# Outline vs Discovery?



## Mindfire (Apr 3, 2013)

I'm just curious to see how many of the members here are outline versus discovery writers. (Or plotters versus pantsers if you prefer.) There was a thread about this already, but it was a year old. Plus, it doesn't have a shiny poll like this one's got.  Of course there are some people who do a bit of both. In that case, what's your dominant strategy? Or are you purely neutral (if such a thing is possible)?

Me personally, I'm outline-dominant with a dash of discovery. I like to have a clear vision of what direction the story's going in with just enough wiggle room for interesting new details.


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## Steerpike (Apr 3, 2013)

All discovery for short stories.

A bit of broad outlining for longer works, with discovery thrown in (and the path set forth on the outline is likely to get shot to hell once I start writing anyway).


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## OGone (Apr 3, 2013)

I'm not really sure. I was thinking I was an extreme OCPD outliner but what I actually do is outline one chapter with 4-5 bulletpoints, write it, then outline the next chapter. I've scrapped my WIP and am now in the process of starting again though because the direction I was going wasn't leading into what I needed to happen. When I deviate, I find it hard.

I picked outline/plotter, I find it easier that way to make the story coherent.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Apr 3, 2013)

I outline each chapter but allow for full freedom of discovery writing throughout all of the actual writing.


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## Taytortots (Apr 3, 2013)

I can sway between the two depending on my mood or the type of story. For example, if i'm inspired by something I might just start writing and let the tides take me where they may.
However, I chose outline because that's typically how I do things. I'm not too diligent, I fully expect I will drift a little from my original plans to a certain degree. I always know where I want the story to go and a few important details, nothing else is really strict and I like the freedom to change it up if I get inspired by something.


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## Ophiucha (Apr 3, 2013)

A bit of both. I think I do a bit more outlining than not, but if something changes while I am writing, I am willing and able to just go with it instead of sticking with the outline just to see where the new path goes. It isn't always the best, but it always sparks some new ideas that could make it to the next draft. I also never commit to the little details, since I usually find those change to fit the mood and (if they begin to pop up) themes of the novel. A story I worked on for years had basically the same sequence of events for eight drafts, but the setting went from 'pseudo-medieval fantasy' to 'Lovecraftian world with no sun inside of a clam's shell'. So, y'know, I'm flexible.


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## Mindfire (Apr 3, 2013)

How do you write a world with no sun? I dont even... what?


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## Ophiucha (Apr 3, 2013)

Spoiler: deep in-universe explanation


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## Mindfire (Apr 3, 2013)

Ophiucha said:


> Spoiler: deep in-universe explanation



>_> Well played, Terry Pratchett.


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## Anders Ã„mting (Apr 3, 2013)

Outliner. I've tried to make stories up as a go along, but it doesn't work: I always know the entire plot by the time I finish the first chapter anyway, so there's really no point. And if I don't outline it, chances are I get stuck somewhere because I didn't plan ahead enough.


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## A. E. Lowan (Apr 3, 2013)

Ophiucha said:


> Spoiler: deep in-universe explanation



^  This totally cracked me up!

Anyway, I'm a hard-core outliner.  I'm a very linear writer and I need to know where I'm going to get there.  That being said, I also tend to let my characters run with the bit in their teeth, and even with exhaustive outlining they still manage to surprise me.


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## advait98 (Apr 3, 2013)

Oh dear, discovery writing seems to be losing. I personally take that approach because seriously, no ideas come to me when I outline. Before the start of the story, I might do a little to know the direction I'm going, but it's all pantsing after that. It really loosens up my mind and sort of puts me in a drive that would have been otherwise eliminated if I had outlined. That's what happens to me when I write. It's always exciting to be in the minority.


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## Devora (Apr 4, 2013)

I, personally, fancy a balance of both. I create a basic skeleton for the story to movie along, but i leave myself room to come up with more, and possibly better, ideas.


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## teacup (Apr 5, 2013)

Balanced for me. I began with a faint idea on the entire story, but it didn't include my second mc at all. I began writing without much of an idea how to start it off and just carried on. I had my mc meet with the second mc and then he became a very vital part of the story, and it grew from there. Now I have an outline ready for what will happen for the rest of the books, but right now I've had to return to the beginning to change it all. (bad writing, characters different to what they should be, unnecessary things etc)


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## Butterfly (Apr 5, 2013)

I'ma bit of both. Got the main events but no idea how to move from one to the other. So that's where the discovery come into it.


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## CreatorOfBotis (Apr 6, 2013)

I used to be 100% discovery. Absolutely refused to outline, didn't see its purpose. Didn't have a need. Then I went back and read through one of my more inspired projects and started finding plot holes, or areas that needed to be badly re-written because something happened later that made that scene obsolete, or I wanted to add some foreshadowing. I then sat down and worked out an outline that completely changed the shape of the book. All of a sudden I had a brand new story that had the same characters, and same general plot, but overall I liked better. My problem is that now I get bad writer's block, because I've started getting stuck in my outlines. 

Other stories I'll switch between the two , or I'll outline a chapter/scene as it comes up, but let the story go where it will. Really, each new piece that I work on I end up having a slightly different approach, so it's a bit tough to say I'm dominant one way or the other ...


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## Asura Levi (Apr 6, 2013)

Both here. I mean, I outline the whole story, the major features, just to remind me what I should be writing for. But in actual writing, I let loose. Even to the point in turning a single chapter in a entire arc (with 6 chapters).


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## Sparkie (Apr 6, 2013)

Every time I start planning I get discouraged.  It always seems like I've left too many loose ends.  I stick to short stuff mostly, and I write pretty much whatever comes to mind.  When something spontaneous doesn't work in a short story it's easier to fix.  

I'm probably in the minority, but I really feel like I *can't* plan effectively.  Anyone else feel that way?


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## Nebuchadnezzar (Apr 7, 2013)

> I'm probably in the minority, but I really feel like I can't plan effectively. Anyone else feel that way?



I'm the opposite, I'm afraid.  I can't write without planning.

To a great extent I think that's because I don't write unless I have something I want to say -- some theme or idea that I want to get across to other people.

I have to admit I've never been able to fathom the concept of discovery writing.  It seems to me that it's like saying that the author actually has nothing in particular they want to say.  There's no idea or theme or philosophical axe they want to grind.  They're just communicating because they feel like communicating today, and who knows what they might say?

That's just mind-boggling to me.  If there's no purpose to the story, why tell it?  Does anyone really want to read a meaningless, themeless, message-less, warmed-over retread of a Quest to Defeat the Dark Lord that someone "discovered"?  What a colossal waste of time for both the author and the reader.

I'm sure there's something I'm missing about discovery writing, because a lot of people I know and respect write that way.  But I just can't imagine starting to write a story without knowing the message I want to communicate by writing it.  And once you know the message, there is very little else to discover in my experience.


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## Steerpike (Apr 7, 2013)

> I have to admit I've never been able to fathom the concept of discovery writing. It seems to me that it's like saying that the author actually has nothing in particular they want to say. There's no idea or theme or philosophical axe they want to grind. They're just communicating because they feel like communicating today, and who knows what they might say?
> 
> That's just mind-boggling to me. If there's no purpose to the story, why tell it? Does anyone really want to read a meaningless, themeless, message-less, warmed-over retread of a Quest to Defeat the Dark Lord that someone "discovered"? What a colossal waste of time for both the author and the reader.




Yes, Nebuchadnezzar, I think it is fair to say you don't understand. That's perhaps the most ignorant and condescending mischaracterization I've ever read on the issue. Based on the tone of the post, I suspect trying to explain it to you would be like trying to explain geometry to a biscuit.


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## Nebuchadnezzar (Apr 7, 2013)

Ouch!  Careful where you point that thing!

More seriously, how does theme, message or meaning play into discovery writing?  I ask that as a biscuit who can't understand geometry but who does care about theme/message/meaning.  How does that work into discovery writing?  What is the process?  Everyone I've talked to assures me the message arrives, but I just can't see how and they seem to have trouble explaining.

And for the record, I was very clear that people I know and respect write this way, so take your "ignorant and condescending" and stuff it, mmkay?  I'm asking this as a legitimate question and you're not helping in the slightest, biscuit.


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## Mindfire (Apr 7, 2013)

I'm starting to regret adding a neutral option to the poll.


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## Nebuchadnezzar (Apr 7, 2013)

This is Thunderdome, er, Mythic Scribes, Mindfire!

Two men enter, one man leaves!

Seriously, I've just never understood how message makes its way into discovery writing, though I've seen real-world examples in my friends' stories where it does.  It just seems to come afterward, which fundamentally I have trouble processing.  Biscuit that I am.


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## advait98 (Apr 7, 2013)

Nebuchadnezzar said:


> Seriously, I've just never understood how message makes its way into discovery writing, though I've seen real-world examples in my friends' stories where it does.  It just seems to come afterward, which fundamentally I have trouble processing.  Biscuit that I am.



Woah, Nebuchadnezzar. Ease up a bit. 
As a fanatic of discovery writing, I have to say that I disagree with your posts in the extreme. 
What do you mean by _message_? Forget about it. Look at it with a purely structural and plot-concerned eye.

A theme is going to make its way into stories no matter what. If a story has a plot, it has to have some kind of theme. 

Discovery writing may start from writing from scratch, but the writer has an idea, and he uses his imagination to expand that idea in his writing. He writes scenes, acts, plot twists that he thinks up of, makes characters that he thinks up of, and progresses his story in a way that outliners could never. It's freedom. It allows the writer to write with no obstructions, no fixed structure. Writer's block is completely minimised. It allows for the story to be finished in quicker time. 

A story is a story. How do you outline? You brainstorm. You think of new ideas to put in your plot. You cut some of them out and put some of them in. You progress your plot, just as a discovery writer progresses his story. A discovery writer merely writes instinctively, going where he wants. He thinks. And he writes.
 The way you talk about discovery writing makes it seem like it's completely different from outlining, just plopping meaningless scrubble on the paper (or screen).

 A discovery writer does outline in a way. But he immediately writes the ideas he gets. It's not writing without meaning or aim or purpose. The discovery writer leads the way through the unwandered and uncharted deeps, and he comes out alive at the other end with a herd of people behind him and a brand new world built. 

Sure, it does have a propensity for plot holes and inconsistency, but that's where the second draft comes in. Then the third. 

Every story has a message, even an unrealised story. The writer knows it. And he realises the message whilst writing. The message may not come until the second draft, but it will come all right. And that message will be incorporated thoroughly into the story if the writer wishes. (That is, if my interpretation of 'message' is the same as yours.)

That's the meaning of discovery writing. The scrapping of outlining, and just writing the idea, going with the instincts. Don't think of it as writing meaningless hogwash with no aim. That's wrong.

This is based on my experiences and what I learnt. That's my opinion, and if I deviated from the point or relayed an incorrect fact, I apologise. If you disagree with my words, ignore'em.

(I realise I referred to the discovery writer as 'he' all the time, but I found it too much of work typing he/she or anything else.)


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## Devora (Apr 7, 2013)

Mindfire said:


> I'm starting to regret adding a neutral option to the poll.



Why? I don't find anything wrong with wanting to balance out discovery and outlining.


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## advait98 (Apr 7, 2013)

Devora said:


> Why? I don't find anything wrong with wanting to balance out discovery and outlining.


 
The sheer number of people who have voted for it. I guess it was really designed to be Outline vs Discovery.


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## Feo Takahari (Apr 7, 2013)

I've stated before that I view my stories as somewhat akin to math problems: I put variable characters into a constant setting, then calculate what they sum up to, working out their actions and reactions step by step until they reach or fail to attain their goals. In this sense, outlining is to me somewhat akin to eyeballing the answer to a geometry problem--I can't be sure everything works out logically until I "do the work" (write out the story.)* However, I still outline sometimes, especially when I'm stuck at a certain point.

* For instance, I may initially intend a character to be a positive mentor figure, and outline accordingly. However, when writing out his scenes, the most logical way for the story to continue may require that he be an enabler, unintentionally helping other people to continue in their self-destructive habits. If I switch him to this, later scenes will turn out differently as other characters begin to realize that following his advice just makes things worse. (Of course, the farther I get into the story, the less I can switch things, potentially leading to unexpected outcomes as the given variables make cliched endings impossible.)

@Nebuchadnezzar: Personally, I start with the subject I want to discuss. For instance, if I just read a story in which a benevolent alien helped the human race through mind control, and I wasn't comfortable with that story, I propose a benevolent alien whose attempts to help through mind control create more problems. My ultimate message depends on how exactly those problems are resolved, and I may not know what I want to say until I "work the problem" to its logical conclusion.


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## Mindfire (Apr 7, 2013)

Devora said:


> Why? I don't find anything wrong with wanting to balance out discovery and outlining.



It just seems like most people didn't want to be bothered with really evaluating which one they use more and decided to use "neutral" as a cop-out choice instead, when it was only intended to be used by people who have a _perfect balance_ between the two styles. Most people don't have a perfect balance of anything, so unless most Mythic Scribes members are just perfectly rounded people, the neutral option should have far fewer votes than it does. And since the overwhelming majority chose "neutral" it pretty much invalidates the poll altogether because it doesn't really give any useful information.

So yeah, I'm never adding a neutral option to a poll again. No more fence sitting.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Apr 7, 2013)

You'd still be in risk of invalidating your data. For example, providing only "Outlining" or "Discovery" as options may alienate a large portion of your sample population.

Since I truly consider my style a balance between outlining & discovery, if the question was posed in a way that didn't represent a mixed option, I simply would not have answered.

Perhaps you were looking for another result but the one you actually received may be more accurate. Something to consider at least.


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## Devor (Apr 7, 2013)

I broke the idea for my novel into 4 Acts, where each act has a big thing that is supposed to happen.  But I'm only focusing on developing one act at a time.  That way I can know where I'm going but don't have to worry about chapter 32 when I'm nowhere near there.

So basically I write with a ten-chapter outline that's loose and broad and even has holes, followed by a box with notes for each of the remaining acts.  And I'll discover how things take shape when I get there.

When I write, though, I need to know what I'm writing or it's garbage.  But I can figure that out that same day I write it if I need to.


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## Asura Levi (Apr 7, 2013)

Mindfire said:


> So yeah, I'm never adding a neutral option to a poll again. No more fence sitting.



Maybe a better approach would be to have four options: Discovery, Neutral-Discovery, Neutral-Outline and Outline.
Since really no one is truly neutral, we (at least I) who voted for neutral was because I'm not only discovery or only outline, as I said before, I used both, but discovery plays the major whole as I would discard the outlined idea if the I came with something 'better' during the actual writing.

But that is my opinion though.


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## Devor (Apr 7, 2013)

Asura Levi said:


> Maybe a better approach would be to have four options: Discovery, Neutral-Discovery, Neutral-Outline and Outline.



That's what they usually suggest in marketing, but with better words.  "Plotting" to me can be very different from plotting for you.  I would make the choices something like:

"I like to outline everything. Heavy Plotter."
"I want to know where I'm going when I sit down to write.  Mild Plotter."
"I like to have an idea, and then see how it plays out. Mild Discovery."
"I sit down and type and let's see where that takes me.  Heavy Discovery."

That would put me at Mild Plotter.


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## Jabrosky (Apr 7, 2013)

I've experimented with both pantsing and planning, but for my current project (actually an assignment for my creative writing class) I am definitely going the planned route. My outline isn't really meticulous though, it just lists the setting, protagonists, conflicts (or "problems" as I prefer to call them), and most important plot plots. I will present my outline in Powerpoint form to the whole class tomorrow.


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## LadyofKaos (Apr 8, 2013)

I start with an idea in mind - an end goal perhaps - but once I start to write the story takes me on the journey. Sometimes I find that my end goal is either altered in some form, completely thrown out, or pushed back to a later chapter. That's part of the mystery and fun with writing - for me - you just never know where you're gonna go.


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## Chilari (Apr 8, 2013)

On the four point system Asura Levi suggested and Devor refined, I'd say I'm a mild plotter. I struggle with both methods, if I'm honest. I struggle with direction and endings when I discovery write; I have an idea of what the message is and what the goal is, but when they ultimately takes the protagonist is generally vague or hazy, and ends up being weak and anticlimactic. So to combat that, I outline. I feel outlining gives me the opportunity to make sure I've got a destination before I set out, and allows me to include nuance - multiple threads, motivations of more than the main characters, events which are absed on more than what the main cast are trying to achieve.

So generally I start out discovery writing a project. I get the idea and just start writing, but eventually I run out of steam because I don't know where it's going and I want to go back and set up characters, motivations etc earlier in the story so when they crop up later it's not out of the blue. So after about 4,000 to 20,000 words I stop and outline. Generally I start again after a certain amount of outlining, but then stop again to go into greater depth when I realise that there's a lot of gaps I need to fill to explain why things are the way they are. In the first outlining stage, the story tends to change a huge amount, with only the core theme preserved. I tend not to know what the core theme is when I discovery write, not consciously, but I have a vague idea; it is in analysing what I've written that this comes through and I start to deliberately focus on it and build the story around it in outlining.

At the moment with my WIP I'm on the second outlining stage. This is the deep outlining bit. The first outlining stage tends to involve character outlines, overall plot in about a page and a half of notes, a few bits and bobs about the setting, and one or two characters treated in some depth. Second outlining stage, which in this case comes after writing not even 2000 words of the second attempt of the story, tends to go deeper. In this case, I'm looking at the character arc and motivation of the guy whose dead body is discovered in the first scene, the political situation in the city for the last decade, the wider political situation whereby a lot of cities have had changes in government in the last generation or two, wars, complicated alliances and so on, and the way some of my characters have been involved in or reacted to events within their own city and elsewhere across the last decade, as this will influence their actions, beliefs and ideals within the story itself, as well as the individuals they are in contact with, the opinions they hold about one another, and their actions throughout the story as a result. This is deep outlining; it explores the complexities and nuances of the situation and much of it may never come through in the story itself, but I feel I need to know it.

I do recognise that doing it this way can be time consuming and it can sap my enthusiasm for the project, but I think that for me personally, it will result in a stronger story.

We're all different, so arguing which method is better or criticising the flaws of one of the methods isn't necessarily helpful. Every outliner outlines differently; every discovery writer discovery writers differently, so picking holes in the method as if it were the same for everyone is redundant, because what's a flaw for you might not come up at all in the way someone else does it; rather it might be a flaw in your own approach to the method, not in the method itself. So let's not argue about the flaws or which is better, rather let's focus on what works for each of us.


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## WarriorPrincess (Apr 8, 2013)

I am 100% outliner, I find it easier to let my ideas and writing flow when I have an outline. It also prevents any future mistakes if your world is already set and your not flip flopping about between details.


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## Corvus (Apr 9, 2013)

I'm completely incapable of outlining anything without already having something written. I start whit the general idea of what I want, and just go from there. For instance: I had these idea to write a scene where some major characters go to a cemetery in the middle if the night. For no other reason that I wanted to write it and thought it would make for a comical scene now it's one of the most important scenes for the mane plot.

My outlining (If you could call it that) consists on making notes on things I've already written so I don't make large (seen from space) plot holes and to keep a record of all the sub plots I accidentally stumble on so I can use them latter.


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## Jeff Xilon (Apr 9, 2013)

After voting (neutral) I skimmed the comments and thought I'd better refine my answer. If we were using Devor's scale from a few posts above this one I'd comfortably call myself a mild-plotter. I find I can write better when I have a general sense (even if it's just in my own head) about the path the story is going to take. It's often very loose though, and malleable. Usually, I find I start with a beginning and end in mind, and one or two ideas planned for stops along the way. Once I get writing though I often discover a handful of new stops on the journey that turn my simple path into something more interesting. I often also find that the ending isn't quite what I originally thought it would be.

That said, I see myself moving more and more toward heavy plotting. I find I can write faster and happier when I have a strong sense of what's going to happen and where I'm headed next. I'm thinking it's a lot like when I teach English to second language learners. If they have to think of what they want to say, and think of the words they need to use at the same time it's quite hard. If they know what they want to say first they can focus on getting the right words out.


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## Highstone (Apr 9, 2013)

Well, as GRR Martin says, if you would plot every little turn and twist in your story in advance, there would be no fun in writing. Still, I have found that I'm at my most productive when I've given a story some thought first before I start adding some more pages to it. I see it like this: I can't build a boat without a framework, but the materials I'll use for the actual skin are a mystery to me until the very last second.


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## Karin Rita Gastreich (Apr 9, 2013)

By Devora's scale, I'm a mild plotter.  

I really can't get started on a new project until I have an idea of where it's going.  But, I also like to conserve a sense of discovery for myself as a writer.  And often times, as I get to know my characters better, they start making decisions that cause the story to stray from the original idea.  Both my novels ended differently from what I had originally envisioned, but it worked.  Can't wait to see what happens with the third!  :wink:


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## Jabrosky (Apr 12, 2013)

me earlier said:


> I've experimented with both pantsing and planning, but for my current project (actually an assignment for my creative writing class) I am definitely going the planned route. My outline isn't really meticulous though, it just lists the setting, protagonists, conflicts (or "problems" as I prefer to call them), and most important plot plots. I will present my outline in Powerpoint form to the whole class tomorrow.


I've finished the story's first draft, but it ended up defying the written outline in favor of a plot I thought up in my head.

I wonder whether certain story ideas (or "idea seeds") are more conducive to pantsing or planning than others. I would think that if you start off with a mental summary of the whole plot (e.g. characters go on quest for X), you need to plan the whole thing out whereas discovery writing is easier if you start off only with a few scenes in mind.


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## Deleted member 2508 (Apr 13, 2013)

I've always struggled with writing what works vs what I want to see happen. 

Generally I don't write anything more than a vague outline and let the words flow and the story, to some degree, write itself. Recently, I've been trying to outline more. This works on some stories better than others.

Sometimes what I want to happen doesn't work well with what I've written; when I force the ending I want it usually turns out looking rather, well, forced. I often find myself completely restructuring a story to try and fix it to the way I initially imagined. However, every once in a while, I'll come up with a different plot as I write that fits better. The few times I have finished a story this way, I've been satisfied the outcome but maybe have not truly happy with it.


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## HabeasCorpus (Apr 20, 2013)

So I know this is a touch of thread necromancy, but as I was thinking about this tonight, I thought I'd toss up a contribution.  For me, I generally start with a vague idea or feeling of something I want to write about.  I can related to Neb's initial post about wanting to convey a theme/message/meaning.  Often it's not a simple idea, but one that is nuanced.  Not only is it nuanced, the presentation needs to be nuanced as well to get the full meaning - at least, that's how it feels.  To do that, I feel like I need to know where my characters are, who and what they interact with, how that will affect them and their actions later on in the story.  

At the end of the day, what all this means is that there is simply too much for me to keep straight in my head.  I know that if I were to write and discover the story that wanted to come out of me, I would be a huge cathartic mess that no amount of editing could hopefully recover.  In light of that, I almost need to see, feel, touch and hold the elements of the story so I can put them together where I want them to be. 

One of the best parts of this for me is the freedom it affords.  Knowing that a significant portion of the details that are important to me are accounted for, I can allow myself to be free to write and not be afraid I've missed something or misrepresented an idea.  Not only is it freeing to me, but it's one of the most exciting parts of the process.  For me though, the work on the front end has to get done before that's possible.


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## Sandor (May 18, 2013)

Hi, guys! 

I'm basically a "new" writer, I talked a bit about my work last year here in the boards, then I got stuck. And the reason why I got the block was...extreme outlining-syndrome.  

I've always written stuff, short tells or novel projects, but never to be published, just for curiosity.
Now I'm seriously in the processo of creating a "serious" (let's see...  ) saga and, after a couple of years spent researching and plotting, I broke the block...And that's because I went back to "discovery" writing. 

The main reason I quit believing in my project was the fact that I really got tired to follow up a strict outline: I felt restrained. 
Now that I pulled out all my notes and re-formed the basic ideas of the novels (I've also read a lot to get some inspiration), I restarted writing with ease. I've a plot, lots of characters, genealogies to play with, main history events and a goal...What's in the middle is there, somewhere, waiting for discovery. 

I don't know if that's the best way to handle things down...But as a long-time musician and addicted rpg's DM, I'm pretty sure that improvisation is "an art in the art" and maybe that's my only way to go.

Cheers.


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## KRHolbrook (May 20, 2013)

I've tried creating an outline for my book. It contained character biographies, plot, chapter information and everything. And then as I started writing everything completely derailed from the outline I'd created. After that, I figured outlines just weren't for me, but provided a good base. Now I kind of make things happen in my mind and just write the story and see where it goes. Short stories and flash fiction are easier for me than writing a novel. I have to think about a lot of different things when it comes to my novel and I often get headaches from it. Bah.


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## Chessie (May 20, 2013)

Long gone are the days of sitting in front of the computer for hours, going back fixing things, producing a page an hour. I don't outline per say, but I have a few pre-writing tricks up my sleeve I learned from authors that I'm in love with now. I like a good fast-write for discovery, but my WIP has come along smoothly because I've gotten more organized. I think the brainstorming and plotting before writing has helped my creativity. Its a lot funner and easier this way for me. I haven't even started writing my current project because I'm still plotting it out and I'm glad to be approaching it this way.


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