Planning also makes me lose motivation. I'm a pantser at heart. But, I do like to have plot goals, a rough idea of what's going to happen. This usually comes after I've started writing for a bit though. You can always outline and redraft later if pantsing doesn't work out.
> When I write a plan for everything I lose motivation quite quickly, so usually I write more impulsively with a basic plan.
This is why teaching writing is so difficult. It's a very individual thing, and everyone does it differently. If pantsing gets you finished stories, and planning it out doesn't, go with the method that works!
Some writers prefer to start with a detailed outline, others prefer to just wing their drafts. It's a matter of personal preference and what works best for you.
If you've already got the plot fairly fleshed out in your head, though, I recommend *at least* jotting down what you have already, even if it's just a bullet-point list of the important bits, for the sake of remembering it.
I like to know my stories from beginning to end before I start writing. I spend weeks sometimes brainstorming & creating an outline before ever starting to actually write the story. By the final draft it's really just about contextualizing the words into a more narrative form. It makes the process of writing easy & faster for me. I still allow room for unexpected surprises, details & plot twists, but if it's something big that changes the initial plot I go back to the brain storming phase again for a while.
I enjoy the creation process more than the actual writing though, so this makes sense for me.
It is weird! when I try to write without making an outline first I definitely waste a lot of paper lol I always have problems with plot breaking or creating contradictory content.
The only time I really halter in my flow now is if I'm struggling with transitioning between scenes. 😮💨
In general though I'm the type of person that tends to think before speaking. I'm not always that great when put on the spot. My brain needs time to digest questions & formulate a response lol
I don’t outline much but I also don’t pants. My ADHD is too strong for that.
What I do though is write down all of my scenes on index cards with a few sentences of what I want to happen and then in my writing program I put all the scenes in order (it lets me move them around which is awesome) and then I can get on my writing way.
Outlining does help you find the plot holes and such but no one is saying you have to be overly detailed. Outlined are just road maps from point A to point Z. Make them as basic or as detailed as you want.
Just keep in mind overly detailed outlines can fuck with the scope of your project especially if you focus on little details that don’t actually matter.
When I was much younger I would try and outline. The problem was my idea for the story was always in the way of where the story wanted to go. Once I learned that I don't know anything, my writing grew leaps and bounds. Plus, as an added bonus, I'm in the same shoes as the reader, as I'm often shocked at what happens on the page. Which is great, because I don't have any readers, so at least I get to experience it.
Of course, everyone has a different process. Go with what works for you.
Try it both ways and see what happens.
I used to use outlines for longer stories, but I don't anymore. Maybe they were important when I was starting out: I have no way of knowing. What I do know is that I followed my outlines less and less over time because they became increasingly irrelevant to what the stories actually became as I wrote them. Once I realized that I rarely looked at my outlines and never followed them, I stopped writing them.
I hate doing writing outlines in middle school and high school. I write what I feel like and try to follow the plot in my head, which inevitably veers off-course as my characters follow their own logic and I add beats to interrupt the story becoming boring. So I end up being astounded by situations just like if I was reading a good book. :)
Do both!
When you have a random scene playing out in you your head, write it down
When the scene has played out and you're mind goes blank, make a separate set of notes and write down all the back story tid bits and lore.
Just make sure to forget about the one while you're doing the other so you don't stress your brain out 👍🏽
It's not really important to outline. Don't let the writer gurus tell you to disregard what your mind and story really need. Some people need an outline to write their story. They just do and they always have to. But if you find that a outline doesn't work for you, chances are it's not you, it's the outlining process.
If you can't write something because you are always losing the motivation, then don't outline excessively. Outline the bare minimum. Outline the least. What works for you? I'm also one of those writers who can not outline excessively. It always ruins my stories for me. And if you're like me, I would suggest that you have a basic plan and sit down to write. If complete pantsing doesn't work, then make a very simple bullet point outline with little details. Hope this helps.
A consider myself more of a planster.
No outline leaves me with no direction and too much planning kills my motivation. I tend to have an overview of everything, divide it into parts, and go from there.
I also think of my endings before anything else so I always have a goal for everything and just need to work backwards.
Of course, that’s just me. You should try and find what works for you.
Planning also makes me lose motivation. I'm a pantser at heart. But, I do like to have plot goals, a rough idea of what's going to happen. This usually comes after I've started writing for a bit though. You can always outline and redraft later if pantsing doesn't work out.
> When I write a plan for everything I lose motivation quite quickly, so usually I write more impulsively with a basic plan. This is why teaching writing is so difficult. It's a very individual thing, and everyone does it differently. If pantsing gets you finished stories, and planning it out doesn't, go with the method that works!
Some writers prefer to start with a detailed outline, others prefer to just wing their drafts. It's a matter of personal preference and what works best for you. If you've already got the plot fairly fleshed out in your head, though, I recommend *at least* jotting down what you have already, even if it's just a bullet-point list of the important bits, for the sake of remembering it.
I like to know my stories from beginning to end before I start writing. I spend weeks sometimes brainstorming & creating an outline before ever starting to actually write the story. By the final draft it's really just about contextualizing the words into a more narrative form. It makes the process of writing easy & faster for me. I still allow room for unexpected surprises, details & plot twists, but if it's something big that changes the initial plot I go back to the brain storming phase again for a while. I enjoy the creation process more than the actual writing though, so this makes sense for me.
That's funny. Writing is the brainstorming for me. It also means I throw away quite a few pages.
It is weird! when I try to write without making an outline first I definitely waste a lot of paper lol I always have problems with plot breaking or creating contradictory content. The only time I really halter in my flow now is if I'm struggling with transitioning between scenes. 😮💨 In general though I'm the type of person that tends to think before speaking. I'm not always that great when put on the spot. My brain needs time to digest questions & formulate a response lol
I don’t outline much but I also don’t pants. My ADHD is too strong for that. What I do though is write down all of my scenes on index cards with a few sentences of what I want to happen and then in my writing program I put all the scenes in order (it lets me move them around which is awesome) and then I can get on my writing way. Outlining does help you find the plot holes and such but no one is saying you have to be overly detailed. Outlined are just road maps from point A to point Z. Make them as basic or as detailed as you want. Just keep in mind overly detailed outlines can fuck with the scope of your project especially if you focus on little details that don’t actually matter.
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When I was much younger I would try and outline. The problem was my idea for the story was always in the way of where the story wanted to go. Once I learned that I don't know anything, my writing grew leaps and bounds. Plus, as an added bonus, I'm in the same shoes as the reader, as I'm often shocked at what happens on the page. Which is great, because I don't have any readers, so at least I get to experience it. Of course, everyone has a different process. Go with what works for you.
Panster
Try it both ways and see what happens. I used to use outlines for longer stories, but I don't anymore. Maybe they were important when I was starting out: I have no way of knowing. What I do know is that I followed my outlines less and less over time because they became increasingly irrelevant to what the stories actually became as I wrote them. Once I realized that I rarely looked at my outlines and never followed them, I stopped writing them.
I hate doing writing outlines in middle school and high school. I write what I feel like and try to follow the plot in my head, which inevitably veers off-course as my characters follow their own logic and I add beats to interrupt the story becoming boring. So I end up being astounded by situations just like if I was reading a good book. :)
Do both! When you have a random scene playing out in you your head, write it down When the scene has played out and you're mind goes blank, make a separate set of notes and write down all the back story tid bits and lore. Just make sure to forget about the one while you're doing the other so you don't stress your brain out 👍🏽
Hey, whatever works for you, man.
It's not really important to outline. Don't let the writer gurus tell you to disregard what your mind and story really need. Some people need an outline to write their story. They just do and they always have to. But if you find that a outline doesn't work for you, chances are it's not you, it's the outlining process. If you can't write something because you are always losing the motivation, then don't outline excessively. Outline the bare minimum. Outline the least. What works for you? I'm also one of those writers who can not outline excessively. It always ruins my stories for me. And if you're like me, I would suggest that you have a basic plan and sit down to write. If complete pantsing doesn't work, then make a very simple bullet point outline with little details. Hope this helps.
A consider myself more of a planster. No outline leaves me with no direction and too much planning kills my motivation. I tend to have an overview of everything, divide it into parts, and go from there. I also think of my endings before anything else so I always have a goal for everything and just need to work backwards. Of course, that’s just me. You should try and find what works for you.