Thank you so much for joining along! And yes, I thought you’d be into my fairy tale class.
I actually have a retelling of Snow White from the evil queen’s perspective coming out soon. It was for an assignment, so of course I used it to flex my creative muscle.
I'm self-aware and humble enough to know that my writing sucks. Period.
So I did what any respectable writer ought to do: Research and Learn.
I did. It was fun. I still have some YouTubers I follow and listen to which have really helped me to organize the mess in my head. I was so inspired to do things right and efficiently, having my words have a nice guardrail and not getting halfway into the story and actually know where to go to next. I learned when a story warrants multiple books, learned structures and brainstorming techniques. I don't have enough words to describe how grateful I am for the knowledge I gained.
But my creativity tanked. I had the tools to write a good story but I lost my story. I never knew what Writer's Block was until I heard these people give advice to combat it. Now I had vicious Writer's Block. Suddenly I wasn't bonding with my stories, or my characters. The ideas were lovely on paper but I had no desire to write them at all. To make matters worse, my brain has the tendency to Daydream and disconnect the minute thinking becomes "too difficult and confusing".
So I decided to do an experiment: Discovery writing.
I'm deathly against double work, so I decided to challenge myself in doing something I normally don't do: Write Fanfiction. I know, most people start with it, but I usually can't for the life of me write other people's characters. It just feels like sacrilege and like I'm viciously incompetent, especially when it's a character I like. But because it's Fanfiction I could get myself to not care about the work because it's never going to do anything anyway.
101,663 words in just over 3 months. I kid you not. I got a Hook, Inciting Incident, Build Up, Midpoint Twist, Progress, Pinch Points, Darkest Moment, Aha-Moment, Climax and a Resolution to boot in there. Yeah, there's a couple of subplots that need to be added, and lots of the main plot could be slimmed for stronger results. But it's there. It exists. Whole thing.
I tried a new Original Story with the intent of doing the exact same but because I love ranting about my scene to scene progress I wanted my sister to read it. I felt embarrassed giving her a completely raw piece so I started outlining again ... That first chapter I wrote before outlining is all that got written. The minute I outlined, the story died.
Now I'm writing the characters and events pre-outline and the writing is going good. I'm going to allow them to dictate what happens next.
If you're a plotter, plot. But some us NEED Discovery Writing. And that's okay. Draft 0 is far more likely to re-inspire you anyway.
Hi there!! Thank you so much for a thoughtful comment.
Firstly, I want to say that’s admirable you decided to research and learn from the start. A lot of writers don’t take the time to do that before they delve in, so being able to recognize where you are is not something everyone can do, and that trait is what will ultimately set you apart for the rest.
Learning story structure through various techniques has helped me immensely. I’ve been settling on very vague and simple bullet points, one to three, writing a shit discovery draft, and then reverse outlining it to realign the structure to write the official first draft.
I also think writing fanfiction is an interesting way to explore story structure without worrying about building characters. It’s like using set pieces to build the story from. Sounds like it was helpful to you as well!! And writing over 100k words is a huge achievement either way, wow!!
I’m also glad to hear that your new original story process is going well, and I wish you luck on the rest of it!! Discovery writing is definitely needed for those us in a similar boat. I’m glad to know I am not alone🖤
Thank you for the kind words. It does sound like a good idea to have one to three very vague and simple bullet points. Personally I struggle immensely with saying things simply and with few words! But that, I think, is something I should learn to do. 😅
I've also attempted to outline just a chapter or two. But I haven't been able to experiment all that much with it yet. Although it should be helpful to do mini bullet points when the story reaches a crossroads where things could go multiple ways. 🤔 Okay but daydreaming the options also kinda helps. I don't know, there's something about writing things down that makes it feel permanent. 😂
Anyways, writing is an artistic expression, so I suppose it is something we all individually have to fine tune. But it's always nice to hear how someone else approaches things because that certainly helps me fight that box my mind so eagerly builds.
I've never been able to venture into writing a novel exactly because of this. I even struggle with short stories. Poetry feels easier almost because it doesn't need a plot - I have more freedom to be abstract. I have a potential fantasy novel brewing in the back of my mind, and what I find helps is writing random scenes with the characters that come into my head, even if they won't make it into the final draft, just to get to know the way they move, speak, operate etc. This is, unfortunately, as far as I've gotten 😂
I agree, short stories are easier to get out because there’s not as much space to fill or points to hit. I do see each chapter being like a short story of sorts though!! Which will make it less daunting I think. I totally understand writing random scenes. That is a lot easier than producing a detailed outline.
Don’t worry, we’re going to figure out how to do this ding dang thing called writing!! It’s a learning process, and I’m not sure any writer has found the “perfect” one. I’m just glad that I’m not alone in this!!😭
Plantser here! I've found that having a basic outline helps me stay on track and push through writer's block because I can see where I need to get to. But overall, discovery writing gives me the freedom to follow my characters where they would organically go, often surprising me along the way! For book recs, I liked Obsidian Butterfly by laurel k Hamilton. I would also recommend spending some time with artwork created here, like Georgia O'Keefe for example. And movies filmed here like no country for old men, 3:10 to Yuma, the host, etc. TV shows like Roswell, new mexico and the boroughs give a great sense of the culture and scenery out here, too
Yeah, I think I might try doing a very very basic outline… But yes, discovery writing helps me get my ideas out and see what I’m working with!! Sometimes what’s in your head doesn’t match what actually ends up on the page. We shall see I suppose. It’s a learning process for me!!
I’ve heard of Georgia O’Keefe and know she’s huge in New Mexico!! I’ll have to look at her work properly. Although, at some point before publishing this novel, I will for sure being visiting the state myself.
Thanks so much for reading and for your recommendations!!🖤
I went from pantser to plantser and now a plotntser? 🤪 Basically, I’ve discovered over the years that for me, an initial outline helps me map the key points and elements I KNOW need to be there. Then I connect those dots with the “connective tissue” points, which then get filled with the details in my notes.
So then, when I go to actually write the chapters, I can promptly ignore all of it and just make sure I’m still hitting that initial key point 😆
TBH this is why I’ve fallen in love with Plottr for my writing—it structures my baseline and makes it visually appealing for my brain, but still allows me the flexibility of brainstorming and midnight/shower ideas.
Yeah, I think a lot of people are somewhere in between so that makes sense. I might try to at least get a vague idea of the major plot points and go from there? It can be so hard though!!😭
Will have to look into Plottr. It sounds like it could be helpful to me, especially with the visual aspect!! Thanks for sharing your experience🖤
I love following along with your journey! And your fairy tale class sounds so cool!
Thank you so much for joining along! And yes, I thought you’d be into my fairy tale class.
I actually have a retelling of Snow White from the evil queen’s perspective coming out soon. It was for an assignment, so of course I used it to flex my creative muscle.
Omg I can’t wait for it!
I'm self-aware and humble enough to know that my writing sucks. Period.
So I did what any respectable writer ought to do: Research and Learn.
I did. It was fun. I still have some YouTubers I follow and listen to which have really helped me to organize the mess in my head. I was so inspired to do things right and efficiently, having my words have a nice guardrail and not getting halfway into the story and actually know where to go to next. I learned when a story warrants multiple books, learned structures and brainstorming techniques. I don't have enough words to describe how grateful I am for the knowledge I gained.
But my creativity tanked. I had the tools to write a good story but I lost my story. I never knew what Writer's Block was until I heard these people give advice to combat it. Now I had vicious Writer's Block. Suddenly I wasn't bonding with my stories, or my characters. The ideas were lovely on paper but I had no desire to write them at all. To make matters worse, my brain has the tendency to Daydream and disconnect the minute thinking becomes "too difficult and confusing".
So I decided to do an experiment: Discovery writing.
I'm deathly against double work, so I decided to challenge myself in doing something I normally don't do: Write Fanfiction. I know, most people start with it, but I usually can't for the life of me write other people's characters. It just feels like sacrilege and like I'm viciously incompetent, especially when it's a character I like. But because it's Fanfiction I could get myself to not care about the work because it's never going to do anything anyway.
101,663 words in just over 3 months. I kid you not. I got a Hook, Inciting Incident, Build Up, Midpoint Twist, Progress, Pinch Points, Darkest Moment, Aha-Moment, Climax and a Resolution to boot in there. Yeah, there's a couple of subplots that need to be added, and lots of the main plot could be slimmed for stronger results. But it's there. It exists. Whole thing.
I tried a new Original Story with the intent of doing the exact same but because I love ranting about my scene to scene progress I wanted my sister to read it. I felt embarrassed giving her a completely raw piece so I started outlining again ... That first chapter I wrote before outlining is all that got written. The minute I outlined, the story died.
Now I'm writing the characters and events pre-outline and the writing is going good. I'm going to allow them to dictate what happens next.
If you're a plotter, plot. But some us NEED Discovery Writing. And that's okay. Draft 0 is far more likely to re-inspire you anyway.
(P.S. Sorry for the long comment)
Hi there!! Thank you so much for a thoughtful comment.
Firstly, I want to say that’s admirable you decided to research and learn from the start. A lot of writers don’t take the time to do that before they delve in, so being able to recognize where you are is not something everyone can do, and that trait is what will ultimately set you apart for the rest.
Learning story structure through various techniques has helped me immensely. I’ve been settling on very vague and simple bullet points, one to three, writing a shit discovery draft, and then reverse outlining it to realign the structure to write the official first draft.
I also think writing fanfiction is an interesting way to explore story structure without worrying about building characters. It’s like using set pieces to build the story from. Sounds like it was helpful to you as well!! And writing over 100k words is a huge achievement either way, wow!!
I’m also glad to hear that your new original story process is going well, and I wish you luck on the rest of it!! Discovery writing is definitely needed for those us in a similar boat. I’m glad to know I am not alone🖤
Thank you for the kind words. It does sound like a good idea to have one to three very vague and simple bullet points. Personally I struggle immensely with saying things simply and with few words! But that, I think, is something I should learn to do. 😅
I've also attempted to outline just a chapter or two. But I haven't been able to experiment all that much with it yet. Although it should be helpful to do mini bullet points when the story reaches a crossroads where things could go multiple ways. 🤔 Okay but daydreaming the options also kinda helps. I don't know, there's something about writing things down that makes it feel permanent. 😂
Anyways, writing is an artistic expression, so I suppose it is something we all individually have to fine tune. But it's always nice to hear how someone else approaches things because that certainly helps me fight that box my mind so eagerly builds.
Good luck on your journey!
I've never been able to venture into writing a novel exactly because of this. I even struggle with short stories. Poetry feels easier almost because it doesn't need a plot - I have more freedom to be abstract. I have a potential fantasy novel brewing in the back of my mind, and what I find helps is writing random scenes with the characters that come into my head, even if they won't make it into the final draft, just to get to know the way they move, speak, operate etc. This is, unfortunately, as far as I've gotten 😂
I agree, short stories are easier to get out because there’s not as much space to fill or points to hit. I do see each chapter being like a short story of sorts though!! Which will make it less daunting I think. I totally understand writing random scenes. That is a lot easier than producing a detailed outline.
Don’t worry, we’re going to figure out how to do this ding dang thing called writing!! It’s a learning process, and I’m not sure any writer has found the “perfect” one. I’m just glad that I’m not alone in this!!😭
Plantser here! I've found that having a basic outline helps me stay on track and push through writer's block because I can see where I need to get to. But overall, discovery writing gives me the freedom to follow my characters where they would organically go, often surprising me along the way! For book recs, I liked Obsidian Butterfly by laurel k Hamilton. I would also recommend spending some time with artwork created here, like Georgia O'Keefe for example. And movies filmed here like no country for old men, 3:10 to Yuma, the host, etc. TV shows like Roswell, new mexico and the boroughs give a great sense of the culture and scenery out here, too
Yeah, I think I might try doing a very very basic outline… But yes, discovery writing helps me get my ideas out and see what I’m working with!! Sometimes what’s in your head doesn’t match what actually ends up on the page. We shall see I suppose. It’s a learning process for me!!
I’ve heard of Georgia O’Keefe and know she’s huge in New Mexico!! I’ll have to look at her work properly. Although, at some point before publishing this novel, I will for sure being visiting the state myself.
Thanks so much for reading and for your recommendations!!🖤
I went from pantser to plantser and now a plotntser? 🤪 Basically, I’ve discovered over the years that for me, an initial outline helps me map the key points and elements I KNOW need to be there. Then I connect those dots with the “connective tissue” points, which then get filled with the details in my notes.
So then, when I go to actually write the chapters, I can promptly ignore all of it and just make sure I’m still hitting that initial key point 😆
TBH this is why I’ve fallen in love with Plottr for my writing—it structures my baseline and makes it visually appealing for my brain, but still allows me the flexibility of brainstorming and midnight/shower ideas.
Yeah, I think a lot of people are somewhere in between so that makes sense. I might try to at least get a vague idea of the major plot points and go from there? It can be so hard though!!😭
Will have to look into Plottr. It sounds like it could be helpful to me, especially with the visual aspect!! Thanks for sharing your experience🖤