How long does it take you to evolve your plot/characters?

Sometimes an idea comes right away complete with characters. Other times it can take weeks of gnawing away at the edges for anything much to happen. I often avoid working when I am stuck so that it is hard to judge how long it really takes, as much of that time is taken up with procrastination.

Sometimes a month or so. Mostly though it's several years. And I've got one I've been trying to hammer out for 14 years. (Yeah, it was a novella written in high school but the idea keeps bugging me and I want it to work, dammit!)

Characters and story continue to evolve at some level pretty much until I can't make anything better.

JuRat said:

How long does it take you guys for your characters and your plot to evolve into something usable?

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Depends how long it takes me to nail the core of the characters. Sometimes it's a couple of hours, sometimes it can take weeks and everything in between.

As for the plot--I discover the plot as I write the book. I don't pre-plan it. Used to, didn't like the books that came out of doing that. Now I have a very general sense of what major events will happen and allow myself to be amazed at what happens as I go along. So far, it works well for me. Your mileage may vary.

Good luck!

As long as it takes to write the first draft. I don't outline or write character sketches. My characters and plot develop first in my head and then on the page, and it all continues to evolve until I write The End.

It usually takes 4 to 6 months for me to write the first draft of a novel.

That depends on your definition of "usable".

I have a plot in mind for each of my WIP's from the day I start. Same with the characters. From that point on, they evolve until the last word is written. I did a short story in a month. I have a novel I've been researching/refining for three years, and have another two to go on.

Some of them never evolve into a clear concept. :/ But generally, if I can figure out how I want it to end then everything else will fall into place. On the other hand, it's quite possible to just start writing and make junk up as you go along - in that case the idea of a concept to evolve into something usable doesn't really apply.

As long as it takes to write the book.

One year and counting.

JuRat said:

How long does it take you guys for your characters and your plot to evolve into something usable?

Click to expand...

Anywhere from halfway to all the way through the first draft of a short story.

Depends.

(ha)

Usually at least a months worth of work in my head only, then some time plotting/outlining. But they are never fully formed until the end of the first draft.

Sometimes not even then.

I always get the character first (this can take a moment or a week). Then from there the story evolves over the process of writing the novel. By the time I'm finished with the first draft it's all fallen into place. Then I go back and edit things and pull it together. Seems to work for me. I just like the journey of the discovering stuff along the way. On average it takes me about two years from character to finished ms.

Well...to illustrate, here's the evolution of my WIP's plot:

2005-2006, in Iraq the first time -- "Wouldn't it be cool if there was a school, like for soldiers, and there were four different...oh, houses or something...and each taught a different skill, but they were all used together in war?"

2006-2007, home from Iraq -- "Hmm...what if each of the houses was a different type of combat...and it'll be like final fantasy. I'll have a knight, and a mage, and a witch who can talk to animals, and a healer. And they'll all be girls, and they'll save the world. Awesome."

2007-2008, in Iraq the 2nd time -- "Hmm. This school thing isn't working out so well, and it's coming off WAY too much like Harry Potter. Let's drop that angle, and add a princess from a foreign land coming in, and SHE'S the real hero, the other four just protect her. And the bad guy wants to destroy the world."

2009, current -- "Dude there is WAY too much twee-ness running around in this book. No more SCHOOL, raise all the ages, cut the ridiculous melodramatic speech in Act 3, make the princess a bit of a badass, and give that bad guy some motivation. He's way too much of a cardboard cutout."

So...lessee...4 years and counting? But to be fair, I've really only been seriously writing this story for a year and a half.

As long as it takes to write the first draft. With this current WIP, that's six weeks so far. Should be done in a week, two tops. I did actually figure out the ending earlier this week, though I'm still wavering on which of two characters is actually the bad guy.

Anywhere from 4 days to a year. My characters usually come to me fully formed. Then I need a setting, and a plot that actually works, and supporting characters. Then I have to write the outline (and often re-write it five or six times until it's actually good). I was able to get through all those steps in 4 days with my contemporary novel, took about a month for my YA novel, and about a year for my other fantasy series.

Boy, that totally depends. In come cases I've written a complete short story that needed no more editing than typo correction in 90 minutes, and I started with no clues at all as to characters or plots. (Got two of those 90-minute marathon stories published, too!)

In other cases, I've had nothing but the name of a ship in my head and slowly, over the course of years, more tidbits of the world and characters add themselves on when I have some free time to muse about the ship. I'm still working on that one, too. Years.

I guess it depends on the work.

Not until I have written The End, edited and rewritten it a thousands times, and decided to move onto the next one.

As long as it takes to write and edit the whole thing. All parts grow together, for me.

I woke up this morning, and my next WIP was in my head, right down to the characters, their motivations, the climax, and everything. I swear.

Now all I have to do is write it.

That is sort of how it works, with me. Lots of times, I literally dream what I write. It's like somebody planted it in my head. Weird, I know.