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Planning and writing: a better approach?

MayorReynolds

MayorReynolds

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After a long hiatus I've finally returned to penning stories for Lit, specifically three I was close enough to finishing.

I've noticed some things. I've always been way too anal about my writing, erotica or otherwise. I'm a planner by habit and averse to unexpected outcomes. I don't like wavering from outlines. "The only good story is a story that is extensively plotted," I would say. This is a problem that actually extends into my personal life, where I am obsessive compulsive and anxious enough to go crazy if/when my little everyday routines are disrupted.

I took a different approach for these upcoming stories. It wasn't a premeditated decision, just one that I randomly started working with. The new method involves a tiny bit of planning but far more stream of consciousness. I'm finding it easier to take a basic idea and hammer out a story based around it. During breaks I'll get little epiphanies that tell me "this particular element has to be purged," or "it would be hotter/work better as a whole if you threw in this sexual encounter."

As a result, I'm looking over these works-in-progress and noticing a better equilibrium of sex and 'story.' I'm still able to convey whatever themes I want but without long hiatuses between the sweaty sticky stuff and being, dare I say, goddamned pretentious.

Letting my imagination run wild and then fixing the stupid later is a method that works better for me. When I'm not stressing over pedantic dumbfuckery I'm also having a lot more fun.
 
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MayorReynolds said:
Letting my imagination run wild and then fixing the stupid later is a method that works better for me. When I'm not stressing over pedantic dumbfuckery I'm also having a lot more fun.
Click to expand...
A rule of digital photography: Nail the focus; everything else can be fixed in post-production. Similar rule of writing: Nail the plot; all else can be fixed in editing. Same principle.

A couple writing metaphors: I'm a story sculptor. I build a basic armature, a framework (some plot points), and slap clay onto it, then shave and tweak and finger it till I'm happy. OR I'm a character creator. I envision people and put them in a situation, then let them act out who they are -- they write the story and I merely transcribe and edit.

I tried the write-a-detailed-outline approach. Didn't work. Well, that was a while back. I've got my chops a bit more together now, so I might try it again. But letting the players write the story is much easier. ;)
 
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MayorReynolds said:
After a long hiatus I've finally returned to penning stories for Lit, specifically three I was close enough to finishing.

I've noticed some things. I've always been way too anal about my writing, erotica or otherwise. I'm a planner by habit and averse to unexpected outcomes. I don't like wavering from outlines. "The only good story is a story that is extensively plotted," I would say. This is a problem that actually extends into my personal life, where I am obsessive compulsive and anxious enough to go crazy if/when my little everyday routines are disrupted.

I took a different approach for these upcoming stories. It wasn't a premeditated decision, just one that I randomly started working with. The new method involves a tiny bit of planning but far more stream of consciousness. I'm finding it easier to take a basic idea and hammer out a story based around it. During breaks I'll get little epiphanies that tell me "this particular element has to be purged," or "it would be hotter/work better as a whole if you threw in this sexual encounter."

As a result, I'm looking over these works-in-progress and noticing a better equilibrium of sex and 'story.' I'm still able to convey whatever themes I want but without long hiatuses between the sweaty sticky stuff and being, dare I say, goddamned pretentious.

Letting my imagination run wild and then fixing the stupid later is a method that works better for me. When I'm not stressing over pedantic dumbfuckery I'm also having a lot more fun.
Click to expand...


Yep. I hate outlines. I hated having to do them in school and I hate them now. Stories can change as you write them. If I feel I really need to do one, I keep it very brief and vague, with only one main plot point. The rest I fill in as it comes to me.
 
Several months ago I decided to do an erotic take on Red Riding Hood. That's not very original, I know, but what is these days? The majority of my 'planning' consisted of reading over the original story texts—Charles Perrault, Brothers Grimm, et al—and from there I just went wild.

In my version there's still a girl (18 of course) lost in a forest, there's still a big bad wolf, a noble hunter and a grandmother; the twist is that it's modern times, the girl is a naive virgin who has been raised by a sexually repressive fundamentalist mother, the 'wolf' is a manipulative trickster/Satan type figure who also happens to be fully human in appearance, the hunter is the forest's Michael-like counter to the wolf, and the 'grandmother' is a hot goddess who created and rules the realm. She also created the hunter and wolf to serve as forces of good and evil at constant odds with each other.

When I started writing this I immediately let go of inhibitions and hindrances. I let my Red wander the forest before having her inadvertently stumble onto a journey of sexual awakening. If I had doubt, I either tweaked or told myself "it's a fairy tale; not all of it has to make sense."

So far my story has become a parody of religious oppression and satire of the Judeo-Christan outward framework in general. It also happens to be dripping with eroticism. I started out just having fun and this is how it's ended up. I'm amazed that all came together without me really thinking it through

On the other hand, stories that can write themselves are usually stigmatized as...not being very good? I don't know. The point is, I've had a blast writing my Red story and hopefully it will improve the overall quality.
 
MayorReynolds said:
Several months ago I decided to do an erotic take on Red Riding Hood. That's not very original, I know, but what is these days? The majority of my 'planning' consisted of reading over the original story texts—Charles Perrault, Brothers Grimm, et al—and from there I just went wild.

In my version there's still a girl (18 of course) lost in a forest, there's still a big bad wolf, a noble hunter and a grandmother; the twist is that it's modern times, the girl is a naive virgin who has been raised by a sexually repressive fundamentalist mother, the 'wolf' is a manipulative trickster/Satan type figure who also happens to be fully human in appearance, the hunter is the forest's Michael-like counter to the wolf, and the 'grandmother' is a hot goddess who created and rules the realm. She also created the hunter and wolf to serve as forces of good and evil at constant odds with each other.

When I started writing this I immediately let go of inhibitions and hindrances. I let my Red wander the forest before having her inadvertently stumble onto a journey of sexual awakening. If I had doubt, I either tweaked or told myself "it's a fairy tale; not all of it has to make sense."

So far my story has become a parody of religious oppression and satire of the Judeo-Christan outward framework in general. It also happens to be dripping with eroticism. I started out just having fun and this is how it's ended up. I'm amazed that all came together without me really thinking it through

On the other hand, stories that can write themselves are usually stigmatized as...not being very good? I don't know. The point is, I've had a blast writing my Red story and hopefully it will improve the overall quality.
Click to expand...

Well, the thing about stories that can write themselves is that, when left to their own devices, they are merely the shells of stories. They are like grandiose outlines. They lack depth. If the writer doesn't go over them and flesh them out, they remain hollow.

I've been told, for example, that I don't apply myself here. It's true. I don't. Mainly because I'm writing for free. So the majority of my stories are basically just stroke stories with little-to-no depth. I have been trying to change that. Slowly. I'm not getting better by churning out the same bullshit over and over, and not challenging myself.

The great thing about getting carried away with a story is the little things that unconsciously work their way into the story without you realizing it until after: motifs, themes, foreshadowing, subtext. That's how you know you are really in the story, when the things you don't even think about just happen.
 
Everything works but everything doesn't work for everyone. So my toil involves finding what works for me, cuz the stories write themselves when I'm in my groove. You may hate the results but you may hate the results if I grill a steak too done or too rare for your liking....or you may be vegan.
 
VenusButterflies said:
Well, the thing about stories that can write themselves is that, when left to their own devices, they are merely the shells of stories. They are like grandiose outlines. They lack depth. If the writer doesn't go over them and flesh them out, they remain hollow.
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That's a generalization that doesn't hold for all. People are all different. Some are more complex and comprehensive thinkers than other.
 
sr71plt said:
That's a generalization that doesn't hold for all. People are all different. Some are more complex and comprehensive thinkers than other.
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You're right. I meant that for the stories that can write themselves that aren't very good, just to offer a reason for why they are stigmatized. I should have clarified that.
 
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VenusButterflies said:
You're right. I meant that for the stories that can write themselves that aren't very good, just to offer a reason for why they are stigmatized. I should have clarified that.
Click to expand...

I've written both -- good and bad -- that took off their own, and a bunch of in-between stuff. I have stories I intended as stroke pieces end up including much more depth than I intended, and well-intentioned "thoughtful" pieces that resulted in shallow calamity. For the most part, I don't dwell on how my stories come out. I stick to a "that's the story that wanted to be written" philosophy. If it's crap, it's crap. If it's good, it's good. Either way, I'm going to keep writing.
 
slyc_willie said:
I've written both -- good and bad -- that took off their own, and a bunch of in-between stuff. I have stories I intended as stroke pieces end up including much more depth than I intended, and well-intentioned "thoughtful" pieces that resulted in shallow calamity. For the most part, I don't dwell on how my stories come out. I stick to a "that's the story that wanted to be written" philosophy. If it's crap, it's crap. If it's good, it's good. Either way, I'm going to keep writing.
Click to expand...

Agreed. And I've been there too, with stories that wind up being the opposite of what I intended. And yes, either way I'm going to keep writing.
 
Notes, plots, planning, outlines...all the best intentions...means nothing when the characters decide they are going to just 'do their own thing' and help you write the story by running off down a path you had no idea was there.

But, to me anyway, that is half the fun of writing.
 
I think outlines aren't that necessary but still, if your story is a long one and you are confused as to what to do next, it might be of some help.
I think the best idea is to jot down the disjointed ideas seperately as they come into your brains and take a glance at them when you are stuck in between.
Some authors complain that their story was something different than the one they had thought about earlier. I don't know if I've started rambling or not but I think it should help in case you're planning to write a longish story.
 
I find outlining timelines and maps (or itineraries) and even family trees is useful or necessary for some stories. Gotta be sure who's related to whom as of when and where, eh? Such notes help with longer stories, sure, but also for a two-pager if there's any complexity, like my BLACK & WHITE stories (the second should be online tomorrow). Everything in those notes needn't reach the finished page, but the story is shaped by my being aware of the details. It's like world-building.
 
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