Planning Vs. Organic

I've used both methods. It depends on how complicated the story is. If it's really complicated, I'll use a thorough outline. For a simple short story, I'll write without one. I'll be using an average outline for my Nano novel this year. I'll have to have some details in the outline, but I'm leaving room for surprises, too. :)

Lois Eighmy
http://lmeighmy.livejournal.com
http://lmeighmy.blogspot.com

I'm a plotter all the way...scene by scene outlines are the only way to go for me. If I try to pants it, I end up writing myself into corners and getting so frustrated I quit my story.

"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia."
--E.L. Doctorow

Definitely a planner. If I don't sit down to plan, my characters don't end up fleshed out enough and things become a little difficult come November 1. I only had the barest of ideas about plot and characters before I started my first Nano in 2006 and without much surprise didn't get quite half way there.

It is a lot easier to write when you're tried, hungry and slightly downhearted about the whole thing when you have a plan. Or at least it is for me. I could never make it past the midway point without a detailed plot and some semblance of an outline.

I'm not a planner, except in the roughest sense. I feel too restricted by outlines. Plus, my best ideas come as I'm writing, not when I'm just thinking about stuff outside the text. I have a very hard time thinking more than a scene or two ahead of what I've got on the page.

Well, this is the first novel for me and I'm working on an outline right now. So far I think it's helping a lot. I've tried to write without an outline before and I felt too lost. I actually feel like I'm more creative WITH the outline at this point. Of course, I'm a little paranoid about having a good plot. So, being sure of the plot making sense makes me feel freer, at this point. We'll see what happens.

"Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense."
-Mark Twain

I tend to do better if I at least have a basic time line to work from. Last year I tried to do it with a time line or even a clear idea of what I was writting. No surprise that I didn't get very far. This year with a new computer (one that works properly) and an idea of what I am writing already in place I feel I am miles ahead of last year. And yes, part of the process is spur of the moment ideas!!!

2007 - I'll See You In Forever - 50,111
2006 - Lily's Crhistmas Wish - 57,064 words

Organic all the way, here. I go into it with a fairly clear idea of what the main situation is, and some rough character outlines, and then I see where the story takes me. So far, it's worked pretty well. If I get stuck, I just ask myself, "Okay, what's the next logical smallest possible step?" and work that way for a while.

I'm not the droid I'm looking for.

NaNo 2007: Heart of a Hero. (Finished!)
NaNo 2008: No Place In The Story (Finished!)
NaNo 2009: Cold Hands (Tentative)

http://groups.google.com/group/ne-arkansas-nano

Outlines? What're those? I can't write a good outline to save my life. The only way I can write is to dive feet first into the story! I sometimes hop around from character to character to flesh out individual details; on the whole I just let my pen take me where I want to go. If I get stuck, I just put myself into my characters shoes and say, "what would batman do?" then the answer usually comes to me and i'm off, writing like I know what i'm doing again! Though I do keep a rough plot and mental outline, it never sees paper.

Great topic.

Last year I discovered that, for me, a basic outline made a WORLD of positive difference. I let myself go with twists and turns that presented themselves, but to facilitate the word count, I made 30 separate Word docs in October (yes, let's all say @n@l-retentive @uthor) and at the top of each one, I put "Protagonist Wants: [blah blah blah], Impeded by [blah blah blah], Ending Cliffhanger [blah blah blah]." Got the idea from Jurgen Wolff and some nano pep talks. Anyway, when I opened each new day's document, I knew where I was and what I needed to accomplish; how it was accomplished was the creative part, so it wasn't as restrictive as it sounds.

eg: Junior finds out Jenni is hiding something in the basement.
He can't snoop because his mother drops Sissy off for him to babysit.
He sends Sissy to snoop in the basement and something happens to her.

So I know where to go, but not the exact road.

More than you ever wanted to know, eh?

And after the success of doing it that way last year, I've used it *a lot* with other stories this year. OTOH, since I have no idea what I'll be writing this year, that method may not work. :D But even an extremely loose outline helps me more than totally seat of the size 24 pants (that's almost enough to parachute, much less fly by). Again, I can change my whole idea mid-plot if it takes a bent that seems more interesting that my original plan, but I still value the "What do they want and what keeps them from it" angle if I blast off on a tangent.

Cheers!

^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage -- as long as you edit brilliantly." ~ C. J. Cherryh, quoted in _The I Love To Write Book_ by Mary-Lane Kamberg

I usually have a rough synopsis going for a story. The longer the book, or more complicated if I'm killing off people, the more detailed. For short stories and some novellas, I can fly by the seat of my pants.

Shayla Kersten
www.shaylakersten.com
Sexy Little Numbers (In Heat), Black Lace, Available now!
Fighting For Eternity, Ellora's Cave, Available now!
For Olympus' Sake, Ellora's Cave, Available now!

I will be using an outline, working on it now..plan on really fleshing it out a bit this weekend. I tried to go organic last year and things just got buggy so we will try the outline method..and lots of good music to go with it!

~ Terhune

"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody. " - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I am most definitely a planner. Even when I try to just write it, I end up doing "mini" planning all along the way.
Evelyn

"2009 - The Year I Shine."

having pretty much decided to go with the not-what-I-normally-would-read novel, I am spazzing all over with excitement now. Plots and subplots and memories and characters are zooming round my grey matter and bumping into each other. I've lined up 3-4 friends who can share w/ me memories of that time period (since my own peri-menopausal brain loses files like Nixon lost important tapes).

Lord willing, I will set aside some quiet time next week to do a rough outline, then do the @n@l-retentive thing as I did last year, setting up Chapter # documents with the Wadoogee (what does Debbie want, what prevents it, what cliffhanger ends chappie) in my Nano 2009 folder.

Whoopee!!!!

^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage -- as long as you edit brilliantly." ~ C. J. Cherryh, quoted in _The I Love To Write Book_ by Mary-Lane Kamberg

I work with a combination of the two. I have a loose plan, know where major plot points need to happen, but I let my characters run free within that. Some interesting things happen, but it all *usually* works within the original plan.

Voirey Linger ~ http://www.voireylinger.com | Romance Divas ~ http://www.romancedivas.com