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Writing: Master plan vs controlled chaos

18 Oct 2012 07:25 #29102 by njae
It's been over a year since I first submitted a chapter of my first story to the library (formerly known as storybank). During that time I continually added new chapters to the story, which grew more and more complex as time went on. In this thread I don't want to talk about the plot of this story, but rather the way it came to be and how other authors write their stories.

One thing that I noticed over the time was that while I always had a plan about what I wanted to happen, I never had THE plan. I really noticed that recently when Camille posted her Character Sketches for better planning with stories or sent me the outline on which she bases her "A day at the military" story.
On the contrary: My stories are more written as they go. I always have at least one event in the back of my head that I'm working forward to and sometimes I scrap these ideas or expand upon others that end up contradicting them. So far these changes were for the better - at least that's how I see it. But I begin to wonder if it might be better to actually have a plan, to always know the main point of a scene before I begin it instead of having a simple idea. Not to mention how the feedback of previous installments and beta readers affects the way I continue here.

How do other authors think about it? Is it better to have a plan that makes sure where the story is headed? Is there a length where one version get's more helpful than the other? For example a shortstory workshop entry can't really benefit of a plan with only 1000 words in length, while a multi-part story could eventually become big enough that the adaptions become necessary since they actually improve upon the original idea.

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18 Oct 2012 08:38 #29103 by Woodclaw
Replied by Woodclaw on topic Writing: Master plan vs controlled chaos

njae wrote: One thing that I noticed over the time was that while I always had a plan about what I wanted to happen, I never had THE plan. I really noticed that recently when Camille posted her Character Sketches for better planning with stories or sent me the outline on which she bases her "A day at the military" story.
On the contrary: My stories are more written as they go. I always have at least one event in the back of my head that I'm working forward to and sometimes I scrap these ideas or expand upon others that end up contradicting them. So far these changes were for the better - at least that's how I see it. But I begin to wonder if it might be better to actually have a plan, to always know the main point of a scene before I begin it instead of having a simple idea. Not to mention how the feedback of previous installments and beta readers affects the way I continue here.

How do other authors think about it? Is it better to have a plan that makes sure where the story is headed? Is there a length where one version get's more helpful than the other? For example a shortstory workshop entry can't really benefit of a plan with only 1000 words in length, while a multi-part story could eventually become big enough that the adaptions become necessary since they actually improve upon the original idea.


In my writing I've always been influenced by my experience as a Game Master, usually I tend to establish a beginning, a end and a serie of scenes in the middle that I want to include. After that I try to figure out what my characters will do and try to progress the story staying true to their personalities.
Overall this approach works decently for short stories, but I think that longer narratives requires some preparation, simply becuase I've seen too many great authors and great stories stopping because they wrote themselves into a corner.

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19 Oct 2012 01:11 #29108 by inactive
Replied by inactive on topic Writing: Master plan vs controlled chaos
I wish the chaos of my writing process could rise to the level of "controlled".

Most of my stories have been made up as I go along. When I try to plot things out in advance, I lose interest once I know where the story is going and have a hard time actually writing it.

I ran out of steam on "Stupendous Girl" and "Alternate Histories" for different reasons. The first because the idea of where to go next just would not come to me and the second because I mapped out a timeline which I was not capable of doing justice to.

I've mostly stuck to one-offs the last couple of years in part because I know I don't have the discipline for a continuing story.

- GeekSeven

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20 Oct 2012 00:16 #29111 by ace191
Replied by ace191 on topic Writing: Master plan vs controlled chaos
Most of the time I know exactly where I am going to end up. I frequently write the ending first, or at least where it is I am trying to get too. Sometimes I start a story with clear ideas on how to get to point A and then write it. Occasionally, I start with some good opening stuff and see where it goes, but that is rare for me.

Right now, I have three "Big Plans," with art work in the can for two of them, but I just can't seem to sit down and work on them. I know what I want to do and where I want to go, but I can't seem to find the will and the time.

In contrast to me, Argo is very organized. For TSOS, we started with a very definite plan that had an 18 chapter outline. There were several key points with an associated time frame that we wanted to hit. A couple of my favorites were the fight at the Diamond Bar and Lex saving Lana from the Green Kryptonite. Hopefully, another key chapter that I have had the artwork in the can for 5 years now we will get to soon.

We have done every chapter in the original timeline that we have planed except one that I can think of. I have the artwork for it, but the way the story is going I doubt we will use it. Along the way, we have come up with several new ideas that we were able to work into the timeline as well as use to advance the plot. That is why if we ever get Lana out of High School, TSOS will most likely run 35 or so chapters.

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20 Oct 2012 15:01 #29117 by The Highlander
Replied by The Highlander on topic Writing: Master plan vs controlled chaos
I've only written a handful of stories and none of them are direct sequels, but in nearly every occasion I've started off with an idea for a cool scene and then tried to work towards it. When I first started writing I normally started writing from the beginning of the story, which meant that by the time I reached the cool scene I'd thought of originally I was running out of steam had trouble remembering how it was supposed to go. Now I'm trying a different technique, writing individual scenes as they come to me and then filling in the gaps later on. It's an easier way to work, but I'm not sure if the end results are any better.

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20 Oct 2012 16:30 #29122 by JKIJ
Replied by JKIJ on topic Writing: Master plan vs controlled chaos
I wish I was able to have a master plan that I could write out and stick to, but I have never been able to either with fiction or non-fiction. When I write a story I always have a vague outline in my head with a few clear scenes that I want to include and I then flesh out the parts between these scenes as I go. I think this approach helps me get started and to write quickly, especially when I have a deadline to work to, but it doesn't seem to help me at all when I run out of steam. It particularly seems to have been a problem when I've tried to write sequels to my earlier stories "Queen Elizabeth the Great" and "Three Superwomen on Multiple Earths". With both of them I've got started on second parts but hten I've hit a wall. This is particularly true with Queen Elizabeth where I've written the quiet initial scene that I had in mind but I've had no luck reaching the action packed scenes that I wanted. Perhaps I've been too ambitious with what I wanted to get into the stories.

Hopefully I will have more luck when I try to write the prequel to my workshop story, tentatively titled "A Healer's Origin", especially as the main scene is very clear in my mind. When I've done that I might try going back to my unfinished business, perhaps trying The Highlander's method of writing the scenes as they come and connecting them later.

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22 Oct 2012 09:11 #29138 by njae
Replied by njae on topic Writing: Master plan vs controlled chaos

In my writing I've always been influenced by my experience as a Game Master, usually I tend to establish a beginning, a end and a serie of scenes in the middle that I want to include. After that I try to figure out what my characters will do and try to progress the story staying true to their personalities.
Overall this approach works decently for short stories, but I think that longer narratives requires some preparation, simply becuase I've seen too many great authors and great stories stopping because they wrote themselves into a corner.


Ignoring the Game Master part, this is similar how I did it so far. I noticed that by trying to stay true to the characters, they sometimes act differently from what I've had in mind before. Or I get second thoughts about letting the character suffer more than necessary. Feedback can also shift the focus between different installments especially when certain characters or events are better received than originally intended.

Most of my stories have been made up as I go along. When I try to plot things out in advance, I lose interest once I know where the story is going and have a hard time actually writing it.


This sounds quite familiar as well. I have begun a story where I already had the ending thought out including the major events that lead up to it. I even began to write an outline since I already had most of it thought out, but then ran out of steam. Hopefully I can at least find the motivation to finish it so that I can finish the actual story eventually.

Not to mention all the other ideas that only got a short summary either here in the forum or a synopsis in my files, with most potential ignored.

Maybe I should give The Highlander's idea of writing the scenes that pop up in my head as they come and then develop the plot later a try. This should help to give the scenes the descriptions that are needed while bothering with the actual plot leading to it later.

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