pull it off in the story, and if I wanted to, I'd have to create and come up with alot more things that would take me twice as long.

Everyday, being a teenager, my mind changes over a certain Genre I want to write about. Maybe writing shorts is my thing until I grow of age.

BW.

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Eiji Tunsinagi

Oh Jeez, flashbacks galore! I've done this so many GD times and it is rather consistent in its pissing me off. I do it with my screenplays. I've outline down every scene, work out all the twists and turns and everything and then I'm too tired to write the actual script!

I feel you.

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"nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished."

"how will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?"

DaughterofEvil

I find if I plan too much some part of me feels like the story has already been told and I start to lose interest. Personally, I plan out a rough idea of the ending and what I want to happen in the middle and then have some inkling of what I want the beginning to be like and then I just write. I get my best ideas once I see how the characters and situations are coming together. Things I know I would never be able to pre-plan just branch off into new and exciting subplots and twists and the story sort of weaves itself.

And while surrealist has a point--it depends on the person--I do really think that there is such a thing as over-planning. A story is an organic being. If it's too plotted, it turns out mechanical and stiff.

Don't worry about trying to be perfect and have every single detail plotted. Most of it comes very naturally anyway.

sdavis2k

I say just write and flesh out the details during the revision process. You will notice you need to add something about the Big Scary Monster being weak to ice weapons before they get to it's cave and know to use their ice weapons, for example.