Been awhile and still have questions

[Dark Huntress]

I think it's been three months or so since I last entered this writers paradise. I had/have a serious case of writers block. Funny thing is, all during that non-productive phase I still had moments of genius when portions of my novel would appear to me. Lots of little stories. The characters would be having interesting and exciting adventures or engaging in fiery dialogue. There was no end to the sub-plots I could come up with. Thing is, I still have no plot.

Nothing that ties all these little running stories together. No main idea. In fact, what I have could be a journal. One of those "Life and times of (insert name of MC here)".

I have no plot and without that, no story ...no matter how jaw dropping all that action might be. Can anyone relate to this? Actually, I think the best thing to do is start another novel and have a plot outline before I type one word.

 

[Telcontar]

There was no end to the sub-plots I could come up with.

So you wrote those down, yes?

Writer's block is nothing more than procrastination. Don't wait until everything is perfect in your head to start writing. Write everything, and do it as soon as it occurs to you (or as soon after that as possible).

Once you've written out all those subplots, you can read over them and see if other ideas come to you. But get them on the page first.

 

[Caged Maiden]

Right, so ten minutes ago, I read over some hand-scrawled notes I wrote last fall when I began my WIP. At the bottom of the page, it reads:

X.) (Big Plan) Assassinate a businessman and city official who are conspiring against the rebels. At a party. (list of characters) kill the bad guys in a weird brilliant scientific way.

So anyways, when I began this outline, THAT was my big plan. Thankfully my novel has evolved since then, but this is how I start. I do a few character concepts, then I write a few short scenes until I get the feel of the characters, then I begin outlining the story's main plotline. From there I begin writing, then I pants it a bit when I get going, and occasionally check back with my outline and see where I stand. So yeah, don't fret the small stuff. If you need to spend a little more time connecting scenes, then do it. If you need to do more outlining before you start writing, that's okay too. What's important is that you keep going and see what works for you. And if you really do get stuck, find a friend who can make some helpful suggestions about how to move forward. It happens to everyone.

 

[Devor]

I have no plot and without that, no story ...no matter how jaw dropping all that action might be. Can anyone relate to this? Actually, I think the best thing to do is start another novel and have a plot outline before I type one word.

That's pretty close to what happened to me. I had great characters, great setting, great events - there was a plot, somewhere, but I couldn't quite piece it out. I wound up pushing it aside and starting over. It was hard for me to do, but I think it was for the best. Starting a new idea has really been a lot smoother, and I think - once I've more experience - I'll come back to the other story and see what use I can make of the material there. But I just had too much going on, too many darlings that I wanted to fit in, that I couldn't see my throughline anymore.