Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Planning, Research, and Writing

This is topic Planning, Research, and Writing in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Magic Beans (Member # 2183) on :

General curiosity question: Do you intensively plan, outline, research, and plot before you set pen to paper? Or, do you start writing and see what develops? Perhaps a combination of both?

The reason I ask is because I find unique values in both approaches. Some planning beforehand is absolutely necessary, but then I'm amazed at what I come up with when I have to put words onto the page. I'm generally farther ahead with my planning than my writing, but not so far ahead that I know everything that's going to happen already in a novel-length work of fantasy. Sometimes, the urge to just write what is dying to come out is overwhelming and must be obeyed, no matter where you are in the planning process.

[This message has been edited by Magic Beans (edited October 02, 2004).]

Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :

I do plan, outline, and plot before I write. But the time I spend in research is much greater. I think research is the most important thing a writer can do. It's easy to fix a broken plot, it's much harder to fix a misunderstood fact.

Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :

I do a combination of both, depending on the length. For a short story, I typically do not outline much if at all. I haven't finished my novel yet, but I did a couple-page bullet-point outline that covers the broad strokes, and in my mind I have a pretty detailed picture of the first half. I am hoping not to box myself in too much though, so that's all the prep I am doing for it. (We'll find out if it was good enough, I am doing NaNoWriMo this year!)

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

I write something (anywhere from a single line to a couple of pages, but never more than a single scene or less than a character in a location) then take a look at it and figure out a story about what I've got.

Then, I write the first scene of that and step back and start planning out some specifics of how the story evolves from that scene (modifying the scene as necessary).

After some planning along this line, I go back and start writing again. I also allow myself to drop back to a previous stage if the development seems to warrant that.

Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

It depends on the story. I've done both ways: lots of pre-planning and little to no pre-planning. I think I've used both successfully for different stories. Some stories require a lot of planning (most mysteries, most "aha" twist endings, etc. etc. etc.) and some stories just flow as I write. Different stories require different approaches.

Posted by Jules (Member # 1658) on :

The only novel I've finished a complete draft of was written without outlining. I'm now nearing completion of a total rewrite of it, effectively a 2nd draft using the 1st draft as an outline.

Another novel that I have a partially completed draft of was outlined in full before starting. I shelved it because I wanted to concentrate on other stories first.

I'm about to start another novel (when I've finished that 2nd draft, which should be in the next couple of weeks). I've tried outlining it, and haven't been satisfied with the results. I'm going to try it without an outline to see what happens. I do have extensive character details drawn up, a relatively detailed history of the world they live in, a sketched map of the world, details of some important people who may or may not be involved in the story, and an idea of how the story should end.

Posted by Gwalchmai (Member # 1807) on :

I never used to do any real kind of planning or outlining on paper until I reached the halfway stage of the novel I'm just writing up the last chapter to. I hit a point where I knew where I wanted the story to go and what things to happen but didn't know exactly how to get it there. Outlining helped me get a better feeling for the problems I was having and find a solution for them. I have outlined every chapter since then and found it helped the words to flow a lot easier.

Posted by dspellweaver (Member # 2133) on :

I used to do a lot of preplanning and outlining but lately (within the last year or so) I found myself getting stuck in that stage of working and reworking the idea in outline form instead of doing any writing. So I took the advice of a fellow writer and just started writing the story in the simplest terms (without any fancy schmancy techniques or wording) from beginning to end and see what develops.

This worked really good for me. I was able to complete a novel length manuscript in about a month. It's probably the worst piece of writing I have ever done and I'm sure it will be in the rewrite stage for awhile but having something completed TO work with has taken a lot of pressure off of producing.

This has also helped me better focus my researching. I have a clearer idea of what I need and can concentrate only on those areas without getting sidetracked too much.

Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :

I can't say I really do any physical outlining or preplanning, but I do usually spend a lot of time thinking about something before I write it. The novel I'm writing now had been on my mind for at least a good ten years. Over those years, it developed a LOT. So I have a basic idea of who the characters are, what the problem is, how they'll solve it, and what aspects of the universe I want to play with.

I've noticed, however, that things I'd never thought about before tend to pop up on my screen when I write. I get a lot of interesting conflicts, characters, and mechanisms that way. I don't think they would come to light if I extensively outlined instead of writing on the fly. It's like my fingers know my story better than my brain does. So I usually let them do the storytelling the first time, and save my planning functions for the cleanup in the second draft.

Posted by Magic Beans (Member # 2183) on :

A lot of interesting approaches.

A couple things I've noticed about my own process--this may be true for you, as well:

I will sit and stare for quite some time without conjuring up that critical character name I need, but if I start writing, it just appears onscreen as if I'd known it all along. It's a little unsettling.

Also, when I try to take notes that are compartmentalized into topic like plot, character biograhpy, milieu, etc., everything I write starts turning into a simplified synopsis of the story.

Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :

I feel you, the exact same things happen to me. I think it is because typing (or writing longhand, whatever) uses your subconscious, making sort of a bridge between your subconscious and conscious mind. You don't think about the actions you take to type or write specific words, you just think what you want to type and it appears before you. Your subconscious is controlling the actions of your fingers for you.

My theory is that whenever your subconscious is doing one thing that is apparent, it can also do other things for you, and it is easier to access them. If I just sit and think my brainstorms, instead of writing them down, I never get the same depth of results or surprises that I get when I type out whatever comes to me.

Similarly, my best ideas come from dreams, or when I first wake up before I am really truly awake; that is where almost all of my very good ideas have come from. The rest have happened while in the shower or driving, again, activities where your subconscious is controlling your physical activities, allowing your conscious mind to do other things.

Does this make any sense?

Posted by dspellweaver (Member # 2133) on :

I have had similar experiences such as yours, autumnmuse, with dream ideas. I keep a notebook by my bed for this specific reason.

I read somewhere a long time ago that when we are wrestling with a problem or working an issue even if our concious mind is not focussed on it, our subconcious mind still works it and that's why there are sudden flashes of inspiration for resolution to those problems when we least expect them.

[This message has been edited by dspellweaver (edited October 04, 2004).]

Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :

I think my approach is closest to Survivor's. I've written two novels, one with outlining and one without. The one without outlining has unredeemable plot problems. I think that a lot of it depends on the type of story that you're planning on writing.

Research now. I can research for the entire length of the book and after I've finished it. The more I know, the richer the story becomes. I do tend to research sort of simultaneously with my writing, which sometimes means that I have to throw scenes out but that's okay.

Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :

I prefer writing totally made-up stuff, so there is no research involved

. No, actually even my made-from-scratch scifi world has a little bit of research, to make sure what I'm creating is scientifically feasible, but on the whole my desire to skip research is one of the reasons I write fiction.

Posted by Whitney (Member # 2176) on :

I usually just write until I find a need for research, which is not often. I have one idea for a story, maybe novel, that will involve a great deal of research into ancient bibical societies, which is probably the reason I haven't done anything with it yet. I find research immensely boring, but I'll do it if I know it will make my story more believeable.

I also am not big on outlining. I tried doing it to one of my stories and ended up with 10 pages of details and no direction for the details. I can usually get through the story as long as I know how it ends. So I find my creativity flows better when I'm just writing (letting the character tell the story and all that metaphysical writer's stuff) and go back and fix stuff later. It also helps keep the inner-critic enough at bay that I can get through something.

Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :

I've tried all sorts of ways to write stories, and what works best for me is this. Freewrite until I see know and ending. That's essential for me, b/c the ending answers the essentail questions: where to begin, how to progress, etc. Then I scratch out a rough plan of how to get there.

Then I write a very rough draft as quickly as I can. I'm pretty much dedicated to writing the extra-long frist draft, exploring tangets as they come. Once the first draft is finished, and after letting it sit for a while, I read it, making notes of what I like and what I don't. Then I strcture the story. I've already told the story once, and in some detail, so now it's all about arranging it in some kind of order. Depending on the length and complexity of the story, this can range from a simple one-page synopsis to a lengthy scene-by-scene outline.

Then I rewrite--physically rewrite, from beginning to end--the entire story, using my first draft as a guide. This second draft then becomes my working draft as I revise and polish the story.

I normally don't do any research for a story. I don't write hard SF or historical fiction. And I've found that if an idea stikes me as espeically good for a story, I can't use it for a long while. It has to reach full term, so to speak; a woman can't give birth to an embryo.