The shift from plotting every scene in advance to just writing and finding the story as I go

I used to outline every single chapter before I wrote a word. I'd spend like a week planning 3 acts with color-coded note cards (which sounds organized but really just stalled me out). About 2 years ago, I tried writing a short story with zero plan after feeling burned out on outlines. It turned into a messy first draft, sure, but the characters did stuff I never expected and it was way more fun. Now I only sketch a rough ending point and let the middle figure itself out. Has anyone else found their process totally flips after a long writing block?

2 comments

2 Comments

laura_white9920d ago

Yeah that messy first draft thing really clicked for me too (way more fun than planning).

kai60220d ago

idk if anybody else noticed but the messy draft thing only works if you actually keep going and dont judge yourself. i wrote a whole chapter once that was basically just one character crying on a park bench for like 3 pages straight. it was terrible but it got me past a block and i trashed it later. maybe its just me but the "fun" part is knowing you can fix it later.