- Joined
- Apr 29, 2016
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For the past few months I've struggled to find the balance between finding that spark whilst writing, and finding all the sparks beforehand. I have been writing short stories and short films mostly, and over time, I will plan the overall arc of the story, and then individual scenes. I'll think about the scene over a couple of days, and think "This piece of dialogue would work perfectly here!" and I write it down, and by the end of it, before I've even started writing, I already basically have all the important parts of the story, from speeches to the arc. All I do after that is write the connective tissue - the boring dialogue that needs to link the pieces of good dialogue I've already written. It's basically just copying and pasting floating ideas around and forming a coherent story. Writing that way doesn't feel like writing to me, not a journey or an exploration but gluing parts together.
On the other hand, I tried spontaneous writing yesterday (I had a vague idea and a few plot points, a shape of how I'd like it to be) and it was supremely fun - but I lost steam after 1200 words and my writing suffered. The first method of planning and writing creates better pieces by far, but it's not fun. The second is more enjoyable, but I can't sustain it and it produces shoddier workmanship.
How should I balance between planning whilst also enjoying what I write? (I do enjoy creating the small pieces of dialogue but I don't enjoy writing it as a whole)
On the other hand, I tried spontaneous writing yesterday (I had a vague idea and a few plot points, a shape of how I'd like it to be) and it was supremely fun - but I lost steam after 1200 words and my writing suffered. The first method of planning and writing creates better pieces by far, but it's not fun. The second is more enjoyable, but I can't sustain it and it produces shoddier workmanship.
How should I balance between planning whilst also enjoying what I write? (I do enjoy creating the small pieces of dialogue but I don't enjoy writing it as a whole)