Zagaroth
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2023
- Messages
- 386
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- 103
It will vary by needs.
I have over 900K words written, and I never wrote a proper outline.
However:
While I only started with a basic scene and some characters, and just simply started writing from there, I discovered the general shape of my primary antagonist in the process. Great, I have a mental pin: At some point, a person related to this group is going to make themselves a problem. The end of the serial is when they have dealt with that problem.
As time went on and I built more world, I had more ideas to add as way points. I then discarded about half of them along the way, as they no longer fit my current development of the story.
I was also wrong about 'solving' that problem being the end of the serial; turns out, that was the end of the first major arc. The way certain other things developed, there is an entire second major arc to be spun off from there.
That should be the end of this first serial, but I also have a bunch of ideas for other series set in the same world. :)
I have over 900K words written, and I never wrote a proper outline.
However:
While I only started with a basic scene and some characters, and just simply started writing from there, I discovered the general shape of my primary antagonist in the process. Great, I have a mental pin: At some point, a person related to this group is going to make themselves a problem. The end of the serial is when they have dealt with that problem.
As time went on and I built more world, I had more ideas to add as way points. I then discarded about half of them along the way, as they no longer fit my current development of the story.
I was also wrong about 'solving' that problem being the end of the serial; turns out, that was the end of the first major arc. The way certain other things developed, there is an entire second major arc to be spun off from there.
That should be the end of this first serial, but I also have a bunch of ideas for other series set in the same world. :)