Thread: Planning: I'm sure I'm doing it wrong.

Now, I'll be fair, my writing style is... chaotic. I sort of sit down and write down whatever comes into my head. But I've thought it best to put in some planning for a fanfic I'm writing now (this is like, my first bit of serious writing at all) but I've realised something. I have a start and a finish... and nothing inbetween and I'm having trouble filling the gap. I've already written out my first chapter/prologue and the ending I have planned is quite intricate, but the middle part has little potential for anything but filler.

I guess the issue here is... how to proceed? I mean, I don't want to rewrite what I already have but I'm not sure I could get a story out without massive padding.

think of writing the next chapter as walking the next few steps, just start from the first chapter, and think what this story aught to go to next. often times, it's best not to think about how it will end until you reach that point, or you feel absolutely sure that you can write your story in a direction toward that end. if you feel confident in your story overall, then you aught to have some idea of how it plays out.

I suggest try to think your story through and imagine yourself walking through the story's plot as if you were on a guided tour. What do you see the characters doing in the grand scope of things? Are there any plot important things you can add?

Or you could reread what you have written and try to imagine where they go from there.

Or if all else fails, just try to write something and edit it after you're done.

One thing that I do when I hit this kind of stump is ask myself how long do I think this story should be? Does it have to be a multichapter story? Can I write it in 10 K words and have it be complete at that? How much ground must I cover to get from point A to the conclusion? If the answer is a lot, then...well, that gets you somewhere.

Another thing, try to type up a quick outline. Remember, you don't have to hold to it! You can change these things later and you will often find that in longer stories that the characters (when they are well written) will change things themselves because it really is where they want to go. You have to trust a little in them to get your story where it's suppose to end up or you won't be completing any story at all. That's my two cents, I guess.