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Q&A Should I write my story if I haven't established a plot?

Which answer is the one that's going to get you to sit down and write? That's the correct one. It's way too easy to get stuck on process. "I just have to do X, then I can write!" When I finally...

posted 6y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:32Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40159
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:11:26Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40159
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:11:26Z (almost 5 years ago)
Which answer is the one that's going to get you to sit down and write? That's the correct one.

It's way too easy to get stuck on process. "I just have to do X, then I can write!" When I finally sat down to write my novel (after writing it for years in my head), I wrote a chapter about 3/4 of the way in. Because it was screaming at me to write it. Next I wrote a chapter about 1/3 to 1/2 the way in. After that, I settled down and started writing in chronological order. Writing chapters out of order isn't the same as writing out of order (if the plot comes first) but there are a lot of similarities.

If you're happy being in the plotting stage, do it. Loving the outlines, have at. But if you're itching to sit down and write already, then do that. You can always come back later and rewrite stuff that doesn't fit the plot/outline, once you get around to having one. If you write out of order you probably will have a fair bit of rewriting to do, but sometimes writing in order isn't really what works for you.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-11-15T06:00:39Z (about 6 years ago)
Original score: 8