Getting Started

[Rullenzar]

Does anyone else find it a bit tough just starting wherever? Do you feel it's necessary to fully build a world before being able to write or do you build as you go? Do you make a main character and just get into it or do you plan first?

What amount of planning do you feel is a must before being able to sit down and go?

I have a small amount of my world planned. A good back history that sets up my main characters relatives past which ties into the world in general. My magic system is still a work in progress but will come as I go. My problem is that I find it tough starting at any old point because there is so much I plan on doing and don't know the order or where my characters would be. I'd prwefer starting at the beginning but even with that I'm finding problems pin pointing a start. So every time I sit down feeling pumped and ready to go, I get a couple lines down then get boggled down by all the details that end up overwhelming me and closing up shop.

Would like to know how YOU do it and discuss.

 

[Leif Notae]

Write whatever scene comes to your head, use it to structure around if need be, develop a story around it with the proper structure, do some research, write, edit.

 

[MadMadys]

I think that I put less into planning my stories than most but that's just how I prefer to do things.

I mean, I always create the basic character outlines, plot, setting, etc. but I've found that getting bogged down into details can lead to never actually getting started. For me, I just have to dive in and find my footing. This leads me to finding the characters myself through the actions I haphazardly put them in.

A story I just started on a whim from nothing more than a blurb description I came up with has developed a lot more than I had anticipated. Elements I had not even planned for, psychosomatic trauma, muddled past of a character, dreary landscape, began to develop as I wrote. Partially because I had no idea where I was going so I just kind of dropped in things I liked to see how much traction they got. The nice part is, if I add something I don't like or doesn't work, I can easily drop it because I haven't married myself to the idea.

I have a friend whose been trying to be a writer for a while now who has a very detailed outline for the plot written out. Main story, sub-plots, characters, secondary characters, currency, religion, weapons, political systems, and on and on. Problem is, while he's spent a year and a half on this outline and the story appears to be pretty cool, he hasn't actually started yet. I think he gets a little too obsessed with mundane details of his world and working out every conflict completely that he's afraid to start without having a complete map of his surroundings. Now I'm not criticizing outlining, I do it myself for my major novel, but sometimes people get a little too drawn into world building rather than the reason for the world building which is the story.

So yeah, my strategy is to get my floaties on and bellyflop into the deep end.

 

[Butterfly]

You don't have to start at the beginning, or at the end. What is important is that you start somewhere... the first place in your head. You can always work forward and backwards. Use bullet points to get you from one place to the next, and go back to fill them in at a later stage.

Start at the beginning and you will probably find as you get further on that you imagine a better beginning anyway. I've had at least a dozen beginnings, and it's only by writing through the story that I have found one that actually fits.

 

[BWFoster78]

It seems like there are two radically different schools of thought on this issue.

A lot of writers like to completely outlilne their entire novels before writing. These people would need to have a good idea of the characters, plot, and setting before ever setting pen to paper.

The other camp are called discovery writers. They think up a character and a situation and start typing. They "discover" the story as they write.

You probably should attempt both and see which one works best for you. My Wednesday and Thursday blog posts covered the subject (link in signature) if you'd like a bit more information on each.

Hope this helps!

Brian

 

[Penpilot]

I plan as much as I need to start. I know... I know... that doesn't really help. I think it's different for everyone.

For me, In a nutshell, I take my main character, I need to know where they are in terms of position in their lives, what they want internally and externally, where I want them to end up, and then I set about creating a would that puts things between them and their goals.

As for where to start the story, I start with a scene that does several things. The scene has to show the main character in their normal lives, whatever is normal for them, and it has to be at or very close to a moment of change where the character's normal life is disrupted. In that scene I also show what they want internally and externally, what stands in their way, I introduce a story question, and I try to give the reader a reason to like the character.

 

[Aravelle]

I think that I put less into planning my stories than most but that's just how I prefer to do things.

I mean, I always create the basic character outlines, plot, setting, etc. but I've found that getting bogged down into details can lead to never actually getting started. For me, I just have to dive in and find my footing. This leads me to finding the characters myself through the actions I haphazardly put them in.

A story I just started on a whim from nothing more than a blurb description I came up with has developed a lot more than I had anticipated. Elements I had not even planned for, psychosomatic trauma, muddled past of a character, dreary landscape, began to develop as I wrote. Partially because I had no idea where I was going so I just kind of dropped in things I liked to see how much traction they got. The nice part is, if I add something I don't like or doesn't work, I can easily drop it because I haven't married myself to the idea.

I have a friend whose been trying to be a writer for a while now who has a very detailed outline for the plot written out. Main story, sub-plots, characters, secondary characters, currency, religion, weapons, political systems, and on and on. Problem is, while he's spent a year and a half on this outline and the story appears to be pretty cool, he hasn't actually started yet. I think he gets a little too obsessed with mundane details of his world and working out every conflict completely that he's afraid to start without having a complete map of his surroundings. Now I'm not criticizing outlining, I do it myself for my major novel, but sometimes people get a little too drawn into world building rather than the reason for the world building which is the story.

So yeah, my strategy is to get my floaties on and bellyflop into the deep end.

That is exactly my problem as a writer.....

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I tend to start with an idea, flesh it out a little, then start writing prose. Then I go back and think about whether the prose is actually what I want to have happen, and if not, I nuke it and start over, after working on the story structure some more. The actual act of exploratory writing helps me come up with ideas and directions for the characters, as well as gives me experience with seeing how those characters act in various situations, so that I can further plan and plot, etc. It's a very iterative process, probably owing to the fact that my primary career is in computer programming.

 

[QueensAdvisor]

Eh, depends. I have four or so worlds that I'll dabble in that are all planned out, I can give you history of, religion, culture etc. Other times I just start writing. I almost never write an outline though. I write down the scenes I know will happen and try to connect them.

Haha, you think i plan out the protagonist. My main character usually shows up in my head and tells me what they've been through and demand to have their story told.

 

[Addison]

I've found that part of writing, especially fantasy, is discovering the world as you go. If you have the basics (magic isn't a secret, the source of magic is fairies, whatever) then as the hero plays out their quest or adventure in your head then the both of you will discover teh world together. I only did a full report of my fantasy world when I hit writer's block.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

In the camps of pantsters and plotters, I fall squarely into the pantsters. I have no plan or plot at all when I start. I have a scene and just write it, and from there everything has to follow. So for example in Days of Light and Shadow I started with a single scene in my tired brain, a human trapped in an elven dungeon being tortured. 250,000 words later it was a book.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Rullenzar]

A lot of replies seem to be about discovery. I already have a fair bit developed and I think my problem is im married to some ideas. Think I'll try the discovery route and see what happens.