I'm no good at planning vacations. I can never make up my mind about what hotel, what at to stay at. I always think what if we get there we find something better. I usually fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to planning an itinerary as well. My sister on the other had plans everything down to the detail. She has a binder where she categories all of the research she's done.
Sometimes I'm extremely jealous of her planning abilities and other times I think she's so stuck to that plan that she doesn't open her eyes to other possibilites.
I'm kind of like this in writing. I don't write an outline. I have a general idea of where the story is going, but I don't necessarily know the stops along the way. Sometimes I run into a dead end and have to back track, but I enjoy writing that way. I've tried writing out exactly what happens, but I find that when I get to that part I've changed my mind.
For example on your current WIP, I had the two main characters being attracted to each other right away, which really takes all of the conflict and tension out of the story. Now I've back tracked and have planned a different route for them. One I'm very excited about.
How about you? Are you a planner or a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person?
20 comments:
The best books I've done are when I am a pantser. So I suppose that is what I am.
Does tend to make the end somewhat exciting, though!
I'm like you. I know what my story is about but I'm not sure how it's going to end, which is kind of stressing me out right now. However, my best creating seems to happen WHILE I am writing, so I try not to think about it when I'm not writing.
Fly by the seater, definitely. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes I have a lot of rewriting to do. But either way, it's how I write.
I think I'm somewhere in the middle. I get a hotel room before we travel but I don't plan out activities until we are there and we see what's fun.
In writing I don't outline my first draft but once the first draft is done and I need to clean it up I outline the whole thing and write in ideas for new scenes and cross out old scenes that just don't work.
Jen: I've never heard that the pantser phrase before.
Jessie: I agree. My best ideas come while I'm in the middle of writing.
Susan:Sometimes it makes for lots of rewriting, but then I find there's chapters that are awesome.
Natalie: I like your idea of planning out the changes. I'll have to try that for my new WIP
My whole series of outlining posts answers your question, but to put it in a nutshell, I don't hardly plan at all for the first draft. After that, I'm a binder girl. :)
Lady Glam: I enjoyed your posts on planning that's why I thought of this. I always find it interesting to see other people write.
Yeah, I think it's fascinating, too! I've learned so much from learning about how other people write. It's definitely changed how I do things.
Hi, Patti: I'm a SOTP'ster generally, but I do try and come up with a one or two page synopsis to start me off lately. I enjoy the journey more when surprises are free to roam.
Eileen: Some of my best ideas came just out of the blue.
Totally seat of the pants. LOL I frustrate my dear sister sometimes too, because like yours, she's a planner. :-)
Jessica; My sister is always asking what I'm doing two months from now. I tell her that I barely know what I'm doing next week.
I'm most definitely a planner! Both in real life and in my books! It helps with managing my large family and it also helps in saving some of the pain of rewriting!
Jody: I wish I could be more like you, instead of scrambling to figure out what to make for dinner every night.
Fly by the seat of my pants. But, in writing at least, I know where I am going. Beginnings, those I have hard time with. Not the getting going, but in the editing process.
I've tried writing with an outline but I can't stand being restrained like that. I want to discover what happens as I go. Like you, I have a general idea of what direction I'm headed in but things can change very quickly.
Jennifer: I love flying, with some direction of course.
Laura: I like how things can change on a dime and suddenly you have a story you never knew was possible.
Hi Patti!
I fly by the seat of pants, and no other way! I love allowing the characters to tell me the story, and sometimes they only do that in snipits. Go figure.
Blessings to you...
Tamika: Funny how that works. Thanks for stopping by.
I generally go with the flow. I'm still searching for the best ways for me. I don't outline ahead really, but I have found that sometimes it does help in certain situations.
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