Planning

[Johnny Cosmo]

Im not sure if this should be in the planning forum, but it seems like it's more of a place for people to actually do their planning, right? I'm just wondering about the process people take when planning their stories? How in depth do you go? How long do you plan before writing? Or do you plan as you go, adapting the world to fit your story, rather than writing your story in your existing world?

I've actually started using a personal wiki with Pb Works, but there are others, including desktop wiki software. It's very useful having everything in folders, and hyperlinked. I can just start writing a page, and then when I go back to it I can create new pages expanding on terms, factions, people and places and link them together. I'm in the early stages, but I figure that it won't be long before I have a rich wiki filled with backstory that I can keep well organised and delve into whenever I need to 'remember' elements of my backstory.

I'm also using it to keep pages on plot lines - but in honesty, it's better for creating a backstory. If anyone has any suggestions for plot structuring tools (not just the theory and guidelines behind it, I mean actual web tools, software etc.), I'd love to hear them.

 

[pskelding]

For my planning I use the snowflake method creating by Randy Ingermanson which you can read about in some free articles at his website . It forces the writer to flesh out his characters before tackling the outline and scene lists. If you want to know more I suggest getting "Fiction for Dummies" which Randy co-wrote and it goes into a good amount of detail about parts of the Snowflake method. Also I recommend checking out Randy's articles about how to write scenes and the MRU. That's one of the secrets of good writing is having chains of MRUs. Before you discount Randy check his Amazon ratings and his AWARDS.

Some people aren't built to plan and prefer free writing like GRRM and that's cool but it doesn't work for me. I need to really climb inside the characters head's and figure out how they tick. Then I can put them into a situation and know what they will want to do and where things will go from there.

I also used some parts of Michael Stackpole's "20 Days to a Novel" which as with Randy starts with character work.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

I've stumbled across the website with the snowflake method before, but I guess I'll give it a shot and see it if works for me. I'm like you, I'd rather get to know my characters first before I write what they do. I feel like it'll help me with consistency. The reason I want to plan so much is I'm not just interested in writing stories, but backstories, and the whole mythology of the world too.

 

[Telcontar]

Similar topic has been discussed here.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

Ahh, thanks. I tend to be online when I am most tired - must have missed that thread.

 

[Shadoe]

If I'm not very, very careful, I will plan and plan and plan and never get around to writing anything.

I actually do a bit of planning ahead and a bit of planning while I go. I start with the characters, getting a feel for each of them, and sort of planning out some things that I want to show in the stories. When I'm writing the stories, I know there are some of those things I want to show, and I'll jot that down in my notes about stuff I want to put in the story. Then I come up with the individual plot for the story. In one series I'm doing, I have a group of investigators, so for each story there has to be a crime or situation of some sort to kick things off, then the investigation, and the capture or kill of the bad guys. I use the standard three-act structure for movies. From there, I flesh out the basic investigation structure with individual scenes. It's important for me to know what I want to accomplish with each scene for both the characters and for the plot. Then I futz with each scene and the plot until I have a workable plan. Once that's in place, I write, usually scene-by-scene. I'll go back and forth to change things as necessary, but I try to at least get most of the scenes roughed out before I go back and rewrite anything.

I do all this in Notepad, by the way.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

Don't you find an application such as Notepad can get very messy, very quickly? I've never even tried a basic text editor since there are no tools to organise research, backstory, plot, character profiles etc. A word processor probably wouldn't fair much better for me either, which is why I went with the wiki. Scrivener looks good though (I've used the trial), so I might make a purchase after I've checked some similar applications out.

I suppose I just can't manage my thoughts well in a text editor, but respect to you if you can.

 

[Shadoe]

I do the bulk of my writing in Notepad, but I use a number of other tools as well. I figured out one thing, for me: KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). I've tried wikis, but I end up spending more time organizing and fiddling with them than getting anything useful out of them. I'm not saying I won't try one again, because I like the idea, but for now I don't think it's going to help me. I've tried databases as well, but I'm a database programmer as well - and again I spend a lot of time futzing with the database and no time using it. So for now I use just three tools:

Notepad - This is where I write. I have each story split into two or three text files: one for the story, and another one or two for notes on what I want to accomplish, what I have to accomplish, scenes I want to work into the story somewhere, and so on. I use naming conventions and folders to keep these organized. I have conventions I use inside the file as well. Unfinished scenes are marked with hashmarks and finished ones are marked with tildes. Notes within scenes are enclosed in brackets, and terms or names are just marked out with parentheses or underscores. All of these are easy to use with the Find function. The good thing about writing in Notepad is that there are no spelling or capitalization auto-corrects to interfere with the words (which I find very annoying, since there are a lot of names and terms that aren't in English in my writing). Of course, there's no drag-and-drop, no colored text, and so forth. And, when I'm traveling, Notepad files are the most portable. I can read them in my iPod, in my "kneetop" (I refuse to lug my huge "laptop" through an airport anymore), and on any computer, regardless of the operating system or software. The files are smaller, too, so my entire writing folder (except the graphics) fits on even my smallest thumbdrive. When I'm finished with the bulk of the writing, I move it into my other main tool:

Word - Here I do my spell-checking, and grammar checking (I'm a sucker for passive voice, apparently). This is where I polish the story. Since I publish to a number of sites that require html format, I usually leave the file in text format so I can easily do a search and replace to hook up the paragraphs and italicized words. I also use word to organize my worldbook. I've used wikis for this in the past, but as I said, I constantly got bogged down with organizing it. So I've settled on just using Word. I use the Outline format for it, which allows me to show just the levels I want so I can find things easily. The Search function is also great. And if I decide the term I've chosen for a certain thing is not working for me, I can change it through all my notes using S&R. For straight data listings, though, Word can be a bit awkward, so that brings me to my third tool:

Excel - I use this to organize various lists. I keep timelines for the characters and stories, so I know where they are and when, and I also keep my character notes in Excel, simply because it's easy to sort things in it. I used to use Access for this, but now that Excel has a larger capacity in each cell, it's usually adequate.

I also use PowerPoint and Paint Shop Pro for graphics. And that's about all I use.

All this works if I'm diligent about sticking to my system. My biggest problem arises when I get stupid/lazy and just start throwing things in haphazard text files which I label "stuff7" or "notes." Fortunately, I can do a search inside these files. Of course, that doesn't help me when I come up with a cool name for something and I write a bunch of notes about it - then forget the name of not only the thing but the file I put it in. But that's my own fault.

But I think everyone has their own system. Piers Anthony said he wrote everything in spiral notepads and used the borders for notes. Look how far he went.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

My biggest problem arises when I get stupid/lazy and just start throwing things in haphazard text files which I label "stuff7" or "notes."

I write songs, and this is one of the biggest problems I have. Saving bits and pieces with any old name and then forgetting it ever existed.

As for your method, it does seem well organised - but I guess I prefer more interactive work flow. I do write notes in a physical note pad - but at the moment I'm trying to make sure it all gets into the wiki. I do share your problem, and wind up doing a lot of tinkering with things like that.

 

[pskelding]

I write in Word but I am upgrading soon to Scrivener when the finances permit. I do all my planning in organization in Microsoft One Note which is a really good wiki/post it notes type program. I love it for drag and drop capability. I beta tested Scrivener and loved it for the similar functionality it offers.

 

[Shadoe]

I think everybody has different tools that work best for them. I need something that doesn't let me get distracted - because apparently I'm like a five-year-old. Which explains why I'm not writing Right Now.

 

[Dante Sawyer]

Haha, I don't plan. I go to town and write. I'm probably weird in that sense, but hey, I wrote a whole novel that way haha!

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

pskelding: I forgot about One Note. Never tried it, but meant to look into it a while back.

Shadoe: I suffer from being easily distracted too, it's like a curse!

Dante: I'm sure there are a lot of people who work that way. It's not to my personal taste, but I'm sure some people can maintain consistency without getting their worlds 'rules' down first - I don't think I can.

 

[Shadoe]

Well, I can write in the middle of chaos. When I'm on my day job, I work in a cube farm and write all day. While that's writing procedures, I've been known to get a little fun writing in too, but not for long periods. So it is possible. I guess it's just a matter of focus.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

Yeah, of which I have none. I can't write until I have complete seclusion, have been sitting relaxed for a day, with a cup of tea or a cider to hand, and my sketchbook, notebook and computer organised before me. To even approach that point, I clean the house to give myself peace-of-mind.