How Much of a Planner Are You?

[placeintime]

Like I have the major events out written out (1 sentence). Afterward, I just fill in what should happen in between it. ^w^

 

[NotYourTypicalMan]

Too many plans for stories but lack of motivation cucked me from writing it

 

[MorgueAnna]

I plan a great deal, maybe too much. It often prevents me from doing the actual writing.

 

[ZynGrand]

A plan is smart,
It helps give form,
It gives the story structure,
And makes the writing flow.

I prefer to not,
just jot the prompt I've made,
Form the details later,
I leave it where it's laid.

 

[EternalSunset0]

I plan a great deal, maybe too much. It often prevents me from doing the actual writing.

I can relate so much. For me, I can just spend so much time planning and visualizing the climax and some key scenes but when it comes down to the actual writing, I find myself running out of gas

 

[Deleted member 29316]

Title says it all.

When writing a story, how much planning do you do beforehand? Do you outline things or do you just sit down and keep writing whatever comes up in your mind, knowing that something will come eventually? Just curious to see what SH people's writing habits are generally.

I plan up to the smallest details, including the direction of how my characters would grow. And then, put everything in one sitting.

 

[Milk.Milkan]

Me plannin tons of stuff like god.
Me forge ma plans through pain and sorrow.
With ease me gonna do a lot.
When do me start, you ask?
Tomorrow.

 

[bafflinghaze]

I tend to plan briefly, i.e. most of the beginning, plus the climax what I want the ending to be. Then I continue to outline a few chapters ahead as I go along~

 

[punchew]

i have the most important plot points on a document, with what happens each chapter on a spread-sheet like doc. I often just plan 2-3 chapters ahead kek

 

[CheertheDead]

I tend to advise newer writers to come up with a general plot for at least the entire arc before making the first chapter of that arc but it was a very difficult thing even for me.

It is a great way to avoid inconsistency though.

 

[TheHelpfulFawn]

I have a general idea of what I want my plot to go, but I don't actually write or plan anything in advance. whatever flows out gets written on paper.

 

[Jemini]

If we regard a pure planner as a -10 on a number-line, and a pure pantser as a 10, then I am probably a 3 or a 4. I definitely am quite noticeably more on the pantser side, but I do also plan quite a bit.

I mainly have a general idea on a per-volume scale of what I want to have done by the end of the volume. I also have some ideas of things I want to come up later in the story which I should try to include some set-up for. Really though, it's kinda shocking how little planning I do in light of the fact that I'm one of those try-hards who actually created an entire custom language for the universe my story takes place in. I even went the extra mile of tying several words in the language to the divine pantheon of the universe, as well as the lore behind it including the world's creation story.

All of this world-building lore BTW, completely outlined. It's the events in the story itself that are not so tightly planned. (Yeah, I totally pulled a Tolkein here.)

 

[AmnerisTenjo]

For the most part, I don't plan. I make it up as I go. But there are a few points in my books where I go "oh no I actually need to plan this" and that's usually because I've reached a part of the story that's really important to the overall plot, or I've realised I've accidently left a few things out. Planning itself I usually do after the first draft but those points are where I will plan in the first draft.

 

[Michuyu]

Title says it all.

When writing a story, how much planning do you do beforehand? Do you outline things or do you just sit down and keep writing whatever comes up in your mind, knowing that something will come eventually? Just curious to see what SH people's writing habits are generally.

I prefer not planning, or else I'll never get to writing xD But I do plan... and not write. It's complicated tbh That's probably why I write short stories more often than work on my longer series lol

 

[TheTrinary]

50/50.

I create a general outline with a solid structure, but then I'll change things and explore as I write. Most of the freeform stuff gets thrown out, but the stuff I keep can only make the base outline better.

 

[Suzumiya]

Title says it all.

When writing a story, how much planning do you do beforehand? Do you outline things or do you just sit down and keep writing whatever comes up in your mind, knowing that something will come eventually? Just curious to see what SH people's writing habits are generally.

I always start with a skeleton outline of what I want to write. Then I fill out details. Eventually, it becomes something like a leafless tree. At that point, I fill out the foliage.

This is particularly good for technical writing, but I find that it also works for fiction.

Daily since my dad first gave me a journal at age 12, I've journaled each day's happenings. This has resulted in a noteworthy ability to playwrite.

I find that playwriting each leaf from bottom to top and outward tends to result in high quality fiction.

That said, I am somewhere near the extreme end of the 'planner' side of this scale. I plan out everything and then ad lib individual paragraphs with predetermined goals in mind, e.g. ...

Chapter Seven
Barebones:
[Gab plans to go to the store today.] (who with? why? how?)

Setting Bones:
Scene 1: introduction
[Open: 10 am. A sleepy morning. A kettle is screaming.]
[Jimmy is sitting alone at the dining room table, broodingly drinking? <noun>.]
[Enter Gab from the window.]
[A scene of surprise.]
[Exeunt: Gab and Jimmy, to the mall to buy <noun>.]

Scene 2: rising action
[Zombies.]
[New zombies!]

Scene 3: climax
[Explosion at the mall.] (<noun> is unharmed?)

Scene 4: falling action
[They search the wreckage.]
[Zombies...?]

Scene 5: conclusions
[Mission failure.]
[Predictions.]
[Zombies...?]

After that, fill in each scene with a detailed play-by-play. Then edit for consistency and intrigue.

Finally, fill in the play-by-play with juicy details.

(then finalv2 finalv3 finalv4 finalv5 finalfinalfinal etc...)