How do you write?

The question came up in a forum I read.

Do you plot and plan out every part of your book/story, or do you let the story write its self?

How much planning do you put into your work?

At first, when I came up with the idea for Immortalis, I wanted it to be a SciFi piece. I wanted to have a secret military unit testing the effects of vampire blood on mortals to create the ultimate soldier.

Well, that didn't work out.

I tried to plan it out, but the story just didn't work for me. First, I'm not a SciFi person. I'm more a Drama/Fantasy person.

I ended up giving up on the story entirely because I couldn't make myself plan to the end. In short, I got bored with it, and packed the files away.

Fast forward 4ish years. A new idea hit me. I dusted off the old leftover files from my first failed attempt at Immortalis. I scrapped all of the SciFi stuff and kept only a few bits of the original chapters I wrote.

This time, I had no real plan, just an idea. Within 6 months, the first draft was written and I have been polishing and refining it ever since.

So, back to the original question, I guess I would have to say, I just let the story write its self. It works better for me that way. I can't plan to completion, because I cannot be held to any constraints while I write.

So how do you do it?

6 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

I'm a complete pantser. I have ideas for what I want to happen but the story usually morphs as I write. Isn't it fun that way? :-) I like your sci-fi idea though. That sounded really interesting.

Katie Salidas said...

I couldn't get past a few big problems in the SciFi version, so I gave up.

Writing by the seat of my pants works well though. =p

Lynnette Labelle said...

I'm a plotter. I outline the whole thing and then write the story. I may change things as I go, but then I revise the outline. When the story's finished, I can use the outline to write my synopsis.

Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com

Katie Salidas said...

I can see where plotting does help. Your synopsis is right there ready for you at that point.

Thanks for sharing!

Tana said...

Once I tried to sit down without nary a thought in my head and just let the story write itself. That WIP is still unfinished and abandoned at 50K words. I still get depressed when I think about it. So now I plan, plan, plan.

Katie Salidas said...

Wow, you stopped at 50k? Sorry to hear that.

It is interesting to see how differently we all approach writing.

Thanks for sharing!

About The Author

Katie Salidas is a USA Today bestselling author and RONE award winner known for her unique genre-blending style.

Since 2010 she's penned five bestselling book series: the Immortalis, Olde Town Pack, Little Werewolf, Chronicles of the Uprising, and the all-new Agents of A.S.S.E.T. series. As her not-so-secret alter ego, Rozlyn Sparks, she is a USA Today bestselling author of romance with a naughty side.

In her spare time Katie also produces and hosts a YouTube talk show; Spilling Ink. She also has a regular column on First Comics News where she explores writing from a nerdy perspective.