Robert Donnell
Minstrel
Now you have A and B where would C be? You can always do a twist at the end where the end is not where you thought it would end like having the least likely thing happen. The Butler did it!
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Pre-writing....
- Thread starter PrincessaMiranda
- Start date
Jess A
Archmage
May I direct you here...?
http://mythicscribes.com/forums/chit-chat/4327-shameless-self-appreciation-thread.html
Helen
Inkling
I use multiple outlines - one for each chapter. Each chapter is a step to the next.
Things start bad.
They gradually get better.
They end good.
Things start bad.
They gradually get better.
They end good.
Last edited:
korabas
Dreamer
I am currently struggling with pre-writing.. I find it hard to stop outlining and actually start the writing! I think you need to work out how much info you need in advance and then set a goal of xxxx words of writing, per hours spent pre-writing. Otherwise it could go on forever.
J.P. Reedman
Scribe
I often work out plots,characters, and events in my head months before they make it onto paper. Unfortunately I'm one of those unlucky sorts who seems to be only able to concentrate on one thing at a time--I can't edit a book, write a new novel and do another unrelated short writing piece at the same time, unlike some of my writer friends. I keep a note book to write down anything I might forget, along with a loose outline.
- Thread starter
- #26
PrincessaMiranda
Troubadour
I guess everyone is different. I'm going to try some of these out and I hope they work for me!!
May I direct you here...?
http://mythicscribes.com/forums/chit-chat/4327-shameless-self-appreciation-thread.html
i guess my little piece of advice turned into a self-congratulating rant. now i feel like an ass
Chime85
Sage
i guess my little piece of advice turned into a self-congratulating rant. now i feel like an ass
Nooooo, don't feel like an ass. Instead, see it as an example of how your method has worked for you. The proof was in the taste of the pudding
x
Zero Angel
Auror
I personally like the outline method, but I definitely turn off the auto-correct features of Word!
I start with the most basic outline imaginable and continue to build up each part of the outline until I am writing entire scenes and eventually chapters.
On the other hand, once I get on a roll, the skeleton gets deleted entirely and I go full-tilt until I get to where I want to stop the story.
For my first novel, it was very difficult, and I had plenty of outlines and had made some progress with this, but it wasn't until I sat down and actually wrote out (by hand) several pages that the writing caught me up and I couldn't stop.
Those first few pages would be unrecognizable in my novel today though. I'm at the point now where I don't care what I write. If a scene or something is getting in the way, I skip it and come back to it. Rewriting is the key to my writing. As long as I get the general idea on paper, I will be able to connect the dots eventually.
...everyone is different though!
If I have given contradictory suggestions here, it is because I wasn't really thinking of how I write today at first compared to how I used to write when I was first getting started. I still like a good outline, but if I can't hear the voice of the story in my head, then I probably don't write that story.
I start with the most basic outline imaginable and continue to build up each part of the outline until I am writing entire scenes and eventually chapters.
On the other hand, once I get on a roll, the skeleton gets deleted entirely and I go full-tilt until I get to where I want to stop the story.
For my first novel, it was very difficult, and I had plenty of outlines and had made some progress with this, but it wasn't until I sat down and actually wrote out (by hand) several pages that the writing caught me up and I couldn't stop.
Those first few pages would be unrecognizable in my novel today though. I'm at the point now where I don't care what I write. If a scene or something is getting in the way, I skip it and come back to it. Rewriting is the key to my writing. As long as I get the general idea on paper, I will be able to connect the dots eventually.
...everyone is different though!
If I have given contradictory suggestions here, it is because I wasn't really thinking of how I write today at first compared to how I used to write when I was first getting started. I still like a good outline, but if I can't hear the voice of the story in my head, then I probably don't write that story.
Jess A
Archmage
i guess my little piece of advice turned into a self-congratulating rant. now i feel like an ass
Not at all, Lord Snow - the thread is for us to praise ourselves because quite frankly, novel writing is tough. I've posted in that thread once or twice. I just thought you might want to direct your celebrations to the 'celebration' thread.
A little planning is always nice but as creative writers I've always found that my best writing comes when I just sit down and go. All you need is to think up a quick setting/character and off you go. The more room you have to write the better. I find that when people plan too much they end up blocking off paths because it doesn't go with the plan and essentially build a mind prison that doesn't let new information and imagination flow the way it should.
Lawfire
Sage
Seconded. Also the standard Voice Memos app is great. A little safer to do while driving.
Zero Angel
Auror
I didn't notice this when I replied to the thread the first time. I found it amusing because I use a different order usually:
Things start good...
They gradually get worst...
They end really, really bad...or maybe bittersweet.
I think this is great for short stories or for beginnings of long stories, but as soon as you are planning a multi-book series or even a large novel, I feel that you need to have some planning. I am planning to have four trilogies that follow different major arcs (that the reader is not necessarily aware of until multiple read-throughs) through what I consider the main storyline of my multiverse and I have already started setting up the last book in book 1. One of my favorite things in long series is when I go back to read one of the earlier novels and see that they were already setting up the things that were to come.
Marvel accomplished this on the big screen recently with the culmination of the Avengers which had been set up by a variety of different movies that all came together. Without planning, the only way this could be accomplished is to wait until you finish writing the last story and go back and retcon your various previous stories, and then start releasing them.
- Thread starter
- #34
PrincessaMiranda
Troubadour
I think I just found a Pre-writing method that works for me. Thanks to Zero Angel and Wynnara!
I started out writing a synopsis of every major event, labeling them to suit, and each label turned into a chapter. As I went along the chapters kept getting more detailed. Soon I had every chapter listed out and the events are almost perfect. It gave me the chance to look at my book as a whole picture, instead of a linear sequence of events.
Problem Solved!
I started out writing a synopsis of every major event, labeling them to suit, and each label turned into a chapter. As I went along the chapters kept getting more detailed. Soon I had every chapter listed out and the events are almost perfect. It gave me the chance to look at my book as a whole picture, instead of a linear sequence of events.
Problem Solved!
Taro
Minstrel
Yay well done
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