How do you plan out your story?

arashi-chan12

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Dropping this here before heading to sleep, will check it tomorrow.

Back to the topic, I'm curious as to how others plan their stories. I'm the type of writer (not really) who just wants to skip the whole planning process because I have a rough idea in my head. I do minimal planning and basically just have events I want to get to stuck inside my head, so I rush into writing. Then I inevitably drop my story before or after the first chapter because I have no idea where to take it ha. Serves me right honestly.

Just wondering what processes you guys go through, how detailed you take your planning steps, how much it affects the flow of your story and if there are any resources, processes or templates you recommend. Enlighten this pleb, please.
 

Scribbler

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This is my template:
[boss room]
[eruption and arrival]
[distraction and stab]
[phase 2]
[drops]

Each of those usually fills up a couple hundred words. Back when I wrote 600 word long chapters I never planned at all and it kind of worked out for me. Now that I'm planning 2400 word long chapters, though, there's more of a focus/importance on important events and there are more unimportant events, but that lets me do things like foreshadow and characterize more too. It's weird.
 

TLCsDestiny

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Dropping this here before heading to sleep, will check it tomorrow.

Back to the topic, I'm curious as to how others plan their stories. I'm the type of writer (not really) who just wants to skip the whole planning process because I have a rough idea in my head. I do minimal planning and basically just have events I want to get to stuck inside my head, so I rush into writing. Then I inevitably drop my story before or after the first chapter because I have no idea where to take it ha. Serves me right honestly.

Just wondering what processes you guys go through, how detailed you take your planning steps, how much it affects the flow of your story and if there are any resources, processes or templates you recommend. Enlighten this pleb, please.

I do and I don't...
I do the most basic steps.
Don't forget climax and don't forget plot!!
Otherwise fit whatever!
Step ur foot into the characters, they'll do the work for u!
 

Kotohood

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I basically think of the whole story from beginning to end and write a rough sketch of it. Every conflict and major plot points I think about roughly on how I want to do them.

I then decide how many words/chapters I want to fit the story in. And from there decide on how much exposition/interesting event/characters that I want to put in which chapter. I then plan the overal journey and pacing for the chapters and how long before one arc goes into another. Along the way I expect to change some major plot points around and add in fillers in between. But I never change(or at least won't change too much) the context of the ending as I am a believer that the ending/conclusion is just as important as the journey.

For chapter planning. I just decide that this is what A,B,C characters will do and then flesh out the story. I usually write a summary of 1000 words before writting out the chapter and it eventually just expands to 4k on average.

Anything I can't fit it I, eiter trim or put it in later chapters. Worst case I just do a double release or cut the chapter in half.

Don't take my word for it though, it's not like I got any stories published right now. :blob_teary:
 

jinxs2011

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how it seems to be for me so far:
1. Plan beginning
2. Plan end
3. Plan various miscellaneous events, characters and other things throughout the story
4. Spend a while thinking hard about how to get from where I am to the next event or character
5. Write chapter
6. Repeat steps 4-5
 

Lone_Crane

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how it seems to be for me so far:
1. Plan beginning
2. Plan end
3. Plan various miscellaneous events, characters and other things throughout the story
4. Spend a while thinking hard about how to get from where I am to the next event or character
5. Write chapter
6. Repeat steps 4-5
This is more or less what I do too.

Dropping this here before heading to sleep, will check it tomorrow.

Back to the topic, I'm curious as to how others plan their stories. I'm the type of writer (not really) who just wants to skip the whole planning process because I have a rough idea in my head. I do minimal planning and basically just have events I want to get to stuck inside my head, so I rush into writing. Then I inevitably drop my story before or after the first chapter because I have no idea where to take it ha. Serves me right honestly.

Just wondering what processes you guys go through, how detailed you take your planning steps, how much it affects the flow of your story and if there are any resources, processes or templates you recommend. Enlighten this pleb, please.
This outline method using Excel is pretty neat. I've used this before, helpful to get a good overview of your story all at once.

For a template/just-do-this method of outlining, try the Snowflake Method.
 

CupcakeNinja

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I dunno man i plot out the general direction i want, the major events, the mysteries and reasons behind certain things, but beyond that i just dick around and people fucking love it apparently. Its a story that i feel survives on the references and memes and my MC's "no fucks given" sorta attitude. Apparently appealing to the cult following of different series of shows, movies and games can take you far in writing.
 

ArcadiaBlade

I'm a Lazy Writer, So What?
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I just get the idea into my head, write what i thought off, and basically write what my head is telling me. Thats how my novels write themselves. The more i plan about it the less i work on it before i basically drop it off and another novel idea suddenly pops in my head.
 

TLCsDestiny

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Agreed with most here and it makes me feel better how I do my novels now lol
 
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JustHANO

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Step one visualizing something cool. An event or concept i think is cool enough to build around.

Step two, make it into something. A major event, the world, the backstory. Make the cool thing into something you want to reach and write.

Step 3, reach in it chapter 3 or 4 and stop writing the story. Lol I need to step up my game.

Don't worry tho, i made it past chapter 4 this time.
 

Pistachio

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When an idea comes up and I love it, I usually come up with how it ends. Then, come up with turning points or arcs. Basically, visualizing a whole and then cut it into pieces. Then, I’ll focus on a particular piece, how that piece starts and how it’ll end. The rest, I’ll just let the actual writing to dictate as long as I know what my finish line is.

By the way, if you’re using android, I recommend using “Novelist”. It’s been helpful for me so far in collecting my characters and plots into one book.
 

Quecafe

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A bit late for the party, but I'm going to give you what I think is a good way of planning stories.
First, don't try to do all the story at once, break it up in small arcs that will join a greater overarching arc.
Each of those small arcs are steps towards achieving the objective of the greater arc. For example, if the Main Character wants to join a prestigious academy the first small arc could be about him learning of the academy, then the second arc of him gathering knowledge and/or preparing himself(Of course if it aligns with his/her character), the third and possibly last arc then becomes him taking the test, but if you feel like adding another small arc with a twist, make so that he doesn't get to enter in his first try, and he has to be vouched by one of the professors or something like that.
Second, Each of those small arcs must(not really must, but I think it is good to have it) have their own beginning, build-up, climax, then ending towards the next small arc that is linked for the sake of the greater arc
Third, Know your character. This may seem dumb, but authors sometimes forget that the characters they write are their own persons(unless it is wish fulfillment, then he has no real character)and wouldn't act like that in certain situations just to force a plot-driven event, like the introduction of a pretty girl. I've seen supposedly uncaring asshole characters deciding to save someone just because the plot demands, it is dumb and lazy, seriously don't do this. For example, if your character is a selfish and greedy person, why would they try to save an unknown person? If they are selfless and always nice, why are they ignoring the greater problems that their (possibly) newfound power could solve? (I'm looking at you isekai)
Fourth and most important, write something you like and don't let your readers steer the story away from where you intended it to be. I think that I say that because there was this one really great story called Devourer of Destiny, that the author didn't love and he eventually dropped it and deleted.
Fifth and last (this one is more personal for me at least) don't write and post at the same time, sometimes you will have writer's block and readers are cold and uncaring beings (most of the time at least) they will ask about updates, and you will be lost on how to progress from there. In my opinion, is better to have at least a few of the overarching arcs ready to keep the schedule you created. Also, speak with a few friends for them to beta-read your work, because if it is shit writing people are going to call you out on it. And if you don't have friend IRL like me (cries in a corner) ask for people in forums, discord, any platform with enough people.
I know it said fifth and last, but remember to always outline potential plots, I've already seen some people who got lost due to not knowing where to go.
Good luck OP, and if you need a beta reader, feel free to call me on pv. 🖋(y)
 

Yorda

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Having an idea in your head of how you want your story to go is perfectly fine for very simple stories, but as you have discovered through experience, if you want to make a complex story it will result in getting lost.

The best and easiest way I have ever heard, as explained by a professional editor, to form a complex plot where everything you wanted to happen in your story actually happens in a comprehensible, and chronologically sensible manner is to do the following.

First brainstorm all the events you can think of that you want in your story. Especially brainstorm events for the meat of the story, the rising action, the climax, and the conclusion. Then you start connecting the dots (events) until you have a linear chronology of your story outlined. The things you use to connect the events are characters. Naturally, you may also need to discard some events that you cannot figure out the connections for.

I tried to do things in reverse before, create characters first and then make them interact through events, but it turned out to be a complicated hell.

Here's a video link of a professional freelance editor explaining how to plot a story. Thank god I found this video. How to plot a story.

I'm currently learning about professional writing techniques. Making posts like this is a form of studying and preparing myself for writing the story I want to tell in all its glory. Reviewing and revising my understanding of these techniques/concepts by explicitly writing them out in my own words, helps me master and retain them.
 

keitaro-sempai

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Well, I first happen to have a dream. The dream may or not have a complex development, but flows naturally, and all characters in it are alive and act accordingly. When awake, I collect everything I can and connect it as I see fit.
Most of the time I have a start and a finale, the dream fills the path beetween and I work out the conections and plan using those as reference, plus some ideas I have in the way. At this point I become an architect to bring my vision to reality the best I can.
For those who care about it, half of my stories come out from dreams. The good part about it is, whenever I am out of energy to keep writing, I just need to sleep and next time I wake up half the work is already done.
 

BenJepheneT

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It really depends on what kind of a story you're writing. My story is more on the philisophical type of things where the protagonist starts out with a mentality and gets his mentality tested on the way through the story. Sure, it might dilute a lot of character arcs but I try to maintain it by breaking the MC and have him come back.

What I'll do is first write down one philosophy and come up with dozens of others to confront it. I'll handpick a dozen which works best and the others will become side plot. The first few I think out will be the early arcs, while the later ones, vice versa.

After that I'll procastinate, forget everything and start over.
 

LWFlouisa

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Dropping this here before heading to sleep, will check it tomorrow.

Back to the topic, I'm curious as to how others plan their stories. I'm the type of writer (not really) who just wants to skip the whole planning process because I have a rough idea in my head. I do minimal planning and basically just have events I want to get to stuck inside my head, so I rush into writing. Then I inevitably drop my story before or after the first chapter because I have no idea where to take it ha. Serves me right honestly.

Just wondering what processes you guys go through, how detailed you take your planning steps, how much it affects the flow of your story and if there are any resources, processes or templates you recommend. Enlighten this pleb, please.

This depends on the story, but generally I had tended to do a seven point structure per chapter; the reasoning behind it is I tended to do a bunch of short stories that built toward a novella. ( Especially in children's books. )

These days I fly by the seat of my pants though, mostly because much of it in a sense, has already been written in my head.
 

Shizun

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I also tend to make a draft summary in head/key points
 
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