Planning the First Draft
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When it comes to novel writing, I've never been one to
meticulously plan things. I know there are a lot of different methods out
there, and I have looked over some, but most of them go right over my head. I'm
not a terribly methodical person; I tend to go more by feeling when it comes to
writing. I usually just dive right in and see where the story takes me. But
I've slowly been trying to plan more when it comes to writing, especially the
first draft.
Now that I'm beginning the first draft of a new novel, I'm
trying to plan how I want this book to go. Everything is very basic and bare
bones at the moment, but I want to at least have the general plot for the book
down before I start writing it. So I'm listing the things that I know I want to
happen in this book before I dive right in. Since this novel is a sequel, that
involves resolving things that were left open in the first novel, bringing in
new characters to shake things up a little, etc...
I know there are some people that plan each chapter of
their book, write bios for all major characters, descriptions of all locations,
etc... And I just can't do that. I get antsy and just want to dive right in and
start telling a story. But planning out a few simple things, some of the major
points of the story that I know I want to happen and the general outline of the
story, I can handle.
Maybe I'm wrong; maybe I should plan more when it comes
to writing. But this is what seems best for me right now.
How do you go about planning first drafts and novels?
-Miranda Atchley
Well, I'm not a writer, but I think that like you, I'd kind of just jump right in. While I like a plan, I also don't want to sit around planning all of the time. Let's get to it and see what happens is the way I think. Hop right in there! Kind of the way I do life! My mom will plan a trip with stops and sites and such. Me? I get in the car and turn the GPS on and go from point A to point B with no side trips! I just want to get it done! ha! I say do what works for you! It is fun to hear about how others do something, but really you gotta do it your way in order to make it work for you :) Don't fit into the mold, branch out, be you! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie! I enjoyed reading what you have to say. Writing is so different for everyone and I think that's a really beautiful thing. Thank you for stopping by today! :)
DeleteI'm following this because I almost never plan anything, and it's almost always a disaster ;O
ReplyDeleteHehe, I'm terrible at planning my writing, too, but little things here and there I can handle.
DeleteI seriously envy the mega planners. Honestly. haha. It is SO not me - which is odd, because I am kind of an anal control neat freak about everything else!
DeleteMe too! I'm always trying to plan other things in my life, but with writing, just like to jump right in. It's weird.
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