Plot Evolution

[queenoftheskies]

I'm curious again, folks. I spend lots of time curious.

How do your plots evolve for you? What kind of writer are you?

Do you have an entire story in your head before you start? Do you know all your characters in depth?

Do you start with only an idea and allow it to evolve organically?

Do you start with a scene and go from there?

Do you start with an image and allow it to evolve?

Do you change with each project?

Do you write in a linear fashion?

Or do you skip around to whichever scenes strike your fancy and then fill in the blanks later?

And, most importantly, have you found THE way that works best for you?

Comments

[pet-hypothesis.livejournal.com]

As far as novels go, I'm still floundering around. I've only ever gotten to the words "The end" for a novel twice. The only constant is that I start with a premise, a "What if there was this?"

I do have a system for short stories though, which does seem to be THE SYSTEM for me. It goes:

1) Premise, which occasionally comes with a central scene attached.

2) Resolution.

3) Premise and resolution give me an idea of my main characters, and I build brief profiles from there.

4) Fill in rest of plot.

5) Write rough outline (one line descriptions of scenes.)

6) Write, linearly, one scene at a time.

And then editing :)