How do you write arcs with lots of things happening in them?

[TotallyHuman]

I have three stories and I actually have at least an arc planned for each of them but I haven't been writing any of them(except for one) for more than a month just because there are so many things that should happen in each of those arcs that it feels overwhelming and discouraging to write. Keeping track of what happened and what plot holes appeared and what things should happen afterwards and how to transition between all those things and how these plans will develop in the territory I haven't planned... Just thinking about it makes me not feel like even beginning. How do you combat similar situations?

 

[Deleted member 29316]

In my case, I write my plot for the general direction of the story first. And then, after determining the entire story from beginning to end, I'd go into the details (arcs), which I would also plot, from beginning, rising action, climax, falling tension and end. During the process, I would take note of the possible plot holes, and incorporate it on my plot and story.

If you can, you could also write down a general idea of each chapter. You don't have to follow it to the dot, but at least, it would give you an idea of what to do, so that you won't get confused.

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Also, focus on one story. Doing all three at once would certainly overwhelm and burn you out.

 

[Love4NovelGuy]

I usually plan just the beginning and end while making what’s in between as long as I want. After reaching that end you can add another point. As someone who’s both an Architect and Gardener, I edit my ‘ending’ based on what ideas I get while writing, even changing it completely if I want to.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Try to imagine an end first. If you can confidently say how the arc is supposed to end and on what theme/note/tone, only then start on your beginning. As you do that, make an outline. Line out what you want accomplished throughout the arc and determine crucial plot points as you go so you could nail your pacing. After you're done with all that, only then you add in the build-up and the events that lead up to the aforementioned points in between.

That's how I do it anyway.

 

[HyperSpace]

When you want to write so many events and occurences in just a single arc, you may not have enough "material" for other arcs and the future plot if you burn all your ideas into just one arc.

You may end up not having anything to write about in future arcs if you have all your "planned timeline" in just one arc.

Assuming you don't have this problem, then the solution isn't that difficult.

You need a sequence.

All of the things you want to write, all at once, needs a proper order.

You have huge events U, V, W, X, Y, Z that you want fit in one arc.

These events need an order, that links one event to the other. There is, of course, nothing wrong with having arcs that are big.

Each arc doesn't have to have the same number of words as the previous.

You could write away, and then organize this huge arc into seperate arcs if the length of arcs really bother you and you need them equal.

Or you could just write without a single care for the arc's length, no matter how long.

But if you have so many events you want to fit into your story, you need a proper order of which event comes first, which comes later.

The plot needs to make sense and not just be a jumble of ideas, the events also need to have some relevance in the story, as well as being interesting enough for the readers to want to read more.

Those are just some of my thoughts on this thread.

 

[DubstheDuke]

I often have so many things going on in my story at one time that end up linking together in the end, so I'll share my thoughts on this.

1. Always have a checklist somewhere that has all the things that need to be addressed by the end of the story. This can be a scene by scene description, or just how everything will tie in later. If you ever write something and have a question in your mind about what will come of it, then think about it and write it down. When you create a character, think 'Where will this person be at the end of the arc?', and do this for every single character that takes place in the arc.
2. If you have scenes taking place in multiple locations, then make sure they link up somehow by the end of the arc. It doesn't have to all tie together immediately, but so long as everything has a clear and eventual purpose that's fine.
3. Don't rush things, but don't go at a snails pace either. Whenever I write a new set of characters or scenes I always end up thinking of so many new scenes or things that will give the story more detail and more depth. As a writer, understand that what may seem to take a long time for us is actually much shorter for the readers, so what may seem to be an eternity for us writing may not actually be too long for the readers. On the contrary, if something seems fast to us then it seems lightning speed for the readers, so just know that if you ever feel like you're spending too long on something, you probably have spent just the right amount of time on it.
4. Reread and re-edit. If you ever plan something and forget about it later, rereading can allow you to come to these realizations and fix them.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Don't rush things, but don't go at a snails pace either. Whenever I write a new set of characters or scenes I always end up thinking of so many new scenes or things that will give the story more detail and more depth. As a writer, understand that what may seem to take a long time for us is actually much shorter for the readers, so what may seem to be an eternity for us writing may not actually be too long for the readers. On the contrary, if something seems fast to us then it seems lightning speed for the readers, so just know that if you ever feel like you're spending too long on something, you probably have spent just the right amount of time on it.

This is unironically one of the most useful things I've heard on this forum. Fuck yeah, I love this.

 

[DDTStudios]

I plan and make note of all the major arcs. Once I have that, I plan what happens in each arc then separate those events in to different chapters.

 

[MajorKerina]

Okay but I took 40,000 words for my epilogue at the end of my story...so that's like....pretty long from the eight months to write and almost a novel by itself.