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Post by Siana Blackwood on Aug 2, 2015 6:34:15 GMT
The internet is full of writing advice, roadmaps to planning and editing, explanations of why one particular approach is the Greatest Thing Ever and no writer who deviates from it can ever hope to create a readable book...
And we all read these things, because when we're struggling with our own story and some multi-published author is listing all our habits as the worst possible things a writer could do, it seems like following their method is bound to be more successful. Sometimes the advice helps. Sometimes it's a creativity-killing disaster.
Because August is the start of the 'I have a plan! Attack!' challenge and now is the time to think about our most effective way of planning and writing a story, now is also a good time to talk about internet advice on planning and editing. What things have really helped you? What's some of the least helpful advice you've ever read?
(PS - Links would be nice, so we can add more stuff to the Resources board.)
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Post by butterflywings on Oct 1, 2015 22:53:45 GMT
The least helpful for me is the one that says you must be to such&such a point in your book by word # XXX. No source just now. Found a spreadsheet (love spreadsheets, hate this idea) with the plot points that MUST be reached by each WC and went WTF? Does anyone really follow such a tight "script?"
Okay, I'm not organized, sure, but even when I get a little stressed to the point I make an outline I still couldn't do this method. It would drive me crazy. Anyone tried it out?
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Post by Jᴀy V. Aꜱᴛᴇʀ 💀🐍 on Oct 1, 2015 23:11:49 GMT
I'm not sure how this thread fell through the cracks but thanks for resurrecting it butterfly!
Anything that tells me I have to outline beforehand. Character sheets. In fact, anything that tries to impose a format on me before the story is written is not only unhelpful, but promptly kills the idea.
Now that I am two relatively unproductive months into IHAPA, you'd think that I would take a leaf out of my own book, so to speak, and avoid trying to plan beforehand altogether. Not so. Well, that's why I'm putting actual writing in e forefront again this time, even though I still have no plan.
I'm not sure WHICH method that is that imposes plot points by word count, because that kind of sounds like a lot of them. Sounds to me like whoever wrote that had a particular style and genre in mind. Silly thing to do, really. This varies even WITHIN a gnere, let alone trying for universal applicability!
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Post by butterflywings on Oct 2, 2015 1:21:16 GMT
I'm not sure WHICH method that is that imposes plot points by word count, because that kind of sounds like a lot of them. Sounds to me like whoever wrote that had a particular style and genre in mind. Silly thing to do, really. This varies even WITHIN a gnere, let alone trying for universal applicability! I keep reading all about planning and how you'll never publish if you don't know your character's third cousin's favorite chocolate shop or some such and I keep thinking how ridiculous that is. If his/her third cousin even shows up I can invent a chocolate shop at that moment. Why would I need it all planned out beforehand? Don't these over planners enjoy exploring new ideas as they write? Can't they see the joy in taking things as they come? I have a slight pity for structured people. All the rest of the time they just annoy me
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Post by Jᴀy V. Aꜱᴛᴇʀ 💀🐍 on Oct 2, 2015 2:26:14 GMT
If his/her third cousin even shows up I can invent a chocolate shop at that moment. Why would I need it all planned out beforehand? Don't these over planners enjoy exploring new ideas as they write? Can't they see the joy in taking things as they come? I have a slight pity for structured people. All the rest of the time they just annoy me This. So much. On that head, the chocolate shop I come up with on the fly is always so much more awesome and fun to develop than the lame one I'd stuff into the dry outline just to fill the space! Most of the time though, it's not even that I won't outline. It's that I can't. Don't ask me what the first disaster is, let alone the third. I only know what's slightly ahead, and that's quite enough on my plate! I don't know how someone can just sit down and just write the story before they actually write the story. How do they know?
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Post by butterflywings on Oct 2, 2015 2:35:21 GMT
And doesn't all the fun go away if you already know?
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Post by Jᴀy V. Aꜱᴛᴇʀ 💀🐍 on Oct 2, 2015 5:11:54 GMT
Yes. There's nothing like making it up as you go along and seeing it all come together in waysyou never anticipated.
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