I prefer outlining novel-length stories, but the funny thing is, once I start writing, I never look at the outline again. I think it's the process of outlining that's more helpful than the actual outline, as it helps me to organize all the scenes and to map out the direction the story is going.
Short stories, I get a general idea of it, plan it out as much as possible, then start writing and let it go where it will. I think one of the reasons why my current story is going so slow is because there are multiple directions it could go, any one of which would work, and I'm still trying to decide between them (though at the moment I'm leaning toward one particular direction).
One thing I've come to realize, at least with me, is that when the beginning and the end of a story is solid in my mind - that is, I know exactly how I want it to start and want it to end - the story is a lot easier to write. If I don't have a beginning or an end, that's when the story either drags or stalls. So it could be a matter of having a starting point and knowing where the story is going, even if the middle is still elusive. With my current story, because there are so many possibilities, though I do have a vague idea about how the story is going to end it's not a solid ending, so the story is going slow. I don't know if having a start and an end is the key, but thus far that seems to be what works for me ;) (Okay, with short stories. Long stories still need a little bit more than that).
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chiming
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Date: 2010-10-14 06:38 pm (UTC)From:Short stories, I get a general idea of it, plan it out as much as possible, then start writing and let it go where it will. I think one of the reasons why my current story is going so slow is because there are multiple directions it could go, any one of which would work, and I'm still trying to decide between them (though at the moment I'm leaning toward one particular direction).
One thing I've come to realize, at least with me, is that when the beginning and the end of a story is solid in my mind - that is, I know exactly how I want it to start and want it to end - the story is a lot easier to write. If I don't have a beginning or an end, that's when the story either drags or stalls. So it could be a matter of having a starting point and knowing where the story is going, even if the middle is still elusive. With my current story, because there are so many possibilities, though I do have a vague idea about how the story is going to end it's not a solid ending, so the story is going slow. I don't know if having a start and an end is the key, but thus far that seems to be what works for me ;) (Okay, with short stories. Long stories still need a little bit more than that).