What Do You Need to Know Before You Write?

[Ms.rachel]

Whether you outline or free-write, I am curious, what information do you feel you need to know before you start to write your manuscript?


***Adding this up here for clarity:
For me, I have written manuscripts as a pantser and am working on two different novels with a planner approach. Ultimately, I need to really know my character and their voice to write. The novels where I felt I best had a handle on these things were the ones that seemed to write themselves. I doubt I'd make it through a first draft without feeling I really knew my MC, but can without a definitive plot...just with lots of rewrites.

 

[mccardey]

I need a character with a voice, and some idea of what my theme is. (Although the theme tends to change as I go on...)

What about you?

 

[Ari Meermans]

Like mccardey, I need a character with a voice to start with. I have an overall theme I always seem to begin with—Life Gets Messy—and the character more or less says, "Right? Let me tell you about it."

 

[Ms.rachel]

With past projects I just needed to really have a feel for my character and their voice, but then found I had to do a million re-writes to have that little thing called a plot.... I am working on a new manuscript and am trying a completely different approach...summarizing my idea, goals for my MC etc. Honestly, the first approach feels more inspired for me and how I usually operate, but I am finding the second approach is helping the fact that I have a touch of writers block and can't seem to get my character out of the first scene of my novel. I just keep puttering on my outline and telling myself it's something.

 

[indianroads]

Pretty nebulous question. A desire to tell a story would be a good start. Reading a lot is a really a good idea... and paying attention while you do it.

 

[mccardey]

Pretty nebulous question. A desire to tell a story would be a good start. .

It's not nebulous. It's a (welcome) variation on the Plotter v Pantser discussion. It will always come up, and always be of interest to many writers.

 

[lilyWhite]

I tend to be more of a pantser, but I do need to know a few basic things to start with. I need to know the main character(s), their motivation, their goals. I need an idea of the setting, the lore, the history. I have to know what the general plot of the story is going to be—what the main character(s) ultimately seeks to/must accomplish. Once I feel like I have enough to get it going, I can come up with ideas as I go, whether spur-of-the-moment or later things figured out in advance. The first draft isn't going to be perfect, but I can sort out the writing and plot details on subsequent drafts.

So the answer for me is roughly "enough that I don't feel like I'll hit a dead-end".

 

[The Black Prince]

The end...or at least an end (mine always change).

I'm very much a planner though. Used to be a pantser but never finished anything until I learnt to plan.

 

[morngnstar]

I seem to need to know even less than most of you. Just a what-if, maybe a single scene, and I get going from there. Character and voice come as I go.

I do sometimes attempt historical, and it doesn't go so well, as I always stall trying to be accurate about some setting, event, or detail. I feel like to do it right I should have detailed knowledge before I begin.

 

[Ms.rachel]

Pretty nebulous question. A desire to tell a story would be a good start. Reading a lot is a really a good idea... and paying attention while you do it.

When I asked what you feel you need to know before you start to write your manuscript, I meant about the actual manuscript.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For me, I have written manuscripts as a pantser and am working on two different novels with a planner approach. Ultimately, I need to really know my character and their voice to write. The novels where I felt I best had a handle on these things were the ones that seemed to write themselves. I doubt I'd make it through a first draft without feeling I really knew my MC, but can without a definitive plot...just with lots of rewrite. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Does that make sense?[/FONT]

 

[Enlightened]

Whether you outline or free-write, I am curious, what information do you feel you need to know before you start to write your manuscript?

1. Plotting method/s (hero's journey, other).
2. Characters.
3. Setting.
4. Developed plot.
5. Conflicts (somewhat known or developed).

These are need to know. I prefer to know more.

 

[blacbird]

How human beings work. I'm still working on that.

caw

 

[sideshowdarb]

An image. A line of dialogue. That's really all it takes. The rest kind of grows from there.

 

[Putputt]

Great question!

For myself, I definitely need:

1. A concept (could be a very vague one to begin with)
2. A somewhat decent grip on the MC’s voice/humor

With these, I can confidently write my way to around 10-15K. Then I wld need outline to figure out where the hell I’m going. But lately, I prefer to have a complete outline before I start writing.

 

[BethS]

Whether you outline or free-write, I am curious, what information do you feel you need to know before you start to write your manuscript?

A character with a problem.

 

[Harlequin]

The emotional state I want to explore.

Followed by, like beth, character with problem to explore it.

 

[CarlHackman]

Start writing. That is it in a nutshell. You need to begin somewhere and if you are new to sitting down and writing a novel length story then you have to be able to write for decent periods of time. You don't have to start writing your novel straight away, you can flesh out characters, but first you need something for them to do--the story itself. I write nearly every day and am either working on a novel or creating a loose outline on another, but initially you can pick a shorter story to tell while creating your outline for the novel. One good way of doing this is by grabbing the main character from the novel you are going to write and do a smaller piece about them. You could do a back story piece, but I'd recommend something like having them walking through a market, shopping and talking to people. The character will come alive then and you will have a sense of what sort of things they like, how they talk and interact with other people etc. The idea is to just get words down on a page and get used to banging away at a keyboard.

Have fun and good luck

 

[Isilya]

1) the premise
2) the MC's voice and sense of humor
3) a possible ending
4) the twist

I like to know what journey I'm on, who I'm with, where we're going, and what kind of surprises we may find along the way

 

[Bufty]

What do I NEED to know? Nothing.

 

[Fallen]

Everyone's different, but in general: If I have character who makes home made smoke flares, then I need to research chemistry, as well UK licensing over using and storing chemicals in the home and what licenses are needed. If I write portraying the BDSM lifestyle, then I need to make sure I understand about the relationships dynamics, kinks, and how living it varies for some. Also terms like SSC... or talk to someone who lives/teaches within it.

Anything else.... I just have a rough idea of where a scene is going, my characters, and I write blind, with no restrictions.

 

[David Poellot]

*stands up and raises his hand* Hi. My name is David, and I'm a pantser.

I tried to be a planner. I really did. I had written a couple novels (nobody wanted them) by just pantsing my way through them. Then I thought I want to do a complete outline before writing. So, I did a bunch of research on everything to do and really leaned a lot. Then I structured everything out, and one day I finally sat down to write the book. I made it through couple chapters, and then I stopped writing. That was five or six years ago. Now that I'm back, I'm pantsing again. I've written every day since I've been back.

I get ideas about stories or characters or scenes all the time. Then I jot them down. I find what works best for me is that I start writing and just let the characters and places take me where they're going to take me. That works better for me....obviously. I'll need to go back and rewrite and make sure everything connects and flows, but I find that fun too.

In answer to your original question, I just need an idea to pop into my head. Then I'm off and running!

 

[RebelKimberly]

I definitely have to have the end before I can write any story idea.

 

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I need an idea. Everything else flows outward from there.

 

[thereeness]

Like Dave said, I need an idea. An idea that sparks a character and a situation. It can start as small as a simple image or be as immense as a mountain, but it's all about the idea...Until the character shows up, then it's all about them XD

 

[WriteMinded]

At least one character and one ending.