Does anyone just "ride the momentum"?

BlueLucario · May 2, 2009

When I say riding the momentum I mean like when you write, do you just go with the flow? Write whatever comes to mind?

I found this on Chris Baty's No Plot No Problem. And I felt, hey, maybe I should do this. But to the point where he said, "Even if you don't know exactly what to do with the three ninjas in your courtroom drama, hey they arrived. And they want to be in the book, so put them there."

That's sort of where I got a bit uncomfortable.

What about you guys? Do you ride the momentum too?

I just started a new story and I want to do it too.

Fade · May 2, 2009

Yes for minor events like dialogue and anything other than the climax and revealing key information. Those I have to keep as planned.

bettielee · May 2, 2009

Yes. I ride, ride, ride. I had a small character who was just there to give another character some info and add something to his past... and oh did she. She insisted on becoming a bigger character - and guess what? I went with it, and I so needed her. She's strong and interesting and she adds a whole new dimension to the story. For instance, my book is about a group of dragonfolk who are very intense and go through a lot of ritualistic stuff to get to be the uber-warriors they are. I wanted to show that journey, and now I can, through this girl that insisted she was more than a bastard from the other side of the sheets. (but she has that going for her, too!)

BlueLucario · May 2, 2009

bettielee said:
Yes. I ride, ride, ride. I had a small character who was just there to give another character some info and add something to his past... and oh did she. She insisted on becoming a bigger character - and guess what? I went with it, and I so needed her. She's strong and interesting and she adds a whole new dimension to the story. For instance, my book is about a group of dragonfolk who are very intense and go through a lot of ritualistic stuff to get to be the uber-warriors they are. I wanted to show that journey, and now I can, through this girl that insisted she was more than a bastard from the other side of the sheets. (but she has that going for her, too!)

ooh...that is pretty awesome.

Is she the main character, or is she still a supporting character?

scarletpeaches · May 2, 2009

I go with the flow as well, but I think I know my characters well enough to only write events that would be 'in character' for them, if you see what I mean?

bettielee · May 2, 2009

Well, I got the term "epic fantasy" on my side, so she is one of the main characters - I am on book 2 of a 3 book arc, and her story will start going now in the 2nd book. She is being interwoven into the main, big showdown of showdowns. And I so needed her! Her family comes from the agricultural leg of my kingdom, who constitute one leg of the legal system there. I like that it balances the guy from the manufacturing leg that will be added in the 3rd book. I love it when a plan (that was more of a loose net of ideas) comes together.

And I totally concede that this doesn't work for everyone, and that my stuff may be total crap, but I can't write from an outline, and when I plan too far ahead I get the deer in the headlights syndrome and grind to a halt. And of course, all rules of characterization and good storytelling must be continued with your new idea. Show don't tell, etc. etc.

Kaylee · May 2, 2009

Yes, and when it happens, I don't want to quit writing until the new thoughts are all on paper. Then later I'll weed out what dosent' fit.

BlueLucario · May 2, 2009

bettielee said:
And I totally concede that this doesn't work for everyone, and that my stuff may be total crap, but I can't write from an outline, and when I plan too far ahead I get the deer in the headlights syndrome and grind to a halt.

I sort of get those too.

raburrell · May 2, 2009

I love it when characters start to think and act for themselves... but I also ended up with a first novel that was way too long because of it. I'm going to try pushing back on them a little when they try doing it the next time to see what happens.

BlueLucario · May 2, 2009

You know. I think I'm going to try that out.

bettielee · May 2, 2009

raburrell said:
I love it when characters start to think and act for themselves... but I also ended up with a first novel that was way too long because of it. I'm going to try pushing back on them a little when they try doing it the next time to see what happens.

Oh yeah. You gotta kill your darlings. But its fun to follow a trail and see where it leads you. sometimes you get out in the spooky woods. And sometimes, you gotta set those woods on fire and burn, baby, burn.

PoppysInARow · May 2, 2009

I ride the wave. I only step in when I realize riding the wave has screwed me over and doesn't make sense. That doesn't tend to happen, and it's usually minor things that I can fix in editing.

RunawayScribe · May 2, 2009

Ride the momentum? I try to. The moments you feel the story carries you often read the best later, I find.

jodiodi · May 3, 2009

I never plot so I just go where the characters tell me. Sometimes they hide things from me until later, but I just write it all and see what happens. I can edit it for flow and relevance later.

motormind · May 3, 2009

I try not to go with the flow, since whenever I do that it winds up becoming porn. Old habits are hard to break, I guess.

ccv707 · May 3, 2009

This is how I write about 70% of the time...probably more than that (how does one calculate such a thing???). I've put it in another thread, but using SoC with everything I write, it's almost impossible not to.

Izz · May 3, 2009

I have to balance going with the flow with keeping structure. Otherwise i tend to write myself into a corner. But if i know my structure i can change it, if necessary. But i definitely do need a basic outline, or structure, to write a novel within (not always so much for short stories; i tend to let them spontaneously evolve a lot more). But a basic outline leaves me plenty of room to move.

knight_tour · May 3, 2009

I always know a basic plot point that needs to somehow be covered in a chapter, as well as the major characters that are involved. I may even have a rough idea of how I expect the chapter to progress; but as often as not the chapter goes off in directions I never expected, and certainly all the details seem to write themselves.

Mr Flibble · May 3, 2009

Yes - it's not a choice, it's how I write 80% of my words - and where 100% of the 'good' stuff comes. By which I mean the plot point that has had me stuck, or how the ending is gonna work out or...any number of things.

When I'm in the zone is where all the best things I know about my characters come from. They don't come from me sitting down and saying, 'Ok, I'll have a one-legged dwarf lesbian single dad who...' I might start like that, but they only come alive when I let things go and just write. They tell me who they are.

ChaosTitan · May 3, 2009

BlueLucario said:
I found this on Chris Baty's No Plot No Problem. And I felt, hey, maybe I should do this. But to the point where he said, "Even if you don't know exactly what to do with the three ninjas in your courtroom drama, hey they arrived. And they want to be in the book, so put them there."

That's sort of where I got a bit uncomfortable.

Blue, you say you don't outline or plan ahead, so what is it about this Baty quote that makes you uncomfortable?

Maiden · May 3, 2009

I do it all the time. Of course sometimes I write myself into a situation, momentum is over, and now I have no idea how to get out of the scene to the next without it being terribly cheesy.

Debating on just skipping to the next scene and writing the transition when I go back through. I already have a LOT to add that I didn't know I needed until my characters changed in ways I couldn't predict.

backslashbaby · May 3, 2009

I outline, and I ride the momentum. Then I change the outline

I do like to have many avenues that I could take, so I'm always still brainstorming. Even if I have scenes I love, I'll brainstorm on a tangent that wouldn't include those scenes.

It's all about still trying to find the best thing for the story, you know?

I've lost the ending, I must admit. The brainstorming brought great rewards but I need a new ending. I have full confidence that'll come. If it never did? I could go with the originl outline again. Kinda cool that way, imho

eveningstar · May 3, 2009

BlueLucario said:
I found this on Chris Baty's No Plot No Problem. And I felt, hey, maybe I should do this. But to the point where he said, "Even if you don't know exactly what to do with the three ninjas in your courtroom drama, hey they arrived. And they want to be in the book, so put them there."

That's sort of where I got a bit uncomfortable.

Unexpected ninjas in courtrooms can always be turned into lawyers upon re-writing. Chris Baty's advice is also tailored for NaNoWriMo, writing a great amount in a short time. I think part of this advice is about writing uninhibited. Maybe the example is for someone who really wants to be writing about ninjas but set out to write a serious drama. Courtrooms can be removed in editing, too.

I always follow momentum and go with what wants to be written in my first, rough drafts. And I do a great deal of editing in subsequent drafts.

Birol · May 3, 2009

Remember, anything done in the first draft - right, wrong, or indifferent - can be fixed in the rewrites.

Ken Schneider · May 3, 2009

Yes I go with the flow, because the flow will really start flowing after a while. What I think is important to know if you write this way is this.

You must be able to remember what happened all throughout your work.
Being able to remember small moments as well as the big ones will help you further develope the story and tie the new with the old. When you have a new direction you want to go or idea come to you, figure out how this idea will fit in with what you've already written.

I find more often than not that what happens later makes the beginning make more sense because I keep it all tied together. If you remember you can deepen the meaning of what you wrote prior. It makes more sense to you as well and ables you to branch out into new avenues in the story.

It's harder to explain than it is to write like that. All one can really say is, it flows, and flows, and flows. I think since Friday night I've written 10,000 really good words into my work because of this.

By now, I have to go with the flow while it's flowing.

Does anyone just "ride the momentum"?

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