• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

The dawning of a story...

Tale

Well-Known Member
Ok. So you have a basic idea in your head, perhaps it's one scenario that could string together nicely with others to form a decent plot, or perhaps its one giant, general plotline that came to you all at once.

What do you do next? Do you write oodles of planning, stretching as far as months, or are you one who dives straight into a chapter, hoping for the plot to unfold as you write?

Just discuss here. (I searched and found no threads like this - feel free to lock if I overlooked a thread).
 

Ryano Ra

Verdant Vitality
I find it a lot easier to plan my Pokemon Fanfictions by writing down the ideas, such as the main events, characters, surroundings, and place in time. For example, while chatting with Burnt Flower one day on the internet, I suddenly just got an idea for two Pokemon Assassins in Medieval Fantasy Times wanting to wipe the little humanity from Earth. It is has been named A Knightly Massacre, and I'm writing down lots and lots of main events that'll happen.

For Exhaled, well, it didn't exactly flow in the same direction. It is pretty rare that I write down my ideas; I usually just being writing the chapter, planning as I progress. But, really, jotting down the ideas and researching before starting the Fanfiction is a lot easier, because it'll move faster, since you know what is going to happen.
 
A

AKEBOSHI

Guest
The beginning of a story or the situation came to me first. Then I started thinking up the end, and whats happens between.

Then I write.
 

purple_drake

E/GL obsessed
Most of the time I plan my story before I start writing it, and constantly tweak the plot once I've begun; but on some occasions, when I can't wait to write, I figure out the beginning with a vague idea of the rest and just start.
 

Seijiro Mafuné

Diogomainardista!
I am stuck on Overdrive mode. Seriously. It's so easy for me to get an idea for a fic that, if I had an endless supply of paper, electricity, life, and pencils, I'd have dozens of novels made.

But I don't have it, so... yeah.
 

Negrek

Lost but Seeking
By the time I'm actually ready to write a 'fic, it's been in my head for weeks or months (there's one that's been hanging out for almost a year now). This is because I write so much slower than I think and construct, so I have a huge 'fic backlog going on. So I'm able to just sit down and write the thing when the time comes, as I have everything I need to get going long since nailed down.
 

Burnt Flower

Horror Mistress
I write my chapters with some planning behind it. For example, I got the idea of Two of a Kind in December of 2002 and posted the first chapter in June 2003. During that time, I wrote every little detail down, even the most insignificant ones and I also wrote the outline of most of my chapters. As a matter of fact, I'm always thinking about new plot points which I write down in my trusty journal.
 

Avenger Angel

Warrior of Heaven
A combination of both, really. For about two weeks, I’ll consider the overall plot, setting and what kind of characters are going to be in the story. Then I begin to plan the beginning events and the ending events as well, but yes, there are moments when I decide to “stray off my own beaten path” and have other things take place that I honestly didn’t intend to have happen during the story’s original creation. It keeps the story interesting and original as you write it, rather than just rehashing exactly what you’ve been planning this entire time without considering other possibilities that could also make your story even better.
 

Praxiteles

Friendly POKéMON.
I usually partly do one and partly the other. I get a vague idea about the main point, and sometimes the ending, and I simply start making the beginning. By the time I've done a bit on the first chapter, I've usually thought of what would happen a bit later, and I add it onto the plot. By the time I'm partly done with what I've planned out, I either edit the rest or think some more, which I add on yet again. I do get ideas that are many chapters away, but I simply put those off in a mental note, and think some more. Thankfully, even though I often get Writers Block, I've never experienced Plot Block in my life, so I eventually have the entire fic planned out in my head, which I slowly get into the plot, and, even more slowly, put down in the form of a chapter. It's rather flimsy, but my brain works no other way, so I can't do anything about it.
 

Dragonfree

Just me
I dive right into it. I can't plan stuff ahead.
 

Luckmage

Boulder Trainer
I usually get some really vivid ideas about what is going to happen at the front and the end of the story...and then I get writer's block. Or at least, lose the whole thing completely. Gets pretty sickening as that happens almost everytime I get a good plot. >.> But, I don't do planning at all. I just "go for it", as they say.
 
S

Sempris

Guest
Meh, I get an idea, grab the nearest sheet of paper, scribble it down, then head for computer. Sometimes I type the plot out there, but most of the time I type it out and then let it sit for a few months before I get back to it with new ideas.
 

Xiang

Well-Known Member
I don't think this was supposed to be bumped.... but for the topic

Unless the idea is awesome, I push it aside. When there's enough for me to type a whole fic, I start typing it right away, plan or no plan. Because my memory is as bad as hell, so I would eventually forget it, which would be very sad. If I can continue, I usually do. Usually the beginning, plot and end hit me first- the meat in the middle is something that slows me down, but I have to do it either way. Along the way, I gain new ideas and add twists and more than what people expect at first- because I do it as I go along to try to get to the end right.
 

whiteabsol

.:Daisy Dancing:.
When I to write my stories, I like to plan them out to advoid writers block when I actually do post them. I used to have a fic but then I deleted it due to the fact that I didn't plan it out and it died X_X This explains why I have only one fanfic out which is shared with Ivymoonrose.
 

PDL

disenchanted
I use a combination

I have a general idea on what should happen, then I iron out the details when I'm writing it down.
 
S

Snazzy Snorlax

Guest
I dive right in. I don't guide my stories- my stories guide me. When I write one day, I have no idea how I'll continue the next. I may think about it a bit, but nothing is concrete. That way, the story is as surprising to me as it is to everyone who's reading it.
 

Astinus

Well-Known Member
I dive in, only to find after a couple of pages that I have not a clue as to what's going on. So I sit back, and decide to write some character notes. Mostly though, I just wander around, waiting for inspiration to strike my pen. I have so many fics going at once, it's best for me to do that, because if I don't have an idea for one, then I have an idea for another.
 

Omega Pirate

shove it up ya bum!
I just get down everything thing that pops into my head, read it and take out the crap bits. I'm writing a fic now and I have no idea whats going to happen next.
 
Top