Thursday 18 April 2013

A-Z of Writing - P



I didn't use to plan very much. A quick scribble about the characters, maybe the briefest of outline and that'd be it.

Not anymore. It seems with every book I write, I plan more and more. I now plan each chapter before I write the first word. A few years ago I would have thought that'd be the most boring way to write. I would have planned the book and lost interest in it immediately but I've changed. I now find the obsessive planning helps a LOT and I don't get bored of telling the story and then telling it all over again.

I'm busily planning my new book and I can't wait to get stuck in properly.

Are you planner? Or a pantster?


This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. Click here to see all the other participants

16 comments:

  1. Planning never feels restrictive to me, there's always more stuff than I can put down in an outline.

    mood
    Moody Writing
    #atozchallenge

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  2. I'm so rubbish at planning. I tend to wing it then wonder why I forget things & everything gets confused!

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    1. I have to make notes of facts otherwise people change names and hair colour, jobs etc.

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  3. I planned, I outlined, I planned the outline, I outlined the plan...you get the jist. All of it is so unlike me! What was I thinking?

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    1. Perhaps you could plan the outline of the plan? *head explodes* Perhaps not.

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  4. I think I've spent more time planning than most people would writing a book! Hopefully it should pay off : ))

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    1. You should see the reams of paper I've used in my planning. Planning the last book really helped in the long run though so hoping this one will the same.

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  5. My process is somewhere in-between - a hybrid of sorts. I'm also learning to go with whatever works for me and not try to squish it into a system that I'm "supposed" to use.

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    1. Definitely go with what works for you. Planning to death seems to work for me (at the moment) but I know it's not for everyone.

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  6. Mostly a pantser. I used to be able to trust my stories to work themselves out but after one totally floundered and flopped, I've started to do a bit more planning than I used to. I don't have time to invest in a project that ends up only bringing me aggravation.

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    1. My stories stopped working themselves out so I find it so much easier to work out the path they're going to take first.

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  7. I love setting off on a writing adventure not knowing where I'll end up. Surprising things happen sometimes. But I know I am more likely to finish a story if I do at least a little planning first. A bit of both, perhaps!

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  8. I too, plan more now than I did in the beginning. But I'm still a panster in some ways.

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