(no subject)

[serria]

So, I've done a lot of plotting and organization for a story I'm working on, and it's to the point where almost all the scenes are charted and I know everything that is supposed to happen. But when I sit down to write, for some reason, it's a lot harder. I don't even know where to start. I think I honestly write a lot more naturally when I don't have any idea where the story is going to go, and I start at the beginning and see where it goes as I write. Unfortunately, that's a lot harder to do with long novels.

Do you guys tend to have everything plotted out before you write? Do you write from beginning to end, if so, or do you just write whatever scene you feel like writing and put it all together after?

Comments

[caecilia]

I am terrible at outlining! I sometimes free-write when I'm stuck, or if I have too many ideas and don't know where to start, I jot them all down and keep them in a document to use as prompts later. When I'm having a "good day", an idea will grab me, and then rather than outline, I brainstorm. I walk around listening to music and I daydream about it. I picture it like it's happening on a screen, and I think about how I want to phrase things, so I'll work out an opening paragraph, and when I'm ready I sit down and WRITE LIKE THE WIND. Then when I get stuck I walk away and do the brainstorming thing again. It sounds great, but it's a very slow process and if it's interrupted I have trouble picking up where I left off. So it's inconvenient when you have other responsibilities. The worst is when a story "bites" me late at night when I have to be somewhere in 5 hours. Having someone to bounce ideas off of helps too but that's not always feasible either...sometimes people aren't as enthusiastic about a thing as I am and I don't want to be obnoxious or depend on others too much.

[splinteredstar]

this is ages late but i totally understand the "oh well i should be asleep right now but WRITING" feeling