Taking the Plunge

Renee Collins · Dec 29, 2009

This is a question for those of us who outline, make notes, or do some amount of planning before starting a novel.

How long does it take you from the moment you get a new story idea to the moment you start actually writing it?

(I know that it's different for every book, and for every person, but I'm just curious about how others work.)

Maxinquaye · Dec 29, 2009

Between two days and two months, depending on how complex the underlying story is.

I don't outline in extreme detail, mind you - I only try to nail that overarching story, and set up that in a three act structure. Iow, I try to build a tent with the outline. Populating and decorating the interior comes in the writing of the first draft.

Caitlin Black · Dec 29, 2009

My first book I wrote the first 2 pages before doing the outline, and then the outline took about 3 weeks, at which point I started writing.

With this year's NaNo, I signed up on the 26th of October, and so had 5 days to outline, and I managed to outline the first half without too much effort. Then I started writing on the 1st. On about day 13 I started outlining the second half of the book, and got another page of notes (about ten chapters) - and then did the same again a week later, and then outlined the finale after November ended, as my book wasn't finished in November (I finished it yesterday woot!).

Every time I outlined, I didn't write that day, or if I did write it wasn't very much. My outlines aren't too in depth, but with NaNo I wound up with about 7 pages of outline, handwritten in a notebook, and I have quite small handwriting. Still, it was just the basics of the story.

gonovelgo · Dec 29, 2009

I don't make notes, but I do think a lot about a story before I start writing anything down. Usually I just wait until it 'feels right', or until I start to get restless at the thought of not writing.

Of course, I still occasionally get the itch, sit down and write pages of absolute crap, but in general it works for me.

ChaosTitan · Dec 29, 2009

It's always varied by project. Some of my first novels were very carefully outlined--scene by scene, beat by beat. But I didn't work well with this method, so I stopped outlining.

For THREE DAYS TO DEAD, I probably did a month or so of preparing and planning--researching paranormal critters, figuring out the layout of my fictional city, establishing how the world's magic system worked. A lot of it I figured out as I wrote the novel, but because it was an entirely new series for me, I wanted to get a foundation in place.

Hedgetrimmer · Dec 29, 2009

I don't outline. When I get an idea, I write it in a notebook with all the other ideas. Most will never see the light of day, and that's fine. I prefer to let the story choose me. Once I start hearing the voice, I walk around with it for a while, usually a few months, jotting down notes dealing with characters and plot details. Only when I know how the book will end (the beginnings always come easy) will I start on a draft.

AryaT92 · Dec 29, 2009

I put them all in my phones notepad because then I never forget them.. I always just start writing and see where it takes me, very little outlining or planning on paper.. Mostly in my head.

job · Dec 29, 2009

I start outlines and plotting the same day I write the first scene I see.

Ruv Draba · Dec 29, 2009

Research takes me the most time, since I'll often use current or historical settings; character design and through-lines take me the rest of it. A short might take a day or so of research & design; a novel might take a couple of weeks to a couple of months.

erin_michelle · Dec 29, 2009

I only start writing a novel if I have the first chapter--maybe a bit more--already planned out and I know how the story ends. After that, I write out one sentence summaries of each chapter. Some of my chapters are better developed than others and some are written "in the moment".

I definitely am one of those writers who needs to plan the plot a few steps ahead of what I'm writing so I stay on track.

Claudia Gray · Dec 29, 2009

It depends. This spring I worked very hard on an outline for a book I won't have a chance to begin until August at the earliest, though the outline is complete, detailed and very ready to go. OTOH, I am still outlining a book I expect to start in about a month; I will plunge in soon after finishing. There's at least one book I started mapping out about three and a half years ago and won't be done even outlining until this summer. You never know. I wish there were some signal flare that said "ready," but it's either your will or your interest or a deadline, whether external or self-imposed.

kaitie · Dec 29, 2009

The last one I spent two or three months outlining and planning before I began. As soon as I had enough of the story planned out to be happy and enough research done, I started writing. Thing is, I didn't have anything else serious going at the time, and I only work on one project at a time. I've got another two stories planned out, one pretty seriously outlined so far, and I've had that idea for probably close to a year now. I've written the first few pages. If I didn't have this other project going on I would have started ages ago, though. I've got files upon files of unstarted story ideas waiting their turn, so potentially years.

C.M.C. · Dec 30, 2009

It depends entirely on whether or not I can kick myself into doing anything at all. If I can, it takes practically no time. I outlined my book in two days, then started writing it the day after. Then again, I was actually ambitious at the time.

ToddWBush · Dec 30, 2009

I'm outlining and plotting a new novel idea that is way, way, way (did I mention way?) more complex than anything I've written before. The one novel I've finished and the others I've started either mapping or writing have around 15-25 characters that get more than just a passing glance, with one main protag and one main antag.

This one however... whoah boy. At least 40 characters so far, and I haven't even written the thing yet. In fact, I have a feeling it'll grow. I'll need a serious book of Cliff Notes for my own damn novel. But, it'll be good, I know that. I can just feel it. I started mapping and outlining about a month or so ago. I hope to start writing it within a week, maybe two. But it's gotten so big and the story is so good, that I've developed a little bit of awe and fear of it. It's so good (I think and my beta who has heard me ramble out the story thinks so) that I don't want to screw the whole thing up by actually writing it.

Renee Collins · Dec 30, 2009

Interesting ranges. Thanks for responding!

I'm in the process of making notes/planning for a book that I'm very excited about, and yet I keep putting off starting it. I can't really tell if I'm just being impatient to start, and the resistance I feel is because I know it's not quite ready yet or if the story is, in fact, ready to go, but my own insecurities about not "screwing it up" are what's holding me back.

Ah well, I guess I'll figure it out sooner or later.

theantisplice · Dec 30, 2009

I usually let the idea stew for three to six months, during which I write a series of outlines. They start as freewritten jibberish to catch the ideas on paper, then evolve into scene sketches, character arcs, "blueprints" of places, etc.. One time I let an idea stew for two years before I wrote it, and it was better for it.

As long as I'm always working on something in the interim, I don't mind letting other ideas sit into they're ready. For novel-length projects, it helps me hugely.

Brindle Chase · Dec 30, 2009

Well, I only have one "book" per say, but I have written 7 other manuscripts, which I hope to polish into books one day. Now that I've got my foot in the door, so to speak. Anywho... with all of them, I got an idea for the basic plot. Literally summed into a single sentence. For example, Gothic City Lights, my book that got accepted... I had the simple idea... Demon falls in love with an angel.

From there, I let that single idea simmer up in my head. Sometimes the brain returns a plot... sometimes it doesnt. If it does, usually within a week, then I just start writing then. I have a plot... meaning, where it starts, basically what's supposed to happen and how it ends. Writing it determines all the inbetween as I go along, so I dont worry about it. I just start typing away!

My current WIP, which is nearly finished. I got the idea. Brain returned the plot for me the same day, so I wrote 14k words that afternoon, because it was all fresh in my mind. Its now nearing 70k and almost ready for the query phase!

Anywho... I hope that sort of answers your question Renee!

cwfgal · Dec 30, 2009

I have story ideas that range from a single sentence to several pages worth of "outline." Most of my ideas I summarize in a few sentences but several of those ideas I've had to flesh out into synopses for publishers and/or agents in the past, so they are more involved. In between publishers and books I did revisit some of those old ideas and even fleshed one of them out into a whole new novel I haven't been able to sell.

Before I ever sold a book I didn't outline. All I did was summarize my ideas into a few sentences. I was forced to outline once I did sell and when I discovered how much easier it was to write the books once the heavy plotting and thinking was done up front, I became a big fan. I've "outlined" every book since the first one I sold, though for me an outline is really just a synopsis and a guideline. I have yet to have any finished book follow the outline to a T. I always deviate.

Beth

Libbie · Dec 30, 2009

Maxinquaye said:
Between two days and two months, depending on how complex the underlying story is.

I don't outline in extreme detail, mind you - I only try to nail that overarching story, and set up that in a three act structure. Iow, I try to build a tent with the outline. Populating and decorating the interior comes in the writing of the first draft.

Same here. I've only finished one novel so far, but I've started two. In both cases it took about a week to finish fiddling with the plot in the outline and start Chapter One. I can easily see the process taking longer or less time depending on the complexity of the plot and character development.

year90ninezero · Dec 30, 2009

I'm writing my fourth (and fifth, on pause) currently, and I am developing a method of preparing the narrative and characters well in advance of writing the book. The first two books took shape largely as they were being written, rough outlines becoming more solid as the book progressed. E.g., if I started writing chapter three, I may take a moment to look ahead at what needed to happen in that chapter, alter things that had been made unworkable by the previous chapters, solidify important events and ideas, etc.

For books three and four (currently), I had begun outlining months in advance of writing. Indeed, about 50% of my upcoming projects were all developed in a few months about two and a half years ago. Of course these ideas changed over time, sometimes so significantly as to be barely recognizable, but the impetus, the kernel, remains.

However, the one that changed THE MOST, and indeed had the longest gap between idea/outline and novel, is my current book that had very little preparation. I did a few simple outlines to gauge the plot trajectory, to map a few character arcs that I knew were important, but mostly I just let the thing ferment for a solid two years. I'm glad that I did. I've improved enough over my last three books and short projects that I feel I wouldn't have done the thing justice with a detailed outline and sharp pre-plotting. Too much would have solidified. It wouldn't have transformed into something (I think) really great. It would have been numbingly average (like my last book!).

Namatu · Dec 30, 2009

I don't outline, but I've learned to plan. I research the big topics I know I'll be using before I start and play with the characters in my mind or on paper, interviewing them, having them talk to one another, so that I really get to know them, their history, and their voices. This takes a month or more, depending on how quickly it comes together.

Or sometimes I just start writing and do the above steps while I go.

At about the mid-way to two-thirds point, I always stop and write a report of everything that's happened to help me focus on wrapping it all up. Here's when I find it helpful to have a few bullet point targets of scenes to happen, phrases usually, like "MC finds the magic key." I really don't spend time figuring out the hows, and a lot of the whys reveal themselves as I go.

The actual length of time between the thinking/preparation and the writing varies depending on what's in the queue ahead of the idea.

ishtar'sgate · Dec 30, 2009

Renee Collins said:
This is a question for those of us who outline, make notes, or do some amount of planning before starting a novel.

How long does it take you from the moment you get a new story idea to the moment you start actually writing it?

I write historical fiction so it can take quite a long time - from a few months up to a year. At some point I feel I know my subject well enough for the writing to come easily and without consulting my research material very much and when I can move my characters through an era that feels familiar and 'present'.

dancingandflying · Dec 30, 2009

Usually a couple weeks.

I begin with an intriguing idea or character, and sometimes I can create a story around it, sometimes I can't. I don't write outlines, but I just sit with the story for a while, messing with the plot line, the characters, motivations, until it feels right. By the end, I know the major pieces of the story and how they fit together, and I've mapped out some critical scenes. It's pretty touch and go for a while, but, when I figure it out, it usually is a solid story.

d&f.

Z0Marley · Dec 31, 2009

Renee Collins said:
How long does it take you from the moment you get a new story idea to the moment you start actually writing it?

(I know that it's different for every book, and for every person, but I'm just curious about how others work.)

I'll start writing immediately. I don't believe there is anything in the world that could keep me from writing after finishing the perfect outline. I'm usually so excited. About seven chapters in, my story is a bit different than what I had original intended, and I have to take a step back and re-write my outline. After I do that (not sure why it always happens, but no matter how perfect my outline seems to be, things always change) I completely ignore anything to do with writing for a week. Look over the two outlines, go with whichever one I think is best, and continue on.

Raphee · Jan 1, 2010

This is a great thread and I hope others contribute their outlining techniques. I plan to do this for my current WIP and the advice is gold.

Taking the Plunge

Plotting . . .

That cheeky buggerer

Wild one

Around

What happened, just there?

In the end, it's just you and the manuscript

Foreshadowing Queen

With great power comes

Archetype

Plotting . . .

Punctual

Dancing on the edge

On the rocks

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

following a secret path

Lost in mental space.

living in the past

Is it tea time yet?

In debt to AW