Comments on: Free Advice: Writing Whilst In The Weeds

By: #NaNoWriMo: Bang! (with Ninjas) – doyce testerman

#NaNoWriMo: Bang! (with Ninjas) – doyce testerman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:18:02 +0000

[...] So here we are. Week Three, innit it? Bit of pain in the ass, this one. Some folks call it the wasteland. Some call it the weeds. [...]

By: TERRIBLEMINDS: Chuck Wendig, Freelance Penmonkey » Blog Archive » Repeat After Me, Writers: “No Unitaskers”

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:03:41 +0000

[...] in the weeds. Your boots are mired in the verbmuck. It’s hard to know which way is north, or up, or left, [...]

By: TERRIBLEMINDS: Chuck Wendig, Freelance Penmonkey » Blog Archive » Failure To Outline: A Cautionary Tale

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:23:12 +0000

[...] and you’ll have bad days. But it’s very hard to see the forest for the trees. Remember my post about being in the weeds? This is that. Outlining, as noted there, will get you through the [...]

By: Chuck

Chuck — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:45:38 +0000

John:

Well, as noted, your mileage may vary.

Yes, everybody writes a different way, and One True Way does not exist.

My One True Way used to not involve outlining.

As it turns out, My One True Way was actually just me being lazy.

The materials I turn out are stronger the more I know going in than if I go in half-cocked. I resisted it for a long time, but for me, the proof was in the pudding.

All that being said, if you ever decide for certain that screenwriting is the way you want to move, then you’ll definitely need to become comfortably with outlining — in that industry, you’ll find that certain things are expected.

– c.

By: JNewman

JNewman — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:19:47 +0000

Coincidentally, I was actually arguing with someone else today about outlining. I don’t actually think that works for everyone. I prefer to do what I think of as a “soft outline.” I flesh out my characters and jot down notes on how they might interact with each other. I start with a premise, think of a good conflict with that premise and basically go from there. Sometimes I know what’ll happen at the end, sometimes I don’t.

I don’t think there’s any One True Way to go about writing. I really think each writer needs to figure out what works for them.