How do you plan a story?

[Charlotte115]

Hey everyone, 

I always (and I mean always) struggle with planning a story before writing it, most of the time I just get a pen and lined paper and just write down the first thing that comes to my mind and sometimes it doesn't make any sense.  I mean do you have to plan a story before writing it?  Please help me lol. 

[xXAshBlossomXx]

 

On 11/14/2021 at 4:17 PM, Charlotte115 said:

Hey everyone, 

I always (and I mean always) struggle with planning a story before writing it, most of the time I just get a pen and lined paper and just write down the first thing that comes to my mind and sometimes it doesn't make any sense.  I mean do you have to plan a story before writing it?  Please help me lol. 

Hey,

I have trouble with that too tbh. Technically you don't have to plan a story before you write it, it just depends on what strategy works for you. Some people are plotters but others aren't.

If you haven't already, you might want to look on YouTube. Jenna Moreci, Nour Zikra and Abbie Emmons are a few authors who make videos on writing which could possibly help you.

Good luck with your writing!

[Xwisdom]

This may be a terrible and unclear bit of advice and you don't have to take it, but I would focus on the things you like first. For example if you really like pathetic fallacy and the weather, start with the weather. How does the weather affect the story? Is it in a storm with the challenges of a storm or is it a happy piece with lot's of sun. Is the weather an indicator of things to come? If you like character development think about what makes them tick, what they look like and go from there. If that makes sense. If you enjoy what you are writing, the reader is more likely to enjoy it. Generally, writing of any kind doesn't have to be written in a linear way, experiment do what feels right. Then refine the details. Hope this helps.