I've got a ton on the back burner for terminal lack of plot - I usually start with the concept/scifi setting weirdness because that's the part I find interesting, and then build out from there. But sometimes I can't work out a plot that does a good job with the setting, or can't choose one from my options. So the setting sits around until I get the Second Thing that makes it click, reinforces the themes I want to explore, etc. I'll take a look at my list and see if there's any that'll be interesting to talk about
this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2023
5 points (100.0% liked)
✍️ Writing
104 readers
1 users here now
A community for writers, like poems, fiction, non-fiction, short stories, long books, all those sorts of things, to discuss writing approaches and what's new in the writing world, and to help each other with writing.
Rules for now:
1. Try to be constructive and nice. When discussing approaches or giving feedback to excerpts, please try to be constructive and to maintain a positive vibe. For example, don't just vaguely say something is bad but try to list and explain downsides, and if you can, also find some upsides. However, this is not to say that you need to pretend you liked something or that you need to hide or embellish what you disliked.
2. Mention own work for purpose and not mainly for promo: Feel free to post asking for feedback on excerpts or worldbuilding advice, but please don't make posts purely for self promo like a released book. If you offer professional services like editing, this is not the community to openly advertise them either. (Mentioning your occupation on the side is okay.) Don't link your excerpts via your website when asking for advice, but e.g. Google Docs or similar is okay. Don't post entire manuscripts, focus on more manageable excerpts for people to give feedback on.
3. What happens in feedback or critique requests posts stays in these posts: Basically, if you encounter someone you gave feedback to on their work in their post, try not to quote and argue against them based on their concrete writing elsewhere in other discussions unless invited. (As an example, if they discuss why they generally enjoy outlining novels, don't quote their excerpts to them to try to prove why their outlining is bad for them as a singled out person.) This is so that people aren't afraid to post things for critique.
4. All writing approaches are valid. If someone prefers outlining over pantsing for example, it's okay to discuss up- and downsides but don't tell someone that their approach is somehow objectively worse. All approaches are on some level subjective anyway.
5. Solarpunk rules still apply. The general rules of solarpunk of course still apply.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
are you a planner? how does working out a plot usually go for you, do you actually draft out all the major beats on paper or do you just collect enough themes and vague villain ideas to be convinced you can turn it into something later as you go? (the latter tends to be more my approach)
I've got what I'm told is a kind of weird system halfway between pantsing and outlining. I'll have the idea and get excited about it, start writing bits and pieces as I think of them, usually sentence- to paragraph-length segments, sometimes it's dialogue or setting stuff. I'll usually do this for a few days. Characters usually emerge here. Then I start organizing the pieces into what feels like the right chronological order, and build a sort of outline around it. I'll identify my scenes, sort the pieces into those, then sort them within the scenes. Then I start stitching them together and looking for the big structural stuff, where to thread in themes, which scenes reinforce what, what order is information being presented in (and consolidating or removing stuff if it's redundant). Eventually I get a workable draft and start the real editing.
I try to build plots around the core concept I want to explore with the setting, but that can be a bit "here's an idea the end" depending on the setting stuff. Those tend to go on the back burner.