Works in progress vs. writing the entire story first?

Okay, I'll come clean. Only once have I worked up an outline for my story and it's a WIP. I'll let you know how it goes. Otherwise, I'm a "fly by the seat of my pants and write by the whim of my muse" type of gal!

 

Personally, I don't think I have the self-control to finish an entire long story before posting it. I'm very impatient when it comes to posting a chapter as soon as I'm done with it.

That being said though, I usually have a basic framework of a story or saga outlined in my head before I begin writing it. It may not be very detailed, but what's most important to me is that the story/saga has a direction and a purpose. Usually, I'll have the basic premise down as well as the climatic ending; the tricky part is the plot lines in between.

As for plot holes, I've run into some minor problems with them, but even if you can't edit the past stuff, it's still possible to think of a way to cover them in a future chapter. The only time I want to go back and edit stuff is usually when I think of a sentence or phrase that inserted into a previous chapter would have made perfect thematic sense.

 

I make a detailed outline, including plot devices, foreshadowing, red herrings, etc. With my current fic "Circle", I've already written the first 6 chapters but I've only posted 2. I take a LONG time to edit. The outline allows me to get where I want to go without straying, but not everything is set in stone when I make that first post.

 

Same here.

 

I don't ever write down an outline, but I know what's going to happen in the story. I've completed one WIP, almost finished with another, and I've barely started two more. Everything I've written is either an epic or a vignette! There's no inbetween here.

I'm not really worried about plot holes as I go back and read over my work rather obsessively. So I'm usually on top of the little details. I look at my stories like a road map...I know that I want to get from Point A to Point B, then on to Point C, etc. But sometimes I'm just not sure of what route I want to take to get there. All my dialogue is created as I'm writing (which may explain why it stinks sometimes) although occasionally a certain phrase will come to mind in advance and I'll try to find a way to work it in.

As far as finishing the work before I post it, well, I'm worried y'all might never see my stories at that rate! I'm an extremely slow writer. The very process of writing, while very enjoyable for me, is HARD! If I get a page done in a day, I'm thrilled. It took me 2 1/2 YEARS to write Sleight of Hand. Hopefully, my readers thought the sometimes very long wait between posts was worth it. I have no intentions of ever abandoning a story, ever. And I think I can stick to that statement.

That being said, with the two WIPs that I've just started, I'm going to try and get a lot more done initally on them before I start to post. I think I had about 8 chapters of SOH done, and it ended up being 28 chapters. I'd like to get these at least half done before I post them, but that probably means you won't see them until Christmas...and I mean Christmas 2006 when I say that!

Oh, to be a speed-writer like MarySue or VaderLVR!!

 

It's called a plot outline. I have four pages of plot outline for The Fallen Shroud on my computer desk right now.

 

I do WIPs, but I always make sure that I have at least 5-6 chapters between the latest post and the "frontier". Also, if I have several storylines, I usually work on each one separately and then decide where to intercut. I don't outline except for parts where such scene changes are very frequent (i.e. during battles).

 

For me, it's all seat-of-my-pants straight-into-the-box go-with-my-muse action. No beta, no outline on paper or electrons, just me, my comp, and the plot bunny. Although, mentally I have an idea of where I want to be, and what I want to do before I post. It makes matters more organic, but also greatly magnifies the effect of DWB. You haven't written fanfiction until you've written an epic by the seat of your pants with almost no prep time. My fics are WIPs until the final curtain drop, and I would not have it any other way.

 

I agree with Zebula Nebula, that's about how I'm writing my fic right now! Yes, I'm tempted to post chapters as I type them, but I wrote several chapters ahead of what I'm currently posting so I'm not pressured into writing too quickly..(This method gives me time to write at my leisure, which isn't much, considering I have a full-time job! )

Entire story? Well, if it's really long, some readers don't have time to sit and read it all, I find my readers like when I post it one segment at a time.

 

With the exception of my flagship fic, all the posts for my fics have been written up a few days prior to the posting. With my flagship, I had half of it written before I even registered to the boards. After i ran out of pre-written, I wrote it up like the others.

I have a word document with info on the fic because it was so long. That was the only way to keep some things straight.

 

I'm a write as you go kinda person, but before i start i have a mental idea of the story. How it's going to start, the main actions, and how its going to end. Everything else i can sort of weave in and out, because sometimes with the original plot line you have to delete subplots, or certian character pairings, or add in other things. I like to let my readers choose some of the stuff that happens in the story, and to do that i can't have the entire story in concrete already. One of the best choices my readers made was whether to give Tahiri a "love interest" and they said yes, and he's became the most popular OC i've had. He's garnered me 3 Best Oc- male nominations.

Plus i find that if i'm forced to write it all in advanced i never finish it, because i lose interest. With posting as i go, the readers make me want to write more and finish my stories.

However before i ever start posting, i write the first 10-15 posts in advanced i have the the basic plot laid out in my head. I also have a character sheet which lists all the important characters info: their names, ages, gender, species, family, weapons/ships, hair color, eye color, height, home planet, and any other information important to my story. That way if i ever forget a minor detail about a charcter i have something to reference. I can't tell you how many times in my first story i forgot the color of Tahiri's eyes, or Jacen's lightsbaer.

 

Let's just say that every time I post a new story, I tell myself that next time, next time, I'm going to write up the entire story and edit it before one word gets posted. And what do I do? I go ahead, write up the first post, and bam! I post it. Then, I have to coax the rest of the story out of the void.

And it can be a looming void indeed.

I guess that was my way of saying that writing all of the story first is preferable, but that I can't seem to do it. Partly that's because I write so slowly. Slowest writer in the world here. I can't seem to wait.

Right now, I have two stories in progress on the boards, and both are being written by the seat of my pants, where I hope I can get to the end, and feel obligated to do so by the very fact that I have put them out in a public place. That pressure is another reason why I need to do what I keep saying I will, next time. I will say that finally, I'm posting with the next post half ready. Progress.

Another thing I need to stop doing is post at 2:19 or so in the morning, when I am awake, but can only do basic things like skip from one web page to another. Oh well.

 

I can relate to you Pandora26. Usually I'll get an idea, my muse just pops on in and I'm inspired, I'll write one chapter, maybe two and then post and realize 'I don't know where this is going to go.' I currently have one WIP that is not going anywhere, just complete randomness and I'm thinking about pulling it off from the net and polishing up a bit before reposting it.
It's all about inspirition, what inspires you to write and sometimes, that's not always there and it can be so frustrating aka Writer's Block. The Dreaded.
I am going to write up a full story, outline and all for my next story I have decided but really, sometimes its not as fun as the sporadic randomness of one post.
What ever works, everybody's different and as long as you have fun with it, that's all that matters!

 

I usually have an end in mind, though I have found that sometimes the characters take me to an ending I did not anticipate. kayladie97 - just remember I'm still making up for the ten years when I didn't write a single word as far as creative writing. So I'm about about year 6 of the drought!

 

Wow! This was a really good idea- its great to see how different people are going about this. Being new to ff writing, I can really appreciate all your lovely words of wisdom

My first lil snapshot was posted on the board, when I didn't have the patience to keep it to myself, and I've gotta say, the responses weren't like anything I expected. They were wonderfully encouraging and very supportive- so I can see why so many authors write for their audiences, since, after that wonderful feedback, I went on an inspiration high and came out with three fully grown bunnies, and now I've no idea how I'm gonna keep them all fed and watered!

Right now, even though responses to that particular snapshot are sporadic, and I don't really expect anything else, having a wonderful master full of encouraging ideas(Master mine I do hope your ears are burning ) has really made an enormous difference!

But still, I gotta ask, how do all you authors with multiple fics in the works deal with it? Does some impetous die off, how do you divide your time? Do share!

 

There was only one story I completely wrote out before I posted it. I like dong it one post at a time; it's just more fun for me.

I sometimes notice plot holes, and things that don't add up, but unless someone points it out I usually don't bother to fix it, because it's never anything big. And my stories get pretty long, so usually no one notices.

 

Well, my other long WIP actually started as a reaction to frustration with Sleight of Hand. I was stuck on a scene that I just couldn't seem to get through, and I thought "To heck with it, I'm gonna write a totally unrelated smut scene with Luke and Mara." And then it somehow grew into a real fic. I'm still not sure how that happened!

So then I had not one, but TWO WIP's that readers were asking for updates in constantly! What I usually do is write on one for a little while, and when I feel like I'm losing the momentum on it, I just switch over to the other one and try to write some on it.

 

I have two WIPs going on right now, and they're different enough in theme and character (they're both OC fics) that I don't experience bleed-over. Actually, as I finish a chapter in one, I'm ready to play with the other for a change of pace. And that's how I do it - I "leapfrog" the updates. First TDF, then StP, then TDF, etc etc. So far, so good .

 

There are WAY too many fics out there, unfinished. It drives me crazy.

I agree, it's hard not to post as you write. Especially, I think, for beginners. I started before I knew anything like this (or ff.net) was even around. Then you want serious feed back. I got it by reading what I'd written to a friend, who was also writing fan fiction. Then I wrote a lot (like two boxes of stuff, all hand written) with no feedback, and so learned to work it out that way (and when something wasn't going to work).

I'm glad I found this thread. It's been bugging me a lot lately. Not entirely sure why. Sorry about the rant.

Just Jill

 

WIP does have one extra advantage, I guess (and yes, I'm trying one... which is an exercise in tolerance for me, because I'm the one who goes through my old fics and sees a typo and goes "GAH! Must edit!"). And that's motivation to write. I've gone through spells where I'll just sit and sit and not write much, but when someone's expecting me to, then I'm more likely to get it done.

 

I think it also depends on what's your interest or favorite 'ship at the moment. Not even a year ago, (it was more than that), I was a Jag and Jaina 'shipper but after I decided that I wanted to focus more of my time and energy on writing and reading Saga fics, I stopped being a J/J 'shipper and eventually, put my current j/j series on hold. But every once in awhile, if I have an idea for a chapter there, I type it up as soon as I can.

So, I wouldn't say that I abandon them. They're put on hold until I have the time or inspiration to come back to them. Inspiration comes and goes quickly. You can't force yourself to write something when you know you don't have the inspiration to write.

That's another factor to consider when writing "works in progress".

~aeryn

 

I keep some notes of an outline of the story, but mostly its stuck in my head, batting all other thoughts and ideas away like it was trigger happy. And with it all in my head, worked out, and a bit on paper as notes...I write the chapters and begin posting. But I am always three chapters ahead of what I post. I like the comfort zone, so I have another chapter to post if it's taking too long for me to get another chapter written.

 

It does get quite annoying. It usually takes alot of urging and pushing on the reviewers part to get the writer to keep going, and sometimes is doesn't always work.
That's why if you write only for reviews, you won't get very far, because that motivation doesn't really last very long for some people--not all of course.

As for a WIP or a whole story...well I do both, I have a million WIP's which are always so fun because they can always go to some many different places. The entire story is a fun experience too becasue you can revise, revise, revise before you submit it. A good tool for self-critcism! (and catching those silly spelling mistakes)

So really, I just like both! I'm so ambiguous...

 

I'm definitely that way, except for the gal part, on which I'll have to break from you. "I am a man! I am a manly man!"

Quotes from AIDW are always great to use.

 

I'm a WIP in progress kinda' girl, myself. I begin writing and the only thing I do know about the story is what I want to happen in the end. That way I don't have to re-write stuff, because all I had planned was the end. It's worked good for me so far. I don't think I do too badly... I hate to sound like Barney here, but...every writer is different. Different ways of wtiting work for different people, you know?