#plantsing
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Stephanie O’Brien:
One of the best feelings in writing is when your own story pleasantly surprises you, and not everyone is willing to sacrifice that feeling on the altar of a strict outline. I know I’m not.
That’s why I’ve started to use a hybrid of the two approaches.
If you want to have the clarity and coherence of an outline, while keeping the spontaneity that “pantsing” provides, maybe you’ll find it helpful to see how I combine outlining with flying by the seat of my pants.
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Happy STS!
Do you consider yourself a plotter, a planner, or a planster? Would you mind describing your plotting/organizational process?
hello and how are you?
Happy Storyteller Saturday! Thank you for the ask! c:
We are definitely a planster, unfortunately fortunately. (≧∇≦)/
We definitely wish we were more of a plotter, but tend to shift towards planning/pantsing it, especially with our draft style, which is more just scene drafting and then slowly connecting them together!
Our process has definitely come a long way, but we have to thank our person for our amazing and honestly super helpful current plotting process! And we of course would love to share it!
The basics of the process is having categories that you can bleed the idea into, in whichever way you want to! We kind of set up our intro posts in this way too!
But the order of the categories are as followed, and we normally give each their own little document in Scrivener for each! We will show a folder of one of our WIPs to show you too. ^-^
Order of Categories:
Initial Concept ~ the original idea, no matter what form it takes!
World ~ the geography, mostly
Magicks ~ The Storyverse's version of magic, involved in the World
Societies ~ The Entities that hold the most sway in the Lands
Characters ~ Everyone who is involved in the Stories
Random Lore ~ Things that would be nice to hint at in the story
Ramblings ~ Things that help our brain focus, mostly talks with friends, mutuals, and of course, our person
Outline ~ The flow of the story, in the form of small sentences in our case
Random Writings ~ A folder instead of a Document, where we put all of the scene drafting that we do in the story, without worrying about connecting them just yet - that is for the Official Draft!
photo shows the categories and how we set them up in Scrivener! c:
If you want to learn more, or if anyone else is interested in things, feel free to ask more! We don't mind sharing it, and this kind of set up has helped us a lot with our plotting and planning and things! Also, it is a nice set up to keep everything in one place while also organized among themselves.
#storyteller saturday#sts#asks#Runes of Knowledge#planning#plotting#plantsing#organization#the method of our madness c:
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Today seems like a good day to make an exhaustive list of future plot points in one of my journals.
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over 1k on itd chapter two! steady progress.
the concept for this fic is to be something that challenges me to think outside my normal writing style and really work with every word to construct the image/vibes i'm going for. it's definitely going to be a quality > quantity thing, so i can't promise weekly updates. what i CAN promise, though, is that when the updates come, it will always be writing that i'm proud of and that feels innovative to me in some way.
#making these posts helps me measure progress/hold myself accountable#i'm sort of plantsing (mixture of plotting and pants-ing) this#because when I plot too much I lose the motivation to write#but when I fly by the seat of my pants for the entire time and have no sense of where the plot is going I hit endless writer's block#anya shush#writing update#writing woes
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Thought to myself, "Maybe I should write the future chapter I really want to write because it's going to happen later in the fic than I originally anticipated."
Then I immediately countered with: "I know you. You write that chapter, you're going to be beside yourself with impatience to publish that chapter."
Writing is not the ideal hobby when your ADHD brain wants instant gratification, but you know, sometimes the hobby chooses you.
#personal#i've been plantsing this fic#planning and pantsing that is#there is a plan but i haven't been good about writing a complete proper outline#i outline by chapter lmao
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Statement of intent Nov. 2k23!
\o/ Woop wooop
I'll be tagging any subsequent Wrimo-ing posts with 'Goose's wrimo tag', and / or just 'NaNoWriMo' (/that with '2023'), for reference purposes.
Haven't actually fully decided what my project is going to be this year! I'm between two atm. Both of them would be fantasy stories & continuations of previous years' either way.
One's an original story about a merchant captain & co. on an adventure to find a comet, as you do,, and trying to avoid the three or so other groups trying to get to it first,, as one does
The other's an aged dragon's fanfic AU that's set between the second & third game, centered on Justice after incidents happen that split up (if not like 200% untangle) Anders. Justice inhabits a comatose elf woman's body by complete accident (profane magic, it comes up), runs into Hawke, and overall has a time and a half trying to sort out all of that,, shit. Again as you do
Vote now on your phones
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I regret to inform you all that I have outlined DIWF again
#or more accurately#I rewrote my existing outline in a fun new program#which let me write new nonsense#I outline a LOT for someone who is plantsing#and who's outline drops off somewhere around the third act#LT talks#diwf#outline game
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MAN FUCK THESE PLANETS!!
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How do I start a story? I find that the first page is always the hardest to write, because I just don’t know how to introduce whatever it is I’m thinking. Or what I should be introducing in the first place.
Not Sure How to Start a Story
Starting a story happens in one of three ways:
Wing it, wring it, or a little of both.
Winging It (AKA "Pantsing") - Winging or "pantsing" a story means that you sit down and start writing with only what's in your head. For some that can mean knowing everything that's going to happen from beginning to end, for others it can mean just having a vague idea or story goal. In either case, there are two non-negotiable requirements for successfully winging a story... at least a good one: 1) You need to be SUPER motivated by the idea. 2) You need to understand how stories work. The majority of writers aren't "pantsers" meaning that they can't sit down and successfully write a good story without some level of planning.
Wringing It (AKA "Planning") - Wringing (as in wringing out) or planning a story means that you start with an idea--either one that already popped into your head, or one that you searched out--and you spend a lot of time fleshing that idea out into a story. "Planning" a story means different things to different writers, but usually it requires a lot of brainstorming, planning the story's structure, world building, character design, research, and plotting out what needs to happen in the story. It can sometimes even mean spending time to learning about plot and story structure, as well as other storytelling mechanics. Planners sometimes need only beginning to end summary of their story, but many like to use scene lists, timelines, mood boards, scene cards, chapter summaries... really planning tool that works for them. Figuring out your story's events from beginning to end is called "plotting" or sometimes "outlining." Most newer writers do best as planners.
A Little of Both (AKA "Plantsing") - Most writers are "plantsers," especially once they've gotten the experience of completing a few stories. Plantsers may spend time brainstorming and fleshing things out, may even write out a summary or scene list, but since they fully understand how stories work, it's easier for them to write a story without having every detail planned out.
Why You're Struggling to Write the First Page
The reason you're struggling to write the first page is because you don't have what you need to wing it. You're not a "pantser," at least not yet. This is most likely due to not understanding how stories work, or it could be that you just aren't inspired enough by this idea for it to draw out naturally as you write. In either case, you need to take a step back and spend some time planning out this story.
Here are some posts to help:
Beginning a New Story
How to Move a Story Forward
Guide: How to Turn Ideas into a Story
Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories
Understanding Goals and Conflict
Basic Story Structure
Guide: How to Outline a Plot
Scene Lists
Best of luck with your story! ♥
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How to Finish Your 1st Draft (underrated tips!)
instagram: @ grace_should_write
Hey y’all :) Thought I’d revisit this topic because I have been writing later drafts and revision for the last 2 years—the last time I first-drafted was literally in 2020. I started first-drafting again late last year, and am still doing so this year.
I’m still rediscovering my plotting/plantsing process, and thought that a refresher would help me, too. I hope you find this post somewhat useful (and that these tips aren’t just for delusional people like me)!
∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘
1. Find your dedication
The dedication is so, SO underrated—many people think of it as just something you slap on after you’re finished the book, but I like to see it as also one more reason why you’re writing it.
Maybe you wrote a book featuring a found family group of kids from slums because you yourself grew up in those conditions, or you know/sympathize with people who did. Making sure that readers facing a similar situation will feel uplifted when they experience your book could be something that motivates you to finish.
For example, my working dedication for my current WIP goes something like this:
To anyone who has yearned for more and failed—all the part-idealist, part-pragmatist, ambitious, “average” kids who will “never amount to anything more,” I’m betting on you. Keep burning those dreams for fuel.
Cling onto them whenever you feel like you will become anything but great. Until you stop betting on yourself, it’s not over.
As someone whose often struggled to fulfil my own visions, despite having a grand plan for my own future, I—like anyone else—have encountered lots of obstacles and learned to survive on my own. We’ve all learned resilience.
This dedication reminds me who I’m writing for: myself, and anyone else who identifies with it. I hope that my book can inspire readers on the cusp of giving up. I hope this book can provide readers on their sigma male grindset with a thrilling rush that spurs them on even more.
Whenever I feel unmotivated, this is where I go. And, for the most part, it works!
(Of course, you can treat your dedication as a “work” of its own. Feel free to keep revising it and editing it until you’re happy with it)
2. Look at fan art
It can’t just be me who looks at fan art and gets inspired by specific poses or scenes and then adds those scenes into my book. Come on.
Pretty straightforward. Just search up “fan art for _____,” fan art for a specific fandom you’re into, or even “character scene/pose ideas” on Google or Pinterest.
Personally, I like doing this more than browsing those “book idea” posts that are followed with actual text explaining the idea—looking at art with little to no text can force you to do the work in describing the scene, pose, or character expression.
These scenes tend to help you be specific, creating memorable scenes for your readers. Examples of inspiration I’ve taken from fanart is:
A firework kiss scene
“I got your back!” type trope, where two or more characters fight back to back. IN THE RAIN!
Gunfights!
One character running away while slinging the other across their shoulder
Characters having fun at a festival while wearing flower garlands
When you’re writing, this can motivate you to get to X scene faster, or to finish your book faster so readers can see your characters doing X thing. At least, works for me!
3. Find ONE specific writing buddy
Yes, the writing community is GREAT. But, it can feel a bit detached if you’re always only sharing progress with your large group of followers, instead of someone who knows your WIP inside out.
Find one person or a small group of specific people. Tell each other EVERYTHING about your WIPs. This will feel a lot more personal, and specificity can also help you finish your book faster when they tell you to “finish writing this chapter to get to this scene!”, or when they hold you accountable to a group writing goal.
You can also all form a group chat with daily progress motivation and trackers. Personally, NaNoWriMo forums are great for finding people to just overshare your WIP with and motivate each other.
This way, you guys could also peer review your works periodically. Having another set of eyes on your draft—even when it’s not finished—could give you lots of ideas and guidance on plot direction, characterization, prose, etc.
4. Braindump while listening to a song / playlist
Write to the vibes. Literally just that.
Are there any songs/playlists that really resonate with you or your WIP? Just play it, maybe even on loop, and type ANY ideas from prose to dialogue to scene ideas and themes.
It could literally just look something like this (there is some purposefully bad writing just for this example):
Listening to: [title of your song or playlist]
A: Never thought I’d see you again. B: I know you missed me. *sneer* (Dialogue snippet)
omg they bump into each other on the street and she spills her beer on him and her best friend senses the chemistry (Scene idea)
rivals to lovers (Trope idea)
SILK DRESS. FANCY CLOTHES. YES. (Character design idea)
overcoming your greatest fear!!!!! (Theme idea)
It’s that easy. You got this, soldier.
∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘
I HOPE THIS HELPED ANYONE!!! Writing this definitely helped me LOL
Let me know if you have any questions through responses, re-blogging, or DMing me at @ grace_should_write on IG.
Happy writing, and have a great day!
- grace <3
#writers on tumblr#writing#writer#booktok#Novel#writeblr#Wattpad#writerslife#novel writing#Writing tips#writergram#ya fantasy#young adult#YA Books#Character Design#characters#oc#writing a book#fantasy
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Strange as it may sound, I’ve found that outlining only a few chapters ahead in my work gives me motivation to continue. I have a general sense of what will occur in those chapters, but where they will lead is left open.
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Maybe the trick is to come up with the meta after I start writing. After failing to finish so many started stories, I got in the habit of having an outline and characters and themes before I started a story. But the stories I've finished lately have been much more spur-of-the-moment. I'll have a basic idea for what I want to happen in the story, start writing, and then start digging deeper as the stuff I write gives me new ideas about how the story should go and what the story means.
This means the writing process is a continuation of the fun brainstorming process, rather than a frustrating failure to live up to the cool story I came up with during the brainstorming process. I don't have to try to fit in all the cool foreshadowing and set up character traits or whatever. I can just write and have fun watching the story grow. It's not outlining or discovery writing or even "plantsing". It's just trusting that I know how to shape a story and letting myself have fun doing it. By letting the ideas take shape with the writing rather than coming up with too much cool stuff before.
#adventures in writing#anyway the 12dp retelling is going great#anytime i actually sit down to write it i have fun#because i'm not worrying about whether i've got good characters or whatever#because i'll figure them out as i go#and i can come back for the foreshadowing later#i know this is all basic writing advice but also one of those things where you have to learn for yourself what it feels like#so you can recognize it when it happens#as the great cheap trick put it#you've gotta hold on loosely but don't let go#if you cling too tightly you're gonna lose control
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chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ december 2022
posting this one a little early as i'll be posting my writing year in review post on the 31st!
☆ STATISTICS.
words written: 11 936
projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue; The Gemini Heist (or, The WIP Formerly Known As "Secret Space WIP")
proudest accomplishment: idk i feel like this has been one of my best writing months in a while. i just feel it in my heart of hearts
books read: Discordia by Kristyn Merbeth
☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.
so i've been pretty MIA these past few weeks :/ i just started a new full time job which is quite physical and while i am enjoying it immensely, i'm usually tired at the end of the day to come on writeblr.
BUT somehow i've still been finding time to write! lots of fun things are happening in the chaynematic universe.
i've also been drawing quite a bit too! i'm really challenging myself to draw out of my comfort zone (which really just means drawing backgrounds that are more than a shape or a gradient, welp). currently working on a piece for my new wip which is... taking way longer than i would like 😅
reading comments: Discordia (which is the final book in this space opera trilogy i've been reading over the last few months) was good, not great, and the ending felt a little anticlimatic, but i can understand why it ended the way it did. a solid 4/5 stars because i still had a good time. anyways if you like Chay Stories, i recommend this trilogy! it's far from perfect and a little rough around the edge but it's still fun and enjoyable and hits all the right elements i personally love! (sibling drama in space! funky alien tech! bisexuals, plural!!!!!)
more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.
☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)
i tend to work on this one when i don't have the brainpower to think too much, as a lot of it is just polishing or expanding on things that are already written.
i did add some new scenes that i hope will add more meat to the story. one is a phone call Azami witnesses between her father and some other politician, which is meant to add some political backdrop to the conflict between the planets. the other is a scene where Azami tries to run away before being placed on the expedition, but gets caught by her brother Ansel, as i wanted Azami to be more active in trying to shape her fate from the very get-go, and also give her and Ansel more scenes together. i haven't quite finished the latter one yet though because i haven't had the braincells to write any completely new scenes for this wip lately.
i also really reworked an exposition-heavy chapter where Petra gets the rundown of the expedition, and the scene right before they leave when they're given a tour of the ship to make it less clunky, sprinkling description of the ship into the team's actions as they get settled in instead of throwing a big wall of description at you.
so as of now a good chunk of act 1 is already rewritten!
however i do think in the second half of the month the steam for AR (which was all momentum from finishing AR3) has cooled down a bit and my mind has shifted elsewhere. which brings me to my next section...
☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (outlining / draft... 0.5?)
in case you missed it: i have a new wip !!! (technically it's not new because i've been secretly working on it sporadically since spring, but it's new to most of you.) i'm having a ball writing about these awful gay women doing crime in space!!! i really missed that New WIP High haha. i feel like a kid in a sandbox.
i realized partway through the first act that the way i was writing AR wouldn't work for GH. because it's a heist i'll have to plan thigns more than i did with AR... but having a too-detailed outline feels too restricting. so instead i'm attempting to fast draft this thing so i can get a fuller picture of where i'm going, but still be able to plants this draft which seems to be the way that works best for me. (probably because you can't spell plantsing without plants.)
except that i'm really bad at not getting caught up in details while drafting, especially when writing dialogue-- these guys always end up talking and talking way more than i intend lmao. so i'm calling this more of a draft 0.5, where some parts will be more detailed but others will... not. i've pretty much skipped all description or non-essential worldbuilding. that's a problem for Future Chay.
☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.
this is from gemini heist chapter 4, where Leo is trying to convince Illiana to help them, and Euna and Gabi are... not exactly helping.
Illiana’s chest tightened. She took a deep breath. “How do I even know I can trust you? You’re a criminal, aren’t you? Why wouldn’t you take the money and leave once I’ve given you what you want?”
Leo leaned back in her chair. “I’m an honest criminal, Heir,” she began.
The shorter, chubbier of the two minions spoke for the first time, muttering under her breath, “I’m pretty sure ‘honest criminal’ is an oxymoron, actually.”
The taller, muscular one reached over and gave the short one a little smack on the arm. “I don’t think the Captain appreciates you calling her a moron, Gabi,” she scolded.
Leo’s overall expression didn’t change, but Illiana didn’t miss the exasperation briefly flashing through her eyes.
Leo, to Euna and Gabi: i have total faith in you guys
Leo, to herself: there's like a 30% chance they both die
☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.
general taglist:
@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre
andromeda taglist:
@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @chaylattes @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa
gemini heist taglist:
@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer
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8 and 20 for the ask meme!
8. What unexpected character captured your attention as you wrote?
As you can probably guess... Xunfeng! Babygirl went from nearly being cut out of my minibang fic to being Changheng's boyfriend, which fuelled an idea for a future fic centred around them. It never would've happened had I not felt bad about leaving Xunfeng out, being DFQC's brother and all. But I really couldn't find a place in the plot for him, and I sometimes tend to gloss over him in my other fics unless he's plot-necessary. But no more! He's my baby now.
20. What's something you learned about yourself while writing for LBFaD?
Hmm, I think that I work best with an outline. I used to do a mix of plotting and pantsing (plantsing if you will) in my previous fandoms, but my ideas for LBFaD tend to be... long. So I really need a detailed outline to function! I can't wing it!
Thank you for the ask!! 🥰
LBFAD fic writers ask meme
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For thoughts on how the Pokemon world works, what do you think about microscopic creatures in this world, like a Pokemon equivalent of an amoeba or tardigrade?
Mostly the same as our world, though I'd imagine that there might be a few new species. Keep in mind that Pokemon only replace what would normally be the animalia kingdom:
Pokemon can resemble or originate from things from other kingdoms, but those kingdoms still exist. So you have regular trees (plantse) in the Pokemon universe, and then you have tree Pokemon like Trevenant or Shiftry. Likewise, you can have virus and cell Pokemon (Deoxys, Solosis) that are still in that Pokemia kingdom while also having regular viruses, cells, and other microscopic creatures.
#pokemon phylogeny is probably a mess but that's beside the point#pokemon#pokemon headcanons#pokemon worldbuilding#outdesign has headcanons
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Philosophy of a Knife, 9?
Thanks Parker!!! Here goes -
9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?
Kind of! I'm sort of 'plantsing' it in the way that I have the whole thing planned out but I'm writing the details as they come to me, and in the original draft Bakura was much more of a manipulating factor in Ryou's corruption but ultimately I decided to scrap that and give Ryou some agency in his own downfall, which I think makes Bakura's role in the whole thing more interesting. Additionally, I had a potential "good end" and a potential "bad end" planned out, and ultimately, the ending will have elements of both. No spoilers, but Ryou's going to get the ending he deserves.
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