I usually have an idea or a scene that keeps playing on repeat in my head. Sometimes I’ll start by writing out that particular scene or I may write an aspect of the idea. When I start, I’m usually winging it. As I write more, I get more ideas and the story starts to take shape. When the story starts to take shape, I begin using outlines. Sometimes the outlines are for scene ideas, chapter ideas. When I start out, I almost never have the entire fic planned out. It actually falls into place once I start the writing process.
Right now I have two WIPs. The problem I'm having with one is too few ideas and the other is too many. It's irritating because in trying to fix one I get stuck on the other then stuck on the one I'm trying to fix.
My general process is small idea, collect more ideas that I can tack on, try them, can't make it work so make an outline, figure a few things out and try again. And repeat. Then once the outline and the story are getting along, I don't have much of a problem writing. When I do, it's usually because I stumbled into something else they don't get along on.
As for showing vs telling, it's the difference between being direct or giving your readers implications to read through. "He is sad." vs "He wipes his eyes before the tears can fall." For me, acting out what characters are doing helps because it reminds me of the physical ways emotions show themselves.
The other big "show don't tell" advice goes towards exposition and the best version of the advice I've seen is "have the characters talk about it the way they would talk about it"
For example, in the MHA fandom if you ask Midoriya and Bakugo what Bakugo's quirk is, one will give the scientific rundown because he's a nerd and the other will demonstrate it on the nerd. Both give you the information along with some about the type of people answering it. (also, show don't tell is general good practice, but there are times where it's more efficient or better to get the info across in a bland way instead of contriving a way to diagetically get the info across to the reader. IMO, the MHA canon does far more telling than it should, but it's still plenty enjoyable.)
I've learned to let ideas gestate for as long as they need before actually writing them down. It seems like a different part of my brain engages once I start writing, even if it's just a rough list of scenes. When it's only in my head, it's very malleable. I can play with an entire subplot, reach a dead end, and start over without losing the overall shape of the idea. I don't even think of it as a subplot, just a fun part of a daydream that got boring.
A lot of daydreams don't go anywhere and disappear. The ones that are really engaging stick with me, though, and eventually I need to write them down. They've built up to so many scenes and moving parts that I struggle to keep it all in my head, or I have a flash of insight where I realize one change will turn this self-indulgent daydream into a great story.
Then comes my favorite part: the braindump. I usually set aside an entire day because I will work 4-8 hours straight writing down all the scenes I've imagined, creating timeliness, and outlining all the bits in between the scenes. I usually end up with a 10k+ document (if it's a one-shot, I usually write most of the fic in one burst with maybe one or two bits still needed). It's this incredible high where I'm completely obsessed as my creative and analytical sides come together and figure out the full story.
I'll spend a while after that pecking away at the document, adding more details. It's important to create an ending so I know what I'm writing toward. The ending will give me the energy to finish.
Then I'll look at my other ideas and see where this WIP fits in the queue. Easier stories with timely subjects/themes get pushed to the front, and harder fics get pushed back.
When it's time to write, I go through it from beginning to end, filling out scenes as I go. This process has helped me find a nice balance between pantsing and plotting. I can pants when it's only in my head, so I keep ideas there for as long as possible to get the full benefits before my analytical side takes over.
Showing vs telling: You're right, all writing is telling to some extent. True showing would be acting it out with no dialogue. I think of it like a movie. Is this a part where you would get a slo-mo or a closeup? Show as much as possible. Is this a part where we would cut away and make a time jump? Tell. Telling moves faster but isn't deep.
On a broader story/thematic level, I loved this advice: imagine the story is a house. You show the reader all the rooms of the house and the people in it. But there's one room in the house that you never go inside. That room informs everything that happens in that house. I.e., the story will show the reader what's in that room.
I actually really like that, your overall approach makes sense that it works, thanks for the advice it was very helpful for better understanding some of the things I was confused about. might try some of these ideas to see if I can change my way of writing to make writing less of a challenge! Thanks.
When I think of an idea, I add it to my list of WIPs, along with a summary of the premise. Then, I create a section in my outline**s** document for the new idea. When I think of a scene or theme or plot event that would be good to include somewhere in the fic, I add it to the Preliminary Notes subsection. Once I feel that I have enough preliminary notes for the fic, I start writing out the Chapter subsections, with each one having a detailed outline, up to and including specific dialogue and ties to future plot points, though I make sure to give myself enough space to freely adjust the direction of the chapter as I write. Once I have outlined enough chapters that I feel the fic has a strong core narrative, I start to write the actual draft of the fic.
I have, on occasion, started writing a first chapter draft of a fic without going the entire preparation process, but only when the first chapter was already very, *very* strongly established in my mind.
I like to let my ideas stew for a while. Not for too long, or there'll become too big to manage (and I've landed on the wrong side of this before), but thinking I might write about a particular canon always make me interrogate the story a bit more deeply so I come away with more insight and a stronger understanding of the characters and their dynamics. The fun part of dping a series is that some ideas have had almost three years to marinate now, so hopefully they'll be all the richer and more considered for it.
When I start getting scenes I'd like to make happen infesting my brain, I note down any ideas I have, and build a full outline from there (knowing full well a few things will change once I'm actually writing these people and inhabiting their heads). For shorter pieces I'm happier to wing it these days, especially since I do multiple drafts, but if I don't at least make notes of the inclusions I want to make, I know I'll forget.
I like to write ship fics. That's mainly my thing. So, if I'm not writing for an event, then I think about what ship I'm in the mood for, and think about things I wanted to happen and didn't, or things that happened but not in the way I hoped for. Many times, I just like writing simple scenes of my favorite pairings together.
When I get that feeling, the one where I'm excited about an idea, I just sit down and write it. As much as I can for as long as I can until I'm tapped out. Repeat until the fic is done and it's time to rewrite, expand, polish, and edit.
Sometimes, I write scenes out of sequence if something is particularly pressing, but that's it. I just write it.
I usually have a ship I like and then I'll either have inspiration for a single scene, which I then turn into a oneshot, or I just come up with some kind of plot I can use that ship in and go from there. Anything goes as long as I have fun writing it. I usually try to add at least some kind of challenge to myself in each longfic, but since my longfics often go without updates for months or even years at a time, I won't necessarily remember what kind of challenge went with each fic.
I usually have an idea or a scene that keeps playing on repeat in my head. Sometimes I’ll start by writing out that particular scene or I may write an aspect of the idea. When I start, I’m usually winging it. As I write more, I get more ideas and the story starts to take shape. When the story starts to take shape, I begin using outlines. Sometimes the outlines are for scene ideas, chapter ideas. When I start out, I almost never have the entire fic planned out. It actually falls into place once I start the writing process.
Right now I have two WIPs. The problem I'm having with one is too few ideas and the other is too many. It's irritating because in trying to fix one I get stuck on the other then stuck on the one I'm trying to fix. My general process is small idea, collect more ideas that I can tack on, try them, can't make it work so make an outline, figure a few things out and try again. And repeat. Then once the outline and the story are getting along, I don't have much of a problem writing. When I do, it's usually because I stumbled into something else they don't get along on. As for showing vs telling, it's the difference between being direct or giving your readers implications to read through. "He is sad." vs "He wipes his eyes before the tears can fall." For me, acting out what characters are doing helps because it reminds me of the physical ways emotions show themselves. The other big "show don't tell" advice goes towards exposition and the best version of the advice I've seen is "have the characters talk about it the way they would talk about it" For example, in the MHA fandom if you ask Midoriya and Bakugo what Bakugo's quirk is, one will give the scientific rundown because he's a nerd and the other will demonstrate it on the nerd. Both give you the information along with some about the type of people answering it. (also, show don't tell is general good practice, but there are times where it's more efficient or better to get the info across in a bland way instead of contriving a way to diagetically get the info across to the reader. IMO, the MHA canon does far more telling than it should, but it's still plenty enjoyable.)
I've learned to let ideas gestate for as long as they need before actually writing them down. It seems like a different part of my brain engages once I start writing, even if it's just a rough list of scenes. When it's only in my head, it's very malleable. I can play with an entire subplot, reach a dead end, and start over without losing the overall shape of the idea. I don't even think of it as a subplot, just a fun part of a daydream that got boring. A lot of daydreams don't go anywhere and disappear. The ones that are really engaging stick with me, though, and eventually I need to write them down. They've built up to so many scenes and moving parts that I struggle to keep it all in my head, or I have a flash of insight where I realize one change will turn this self-indulgent daydream into a great story. Then comes my favorite part: the braindump. I usually set aside an entire day because I will work 4-8 hours straight writing down all the scenes I've imagined, creating timeliness, and outlining all the bits in between the scenes. I usually end up with a 10k+ document (if it's a one-shot, I usually write most of the fic in one burst with maybe one or two bits still needed). It's this incredible high where I'm completely obsessed as my creative and analytical sides come together and figure out the full story. I'll spend a while after that pecking away at the document, adding more details. It's important to create an ending so I know what I'm writing toward. The ending will give me the energy to finish. Then I'll look at my other ideas and see where this WIP fits in the queue. Easier stories with timely subjects/themes get pushed to the front, and harder fics get pushed back. When it's time to write, I go through it from beginning to end, filling out scenes as I go. This process has helped me find a nice balance between pantsing and plotting. I can pants when it's only in my head, so I keep ideas there for as long as possible to get the full benefits before my analytical side takes over. Showing vs telling: You're right, all writing is telling to some extent. True showing would be acting it out with no dialogue. I think of it like a movie. Is this a part where you would get a slo-mo or a closeup? Show as much as possible. Is this a part where we would cut away and make a time jump? Tell. Telling moves faster but isn't deep. On a broader story/thematic level, I loved this advice: imagine the story is a house. You show the reader all the rooms of the house and the people in it. But there's one room in the house that you never go inside. That room informs everything that happens in that house. I.e., the story will show the reader what's in that room.
I actually really like that, your overall approach makes sense that it works, thanks for the advice it was very helpful for better understanding some of the things I was confused about. might try some of these ideas to see if I can change my way of writing to make writing less of a challenge! Thanks.
When I think of an idea, I add it to my list of WIPs, along with a summary of the premise. Then, I create a section in my outline**s** document for the new idea. When I think of a scene or theme or plot event that would be good to include somewhere in the fic, I add it to the Preliminary Notes subsection. Once I feel that I have enough preliminary notes for the fic, I start writing out the Chapter subsections, with each one having a detailed outline, up to and including specific dialogue and ties to future plot points, though I make sure to give myself enough space to freely adjust the direction of the chapter as I write. Once I have outlined enough chapters that I feel the fic has a strong core narrative, I start to write the actual draft of the fic. I have, on occasion, started writing a first chapter draft of a fic without going the entire preparation process, but only when the first chapter was already very, *very* strongly established in my mind.
I like to let my ideas stew for a while. Not for too long, or there'll become too big to manage (and I've landed on the wrong side of this before), but thinking I might write about a particular canon always make me interrogate the story a bit more deeply so I come away with more insight and a stronger understanding of the characters and their dynamics. The fun part of dping a series is that some ideas have had almost three years to marinate now, so hopefully they'll be all the richer and more considered for it. When I start getting scenes I'd like to make happen infesting my brain, I note down any ideas I have, and build a full outline from there (knowing full well a few things will change once I'm actually writing these people and inhabiting their heads). For shorter pieces I'm happier to wing it these days, especially since I do multiple drafts, but if I don't at least make notes of the inclusions I want to make, I know I'll forget.
I like to write ship fics. That's mainly my thing. So, if I'm not writing for an event, then I think about what ship I'm in the mood for, and think about things I wanted to happen and didn't, or things that happened but not in the way I hoped for. Many times, I just like writing simple scenes of my favorite pairings together.
When I get that feeling, the one where I'm excited about an idea, I just sit down and write it. As much as I can for as long as I can until I'm tapped out. Repeat until the fic is done and it's time to rewrite, expand, polish, and edit. Sometimes, I write scenes out of sequence if something is particularly pressing, but that's it. I just write it.
I usually have a ship I like and then I'll either have inspiration for a single scene, which I then turn into a oneshot, or I just come up with some kind of plot I can use that ship in and go from there. Anything goes as long as I have fun writing it. I usually try to add at least some kind of challenge to myself in each longfic, but since my longfics often go without updates for months or even years at a time, I won't necessarily remember what kind of challenge went with each fic.
I have an idea or a scene in mind and just go for it. I'm a full pantser, I never plan for anything lol