Go with the Flow, Build as you go?

[Androxine Vortex]

I was writting (typing) a lot of my novel last night and I was realy pleased with the amount that I managed to write but then when I look back at it, I absolutley hate it. "My God...Did I just type that?" is what I thought to myself. You see, usually before I type I write it down on paper first and make adjustments. Then when I feel confident (or confident enough) I go into the typing phase and usually add just a bit more flavor here and there so as to keep with the "script."

But when I typed last night I kind of just "winged it" a little bit. I wasn't using a sheet to guide me so I was typing on the fly. I also think my problem was that I was going to fast. You know when you were a kid and you tried to rush through your homework and then when it got checked later it was almost all wrong. "If you had time to make shortcuts you have time to do it again." is what my dad used to say to me, but that's besides the point.

How do you typically write? Do you make it up as you go? Do you have to write it down first and go slow? FEED ME WITH YOUR ANSWERS!!!

 

[TWErvin2]

There is no single right answer for how to write a novel or short story. I plan out roughly (have about 10 pages of the plan jotted in a spiral notebook) and then write from plot point to plot point until the end. As I write, I go back and reread what was written the previous session, do some editing and then move forward to add new words. I write from beginning to end, chronologically. I do a lot of thinking in between writing sessions.

Your father may be right in some respect, but until you find your method, I'm not sure I'd count it as a short cut as opposed to the most efficient manner to accomplish a task--correctly.

 

[ProfessorBrainfever]

I outline, and I give every 'scene' serious thought before I write it. I know where it's going to start, and I know where it needs to go, but in between I 'wing it'.

Don't judge yourself too harshly when you've just freshly written something. Give it some time to settle.

The job of the first draft, according to a very smart friend of mine, is to suck. More specifically, the only thing you should really concern yourself with in the first draft is "what happens next?" You can make it 'good' later.

 

[Bear]

I try to flesh out the main plot and goals of the story then begin to write. Usually, as things develope a ton of my writing is in the moment. There are many times I get on a role and can't remember what I exactly wrote. So I kind of wing things but all the work is around a set path. So I kind of go from point a to b and all the stuff inbetween is thought up as I go. However, there are certain parts that I stick to for the continuity of the story.

 

[Penpilot]

I outline. I know what the initial state of the characters and plot going into a scene and I know what state I want the two things to be in after. Sometimes I know how the path they're going to take in travelling the distance, sometimes I don't. But it's always a constant refinement, with rewrites, and struggles to find the most interesting path to show the reader.

 

[Devor]

You've got to outline in some way. I've seen it argued on this site that some people essentially use the first draft as a rough outline, and I guess that can work. But you need to outline, and you should write it down.

The thing is, there's usually a lot going on in a good novel, and it should all be more or less building to something. I don't know how you can be successful at pacing your story elements if you don't know where you're going.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

Good responses. And I wasn't asking if there was a "right way to write a novel" just so you know haha. I figured everyone had some method of outlining. Now that I think about it, an old friend of mine and I used to write stories about an old video game we used to play (can't remember what it was called but it was an RPG game and we were really into it) I remember he would actually sit and think for five minutes and then type about six paragraphs and then do it again. I never saw him go back and edit anything.

I think we all kind of do the same thing just in slightly different ways. I have my "MAIN PLOT" notepad which has all the major elements in my story. Then in a seperate notebook I have my MINOR PLOT notes. This is where I explain how point A reaches point B.

 

[Twook00]

For me, writing is always more fun when done on the fly. Usually it turns out much better as well. Unfortunately, it means I get to do a lot of revisions and back-tracking before it resembles any sort of true story. When I outline, I guess it takes some of the joy out of the process for me because I've already experienced the scenes. Feels like I'm "transcribing," even if all I'd done before was jot down the plot points. Interesting question.

 

[Jabrosky]

For me, writing is always more fun when done on the fly. Usually it turns out much better as well. Unfortunately, it means I get to do a lot of revisions and back-tracking before it resembles any sort of true story. When I outline, I guess it takes some of the joy out of the process for me because I've already experienced the scenes. Feels like I'm "transcribing," even if all I'd done before was jot down the plot points. Interesting question.

I feel like this too sometimes. On the other hand, with "pantsing", it's easy to write yourself into a corner you don't know how to escape.

It has been my experience that my best method for short stories involves unwritten planning; I don't actually write the outline down on paper, but instead I keep it all inside my head.

 

[Twook00]

I feel like this too sometimes. On the other hand, with "pantsing", it's easy to write yourself into a corner you don't know how to escape.

It has been my experience that my best method for short stories involves unwritten planning; I don't actually write the outline down on paper, but instead I keep it all inside my head.

Agreed. It seems to me that you can take time before writing to plot and outline or take time after to revise and rewrite. I have little experience in which takes the longest, but I imagine it depends on which of these you are more comfortable with as a writer.

 

[Devor]

Good responses. And I wasn't asking if there was a "right way to write a novel" just so you know haha.

I'm sorry if it sounded like I was going that far. There's different ways of outlining, and people have also held different attitudes about what an outline even looks like. All I mean to say is, you need to have some idea of what you're doing with your story, and what you need to do to pull that off.

My own outlines, for instance, have a lot of blank space and broad terms, which coalesce more and more when I get there. I know that in Chapter 6 I need to find some way to begin introducing a place they need to get to later on, but I haven't said how. If my characters have a fight in chapter 4, I'll write something on my outline like "Reconcile, chapter 7." I might not have any other notes for chapter 7, or probably I have: "Do the following in chapters 5-8." If I decide I want someone to turn traitor, I put a guess as to when, and a note that he needs to develop in that direction, but I might not know how he turns traitor until I get closer.

I don't mean to imply that everyone needs to outline that way, although it's as much worth trying as any other way. It's useful to me for keeping track of the subtleties and the complexity. But when I say you need to outline, I just mean that you need to have some idea of where you're going so that you can have some idea of whether you're doing the right things to get there. I don't mean that you have to have a scene-by-scene map of what you're going to do every page of the book.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Well right now I'm doing Camp Nano... which pretty much blows my usual plans out of the water. I'm typing as I go and making notes for when I edit, but ordinarily I write out a novel in rough draft (sometimes 100 pages) on paper then sort of add/ edit as I type it into rough draft.

 

[Robert Donnell]

I wrote my first book that way, but the next one will have a beginning, middle and an end. These will connect.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

I'm sorry if it sounded like I was going that far. There's different ways of outlining, and people have also held different attitudes about what an outline even looks like. All I mean to say is, you need to have some idea of what you're doing with your story, and what you need to do to pull that off.

Haha it's fine. I sort of do things the same way as you mentioned in your post. I just try to keep things as simple as possible because it's very easy for you to find yourself with a lot of paper and becoming very unorganized.

I have my MAIN PLOT finished and work everything from that. I keep it very vague and without too much detail, so I leave more open possibilities for the details. Then I work typically a few pages at a time; I try to keep it short. After much reviewing and revising it I go to the typing phase and actually type out the "final" edit.

I kind of use a typical "high school essay" approach I suppose. I make my main outline, then the wrough draft (with edits and revisions) and then the final copy (With an A+ lol)

 

[Will]

But when I typed last night I kind of just "winged it" a little bit. I wasn't using a sheet to guide me so I was typing on the fly. I also think my problem was that I was going to fast.

You may not have been happy with the results you got from this approach, but that doesn't necassarily mean it is a bad approach or the wrong approach. Some people would say it is better to get the bad stuff out of your head, rather than supressing it. So think, after this exercise you have expelled all of the thoughts and ideas that you typed out last night, so this will hopefully give you more free space in your brain to come up with new, hopefully improved ideas of a better standard.

 

[Androxine Vortex]

You may not have been happy with the results you got from this approach, but that doesn't necassarily mean it is a bad approach or the wrong approach. Some people would say it is better to get the bad stuff out of your head, rather than supressing it. So think, after this exercise you have expelled all of the thoughts and ideas that you typed out last night, so this will hopefully give you more free space in your brain to come up with new, hopefully improved ideas of a better standard.

That's a different way of looking at it I suppose

 

[Will]

At the moment, the project I'm working on, I do have a bare outline I am working from, but I just can't get the specifics right. It is really puzzling, moreso than I am used to. Say, I can think about certain things for a week, come up with a few ideas, different possibilities, but then still not be sure which way to go, or which option to pick. The feeling is kinda like disatisfaction. I dunno, I am considering using this approach you described for a couple of days, just typing out as much/whatever comes to my mind, then just sift through and see if any good comes from it.

 

[King Raven Stark]

Shoot I just go. I write until I can't no more. No thoughts, no plans, no thinking. Just straight free-hand writing. After writing like that for hours or until I have nothing left then I think about the next step in the story or what possibilities I could use and craft into it. I'll take notes and think out loud to myself. That I do a lot and it clears my head when I'm storybuilding. Asking my questions and asnwering them is good too.

But every writer has there own way and style so do what you feel is best

 

[writeshiek33]

i have roiugh i dea in my head of the story whether short or novel but i write and develop as i go i think i have hybreed method i can't never outline straight because of my dyslexia my mind jumps here and there but i think the way i do works

 

[Eeirail]

It really just depends for me, I start out building my world and then writing, but if I want a change in mid- write, I will go for it in a heartbeat and hope it sounds better, if it doesn't sound better then I will simply change it back and start back to the old script that I still enjoyed. So you see it keeps it intresting to me no matter what.