Hi all, This question has been bugging me since I picked up writing, how do authors know what is going on the page? By that I mean, how do you sit down and write something. Do you write a storyboard/timeline where to say your character needs to go here, talk to this person, see this thing? Do you just wing everything? Do you do something in between? I was talking to my partner about my writing and I found I'm very much on the wing it side of the fence. I have the vaguest concept, like horror in holiday resort, there'll be a scene with a husband turning into a monster, and off I go. Every time I sit down, usually something ends up on the page that steers the story where it wants to go, and I have no idea where I'll end up. I've read that Stephen King basically gets told by a little mind gremlin he has to write things. What do you do? What works for you?
I'm new and still learning... I'm a very visual person and tend to visualize my stories first. I'll gestate an idea in my head and flesh it out roughly into at least a starting point and then begin writing. This might take a minute, or it might take several days before I'm ready to actually put words to paper. Then I'll write until I reach a transitory point in the story and usually stop there. I struggle with endings so this is the time that I start visualizing where I want the story to go, what I want it to do, and how I want it to end. When I'm actually writing, I visualize a scene and write what I see in my mind.
This is what Stephen King calls starting with a situation. It's how he works, he just concocts an interesting situation and starts writing. But I'm pretty sure he's fully cognizant of plotting approaches, the basics of story structure, and character arcs etc. I think understanding those things is very helpful, and without knowing them it's easy to get lost. But of course in your early days you don't need to know all that stuff. I'm a discovery writer at heart, but I've been studying plotting and story strucure and character arc. My goal is to work out my own approach that allows for enough discovery writing while not going completley off track. I'm finding what works for me is to plot very loosely, just figuring out my character arcs and major turning points, and at some point fairly near the beginning I want to know at least basically how it's going to end. Otherwise I don't know what to write toward. But I also keep all my planning totally flexible—if something better suggests itself I can go totally off script and rethink the whole thing. But when I do that I still figure out the major turning points and the basics of each act. It's like just having a very rough roadmap in low resolution. In fact it's a lot like the way the writers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer approached it: Vague plan for whole series, at least the next few seasons More detailed plan for current season Breakdowns for the upcoming episode: 1st write cliffhangers for commercial breaks Break down action into a beat sheet Only my vague plans are for the book, not a series, and I generally work up somewhat more detailed plans for maybe an act when I get to it, but I leave the individual scenes to be figured out just before I start writing them. This allows for a lot of spontaneity and keeps things fresh, as opposed to over-planning everything down to the last detail. So basically I plot the major story beats and the act beats for the present act, but leave scene beats until just before I write the scene. And what I do when it's time to write a scene is think through it, maybe sleep on it (usually), maybe a little bit of scribbling down of ideas, and then start writing. Oh, and since I don't have commercial breaks, I instead write to the major turning points. Of course this is for novels or other long forms, you don't need all the planning for short stories, especially the really short ones. Oh, and as for making a beat sheet, I might do sort of a loose one, not fully worked out. Then afterwriting the scene I might break it down into a beat sheet to see if I screwed anything up or not. I find it a helpful exercise after the writing, not so much before.
I completely wing it like you. I rarely even have a concept, really. I do like to think up weird and unusual situations without any idea where they might go and work from there. For me, this can make writing a lot of fun. Planning anything takes the fun out of it for me. I find it very boring to create a plot prior to writing. And then I find it boring to write something I already know is going to happen. I find it's easier just to go ahead and write it. I've always worked this way. I know people work differently. I've experimented with planning and plotting and really hated the whole process and it seemed to kill the story for me when I did attempt it. I will say I have a very strong internal sense of structure that I subconsciously rely on. I do believe that is probably due to the amount of reading I have done and still do. Story structure and keeping the story moving is never something I have had any trouble with or really even need to think about. This is true for me with both novels and shorter works. I am like you that every time I sit down to write I get something on the page. If I knew what I needed to write next, I would probably do a lot more procrastinating that I do now. Actually, if I had to plot and plan, I'm not sure I would be a writer or really want to be a writer. The way I work works for me. If what you're doing works, go with it. Enjoy!
Don't laugh, I know this is going to sound silly ah heck. There's usually a song or an album that reminds me of something I'm writing and I turn the volume up real loud in my car for it while I'm driving to work. During that time, I think about a scene and my mind wanders. I watch things play out how I'd like them to be and then later that night I try and capture everything on the page. It's kind of weird, I know, but I call it visual scene writing. It works for me though.
I don't do much planning, either. The most important thing for me when it comes to both novels and short stories is the hook. I need a cool idea first and foremost. Once I've got that, I usually think of an ending next, if it didn't come hand in hand with the hook. It's not always the case as sometimes the end changes quite a bit after I've been writing the story for a while, but usually I know how it ends. I will usually have very basic character and setting concepts before I begin as well. And then it's mostly pantsing time. For shorts, I just need the hook and the ending, and I can write the story in a matter of hours, just making up the rest as I go. The process for novels is a little different and takes a lot more time. Once I've got the hook and ending, I then start taking notes for story ideas as they come to me over a period of many months. Once I've got enough jotted down, I already know the story fairly well in my head, and only occasionally have to check back on those notes while writing it. I typically have a handful of major plot points in mind, but how to get from one to the other is also very much pantsed. You will see a lot of variation in the responses to your question. It's neat to find out what works for others !
Glad to find that I'm not the only person that seems to wing lots of what I'm doing. I actually do this as well. When I'm trying to make a scene, I think of it like a film. What does the camera see, where are things, what does this person do in the back of the shot. From there just add the more nuanced stuff and things that the camera doesn't do, like thoughts, smells and that. I have thought about going through that approach. Usually once I start writing I have a vague idea of these things, I just don't really take the time to write most of it down... What sort of "basically how it ends" do you stick with? The bare bones idea of this is roughly the last scene, or do you actually map out like this character will die here and this will be my closing line etc.? I tend to find the scenes where I know how they end are the worst to write, so I totally get this. I think for me it's that I overthink how it should get there, rather than just putting words on the page Is it because the music is inspiration, or just association (like you were listening to the song while writing and hearing it again jogs your memory)? As above, visual scene writing works for me as well That's what I'm after. Give me your ideas so I can absorb them and become all powerful!!! MWAHAHAHAHA. Joke aside, I find it fascinating that there are so many ways to approach the same thing and still come out with something at the end.
It can be different for different projects, but I just need something pretty vague until I get close to the end, at which point the idea is probably pretty well defined since the story has been taking shape in a much more definite way. But it's generally in keeping with the idea that I don't want to know too much until I'm getting close to that scene. Of course try as I might to do it this way, sometimes I can get a bunch of ideas for a scene long before I get close to writing it, and those ideas might still be totally valid when I write my way up to the scene (or maybe not). So it isn't always possible to keep control over how much you know. I've heard it put this way—you can do your plotting before or after the first draft, but either way it's going to need to be done. My hope is that by learning about plotting techniques and structure etc, and at least vaguely planning it out, I can avoid needing to do extensive revisions where I need to totally re-write huge parts of it. But there is a certain—call it magic in discovery writing, and I think over-planning kills that. Also, if you're a visual thinker, you might be interested in a couple of my blog posts on the subject. I found some really fascinating stuff about it: Visual Thinking Aphantasia
I'll start with an idea for something. It could be a basic plotline, a character, or a setting. For my new project, I'm starting with the two main characters (as children growing up in their respective worlds) and their families. Then, I'll brainstorm story points and additional details about the character, supporting characters, or setting. I'll piece together a chapter-by-chapter, scene-by-scene outline, usually starting with the first chapter, but sometimes I'll jump around if something HAS to happen at/by a certain point in the story. This outline serves as a guideline for me so I don't lose track of the story/characters while also staying loose enough to allow the story/characters to develop in a different direction than I had originally intended. Also, if I get an idea for a later scene, I want to make sure I don't forget it.
I first make an contextual key document with all the world-building, characters, and every detail I deem important. I then break down my chapters into three parts and write down brief summaries of each section. I painstakingly do this for every chapter. Then, I set out to do the actual writing while referencing my own guide countless times during the process. It's the only way I've been able to focus on writing without drowning in anxiety.
Interesting. What's the purpose of breaking chapters into three parts? Do they serve a structural purpose, like beginning, middle, and end?
Awesome. Yeah, when you break it down, that structure is fractal. Stories, acts, chapters and scenes all have it.
I stand at the keyboard and urinate. I plan the whole thing via scene summaries then write it. No looking back, and I skip scenes any that are blocking me and fill in the blanks later. I also go ahead and write a scene if I've been daydreaming it, no matter where it is in the book.
King has so internalized structure and plot that he can do it on a subconscious level. Personally I am not a big fan of his work, but have to respect his talent.
I wing it a lot. Sometimes I outline. Other times I outline and then diverge from the outline. I usually get ideas and keep them in my mind a while to let them marinate before writing.
Can't laugh when I do the same thing: put on some tunes and let my mind play scenes that are in time with certain songs, especially instrumental ones, and it plays out like a movie or TV episode in my head. I then belt out a draft of the scene in my word processor, and it helps when I have the song on repeat until I either finish the scene draft, or get tired of listening the song. I usually write what comes to my head. When I was in Jr High, I was able to finish my stories that way, but now days, it causes my writing to be all over the page. I mean, I don't write one scene, and then the scene that's suppose to come after. No, I skip around: I write a scene that's suppose to occur many pages later because I know I'll forget what the scene is by the time I get to it, before going back to a scene I'm SUPPOSE to be working on, only to come up with another scene I want to add in eventually before I forget it, and then when I go back to the page I'm suppose to be working on, I'm stuck on where to take it. Basically, writing major plot points and then filling in the gaps later. Because of that, I have a hard time finishing what I write anymore.
This sounds like a way of tapping into the subconscious. Which could be good or bad depending on how you use it, or if it results in ideas that will work. You'd either need to be able to somewhat control the imagery while in that state, or afterwards work with it and build something from it that will work for the story. There needs to be some control or at least guidance from the logical part of the mind, or it will just be wild dreamlike fantasy. It's a matter of figuring out how to get both parts working together somehow, and not taking too much control logically. If you can figure out a way to do that, it could be an amazing way to work. Sort of semi-controlled dreaming.
I used to be on the "pantsing" / winging it side of the fence for years. Then, a few years ago, I realised the value of having a beat sheet and an outline before starting. Now, I write an outline first. It's exhausting, and it's painful. But when I start writing, I know exactly: 1. Where the story should go; 2. What each chapter should achieve; 3. What each scene should do. For each scene, I also know: 1. What my hero wants; 2. What's standing in his way; 3. How he plans to overcome that; 4. What happens when he does (usually a new challenge); and 5. What my hero is planning to overcome that new challenge (which results in the next scene, which starts steps 1-4 again). YMMV, but it works for me.
I may be in the minority, but I plot the entire book. I started doing this in 2003 when I started on my first novel of 18. I use Excel to hold the plot (which are like bullet points, with some detail, but not everything), word count, character names (I'm up to 450 named characters across those books), time and distance calculations for travel by foot, ground vehicles, submarines, and aircraft. I write WWII novels, so everything from weaponry to vehicles goes here. Another sheet contains about 1,000 surnames I can pick from for American characters. For other countries I just google something like German surnames or German male names. I usually plot about 25% of the book before starting to write. That varies. Because these are in the same series, I have longer arcs for the main characters that I keep track of. I always know how the book will end before I start writing. I may not have the details, but I know where I'm (the main characters are) going to end up Even though I plot the book, I still have times where the story takes a direction I didn't foresee. I believe pantsers might call this "discovery" in writing. It's exceptionally fun. The plot is not in stone. If something new occurs to me that would be fun for the readers (and me) I'll add it. That happened in my last book. The last thing I'll say, is I am a devoted "word count" writer. My goal is 1,600 words a day, every day, even when I "don't feel like writing." That's about 5 book pages. I always know what percentage "done" I am because I know the expected total. For example, I know that after today's words, I am 10% done. Yes that fluctuates.
It depends on the story for me, there is only one story I'm working on that I'll plan for. It's a long story, and the beats are very important, so I'll just get in my head what I want to happen, like main plot points, and then I fill in the rest as I write, so it's a combo for sure. On shorter stories it's more winging, which I must say I enjoy more, as it's more free. Overall, my writing is more like venting in a way, I just mold my thoughts to fit the perspective of whatever story I'm working on, whether it has structure or not.
I used to do this all the time in high school, I'd spend all day basically dreaming about all these different scenes in my head then I'd go home and write them
I have started a new WIP, letting the other three stew for a bit. And I am trying something new for me, I am writing it in parts. Where each part is almost a short story in itself, but all revolve around different aspects of the story. I am also trying out a different type of plotting to see how that works for me. I am mapping out the complications for each section of the story, then just writing it making sure I hit those complications. It gives me something of a map to follow but let's me play the story in a less rigid form. I do find myself bouncing between parts, at least the first two, where events in part one have an impact on the events in part two. It is a fun experiment, and even if it never goes beyond my writing it, it is pushing me as a writer to expand my own abilities.
