How much should I plan ahead for a novel?

[CreationWillL]

My question is as already described in the title.

How much should I plan in advance, or rather how far?

 

[Story_Marc]

It's a really individualistic question, but to answer first, are you concerned with making pretty much webnovels or traditional literature?

 

[Lorelliad]

Depends on whether you consider yourself a pantser or a planner

 

[Don_Quacko]

Depends on whether you consider yourself a pantser or a planner

It's a really individualistic question, but to answer first, are you concerned with making pretty much webnovels or traditional literature?

i was too late

 

[TheEldritchGod]

yes.

 

[HungrySheep]

I've learned from experience that you should plan the whole thing, even if only roughly.

 

[Bobple]

I mean it really depends on the person.

If you want the minimum of what you should plan.
- The Starting chapters
- An idea of an ending. This ending doesn't have to be something you stick with, maybe you don't like or maybe you want to keep going on after that. But having at least an idea on how it could end then it becomes easier to build towards it.

After that it is up to you.
I like to plan by arcs and chapter batches, along with outlining things I want to happen. But I have enough room to let ideas naturally develop as I'm writing.

 

[ArchlordZero]

Start with a skeleton first, from head to toe.
Then do the muscles, the meat, and then everything else.

(This advice is also applicable if you wanted to dissolve a dead body and your supply of hydroflouric acid is short)

 

[LuoirM]

100

 

[CreationWillL]

It's a really individualistic question, but to answer first, are you concerned with making pretty much webnovels or traditional literature?

Webnovel

 

[BlackKnightX]

It's all about the final product and consistency.

I'd assume you already have an ideal product in mind, the kind of book you want to write. Then, you can just do whatever you want, as long as it results in that exact product.

Find the process that feels right to you and you alone. If you like planning far ahead, go ahead and do it. If you like discovering things as you go, just do it. As long as it gets you the ideal product.

As for consistency, this aligns with your goal: do you write just for fun or do you write professionally? If you write professionally—making money while doing so—you need to keep uploading regularly so the readers stick around. That means your process should allow you to be able to crank out lots of chapters quickly as well, and with the consistent results (the ideal product).

From my experience, when it comes to web serial format—especially ones that last hundreds or thousands of chapters—unless you're willing to plan and write and polish all the chapters in advance before slowly releasing them (which will take a long time, with no guaranteed success), you have to be more flexible and loose. This is just one way of doing it. You find yours.

 

[Shrimp_eater]

I think it's good to have a rough plan of what you want for the story, tone, themes, key events, the ending, etc; otherwise, you risk hitting a wall and not knowing where to take things anymore, or just writing something that is all over the place.

I'd say it's also not good to plan everything meticulously because there are issues you'll only realize are issues when you get to certain parts of your story. Not to mention when writing something for a year or two, your mind is prone to change on some things or follow on its whims at times.

Another alternative is to follow what i call the "Series" approach, where you don't have so much of a story but rather a concept of a story. Something like "Mr. Evren is a great intergalactic detective that solves cases all across the cosmos.", then instead of an overarching plot, you have multiple smaller subplots and substories within this context and universe that can go on for as long as you like and don't necessarily develop into any greater plot.

 

[Corty]

As always, this is subjective. Here is my planning process:

• The main character, his/her values, mindset, positive and negative traits
• The main drive behind his existence
• The ending I want for the book
• The main story beats I want to hit. Maybe they are because they sounded cool in my head, so I don't think way too deeply about it. These are just points I would enjoy reading about myself, so I want them in the story.

Then I just start writing and modify things as I go along, slowly hitting all the main plot points I want to. I know the starting point and the ending point I want to reach. The road between the two becomes visible while I travel down it.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

My question is as already described in the title.

How much should I plan in advance, or rather how far?

No chapter plan survives first contact with the page.

That is why you set yourself some distant goal as you won't reach it any way, or at least your writing on the way there will lead you 100% somewhere else. You will always deviate from your original plan, so planning is not that important.

You have an idea, though, what you want and what genre you want. That helps to stay on track.

 

[MatchaChocolate69]

As always, this is subjective. Here is my planning process:

• The main character, his/her values, mindset, positive and negative traits
• The main drive behind his existence
• The ending I want for the book
• The main story beats I want to hit. Maybe they are because they sounded cool in my head, so I don't think way too deeply about it. These are just points I would enjoy reading about myself, so I want them in the story.

Then I just start writing and modify things as I go along, slowly hitting all the main plot points I want to. I know the starting point and the ending point I want to reach. The road between the two becomes visible while I travel down it.

Essentially, I do what Corty does, except that often I don't even have an idea of the ending.
I let the characters guide me. It's a method with several flaws, but honestly, it's the one I enjoy the most.
If I already knew everything, I wouldn't even write because it would bore me.

 

[Roseofblades]

As always, this is subjective. Here is my planning process:

• The main character, his/her values, mindset, positive and negative traits
• The main drive behind his existence
• The ending I want for the book
• The main story beats I want to hit. Maybe they are because they sounded cool in my head, so I don't think way too deeply about it. These are just points I would enjoy reading about myself, so I want them in the story.

Then I just start writing and modify things as I go along, slowly hitting all the main plot points I want to. I know the starting point and the ending point I want to reach. The road between the two becomes visible while I travel down it.

Essentially, I do what Corty does, except that often I don't even have an idea of the ending.
I let the characters guide me. It's a method with several flaws, but honestly, it's the one I enjoy the most.
If I already knew everything, I wouldn't even write because it would bore me.

Just chiming in, I do the same as these two. But... like Matcha, I don't understand the concept of "Ending."

For me it makes my characters feel more authentic and relatable. Often, if I try to get my characters to do something that they themselves "didn't come up with," they will get mad and do it in the most irritating way possible. I also can't FORCE my writing, since it requires the correct mindset. It's... a somewhat manic style, but I love the spontaneity of it.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

I have two stories I'm writing right now. Usually I start on one after I get bored with the other.

One has about 10 chapters finished so far ( not including illustrations) and for that story I have already have it planned out for the next 40-50 chapters.

The other one I have about 6 chapters ( with no illustrations) but I maybe have like 2 chapters planned out ahead. With only general outlines of events I want to happen in the future.

For the pros and cons I've found that my pre-planned story has much better pacing, and payoffs feel much better, especially when you connect new plot threads to previously established ones. On the other hand however writing each chapter can get tedious because I already know everything I need to write for the next several chapters.

The story with less planing has much worse pacing and the plot is a mess, but it is much more enjoyable to work on. Though as there isn't much planning I often find myself going back to change or add details to make everything flow nicer.

 

[J_Chemist]

No. Wing it. Full send it. Fuck it, we ball.

Plan the start. Plan your objectives along the way. Know the end. The journey you take, make as you go. It'll buff.

 

[P.R.S]

I planed everything of mine before i even posted wich took like 3 years, soo...
Plan as much as you think is good, but remenber that sometimes unexpected things happen and sometimes your story may naturally take a unforeseen turn
There is no right answer to your question besides the one you chose to be

 

[prognastat]

I have a combination of long term plans, some things I want to hit on the way there and then a more detailed idea of where the next few chapters will be going.