Just curious about how many folks write an outline, character sketches and work on plotting first? I simply cannot do it. I find I spend more time doing all of that than actually writing. I do keep a word document open as I am writing to note ideas or additional character background as I am writing, but I cannot, for the life of me force myself to do the other things.
I do a lot of my writing in my mind on my way to and from work. Yeah, sometimes things get lost between there and the written page. I probably need to turn on my phone's voice recorder and simply record as I drive. I have found over the years, after trying outlines and some of the other things writing books recommend that I simply need to sit and write. As I write or when I am doing something that requires minimal thought, I find that my characters speak to me. If they are not speaking to me, it means I have little or no feeling about them.
When I finish my rough draft, I find it then helpful to go back and develop character sketches. I have at that point learned more about my characters and by creating the sketches can help keep my subsequent rewrites true to that character. I could probably outline at that point and review my plotting to ensure everything moves as anticipated. But, above all else, first I need to simply sit down and write.
What about you?
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