I am a planner, ever since I started writing a year ago, I planned.
Often I will write a couple intro versions to establish the start point and the voice, but then I plan.

I was wondering, as I am thinking of defecting to the organic writing side, if when you write organically, i.e without a plan (although probably with some ideas) do you focus on the MC and write and other threads after or do you do it all at the same time? It would seem a massive thing to keep straight in your head without a plan, but I could understand doing a single thread and working other things later, as required.

I think the beauty of organic writing is that you do it by instinct. It's not a matter of focusing on the MC but of "tuning in" to the story line. Feeling out your characters, letting them take you where they will, and figuring out how to make them grow and develop. That's where plot comes in.

I, for example, write organically. I just write it as I feel it, switching POV when it feels right, following the storyline as I see fit. Then, after I've finished the rough draft, I go through and make the changes that will turn the piece of crap I organically created into an actual good, polished piece of writing. In the novel I'm working on right now (well, I was working on it until I took a break and let you guys distract me) I had a love interest for the MC, who was the turning point for the MC at the climax of the novel, who has since been done away with completely. Likewise, the MC's father has taken on a much bigger role in the novel than he had in the rough draft. An entire subplot has been chopped, so that the main character of that lengthy subplot is now reduced to a talking head that pops up for about two total pages of the novel. A completly different subplot which did not exist in any form in the rough draft has now taken on a very important part of the story.

Also, when you write organically, trust yourself. Just yesterday I was working on a story in which a mother gives her teenage son a typewriter so he can write his stories. When I first saw it, I had the typewriter be an old-fashioned Royal, then I decided that didn't make sense and changed it to a 1970's electric typewriter. Later that day, as I was making dinner, I realized that the original idea was correct because the Royal typewriter belonged to the kid's grandfather, and he (the grandfather) used to bring in some extra dough by writing for the pulp magazines. So I had to go back and rewrite the scene, which was fine, because as I was rewriting it, I understood what the following scene was about -- and I also understood that his mother would be rooting for her son to succeed.

In other words, trust yourself, trust your "mistakes," and see where it leads you.

But most importantly -- write QUICKLY.

Where I diverge from the other comments are here:

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It's just that the first rough draft tends to be rougher than one for which a writer did a lot of planning.

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I'm not saying this isn't true for you, but it isn't true for me. I take a lot of time and effort in my first draft and would be willing to bet it's no roughter than one for most people who do a lot of planning. Quite the contrary.

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Writing quickly is essential if you are going to write organically. And what I mean by quickly is AT LEAST 1500 words a day for a first draft. I like to get in more than that. You'll slow down with subsequent drafts because you're focusing on getting things right instead of getting the story down. But in my experience you can't do both at once -- get the story down and get things write.

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I have to disagree for myself with this as well. I think what we're seeing is people assume that what works for them must work for everyone.

Sometimes I write fast, most of the time I write slowly--VERY slowly. I am a painstaking writer. That's just the way I am. I can't just dump words on the page. I have to think about what I'm writing and try to get it as close to right as I can.

That doesn't mean I don't edit. But I edit a first draft that has had a lot of work go into it.

All of which proves, if you want to try writing "organically" give it a try and see how it works for you. Different people's methods may or may not work for you.

I make notes in a note file of changes or additions I want to make on my 2nd draft.

Anyway, you can't write with no plan at all, IMHO. I always have a starting point and some idea where I'm going, often an ending. When you don't plan much, you usually have to resign yourself to the idea that your first draft is exploratory -- it is the planning, in a way. It doesn't require keeping a lot of details straight because you don't know them yet. You're discovering them as you go.

I enjoy writing that way because it's fun to discover the story with my characters. I get serious and fine-tune in the rewrite.

Try writing organically, and see how it works. If nothing else, It can be called PRACTICE. If nothing else, you will have something to work from for your real story.

I have always worked from the idea that write. get something on paper. Then research where you have problems. If the story has some problems, work them out in the first edit, which may require entire sections rewritten or eliminated. At least you have something to work on.

I hit the wall on the novel at 27K, and have let it sit for a couple of months. While it's been resting, I have been writing short fiction (anywhere from 450 to 12,000 words). And I've been having a blast. I don't plan it out. I get the story, start to bang it out, and then feel my way through. So, to my astonishment, I'm an organic writer, when all along I thought I was an inorganic one. Won't my wife be pleased. Now we are both emotionally and bio-chemically compatible!

But I never would have known if I hadn't played around with it and felt it out. Perhaps this is a good excercise. However you currently write, try to force yourself (or fall into it, as I did) to do it the other way. Even just once. Maybe, just maybe, you are more of the other than you thought...

Whew!!!! I'm so relieved. I think I'm going to knock off early, go straight home, and celebrate my organic composition!

My own "seat-of-the-pants" writing involves me knowing my lead characters VERY VERY well before even starting, but they do evolve as I write, as well (because I get to know them even better). Once I have a basic character in my mind, I'll do the psychological research to see what characteristics go along with him being overly impulsive (for instance), or what could make him so heartless and cruel (for the villain). If the villain's a sociopath, I want to know what defines a sociopath, what characteristics are common to them, that kind of thing (thankfully, my daughter has a Master's degree in criminal justice, a BS in psychology, so she's an excellent resource and a good place to start on my research).

Before I start writing, I have a good idea of the beginning and the ending, although the exact place where I began "Star Sons -Dawn of the Two" changed after I'd completed the novel and several rewrites - I added two chapters to the front, which improved an already good story with a more poignant start, and gave the reader some background for why my boys behave the way they do in chapter 3 (formerly chapter 1).

Before I start writing, I know some things about the villain and about some of the adventures I want my heroes to have, but the only things written down will be a description of the characters to help me keep a grip on them. Ethan, the older brother, is tall, strongly-built, responsible, serious, patient and shy. Jake, the younger brother, is smaller in build even as an adult, charming, quick-witted, highly impulsive. They're very protective of each other, although Jake has a rebellious streak. I know their faces, the sounds of their voices, the way they think (some of this evolved as I was writing, but I had a strong clue at the beginning).

One thing that helps me anchor my main characters is to choose someone (usually an actor) who resembles them either in personality or physically and keep that person in mind when I'm writing my characters. The "real" people used as models would probably never recognize themselves, and since I don't really know them, their personalities are my creation, but having a way to anchor that character somehow helps me to keep him grounded. On occasion, I'll create a character based on a blending of people I know or have known or met. I don't do this for all my characters, just the main ones.

Other characters I make up with no model can be kind of nebulous feeling until I get a feel for their voices and mannerisms, but it all comes out through visualizing scenes and listening for their voices, watching for their mannerisms. I'm a professional artist, so I'm a very "visual" thinker - working this way works for me. People-watching in malls can be a great way to help me envision characters if I have problems coming up with an "anchor" for that character.

I keep a list of characters, who they're related to and how, their physical characteristics, personality quirks, etc. This is very useful for me - I found out I had too many people with blue eyes once I checked my list, so I went back and changed some of them! Also, both female leads were turned out to be blond, so one became a strawberry blond. If not for my lists, I might have made a big mistake!

Once the book is written in first draft (which is very polished, since I go back and polish the previous day's work to get into the groove for today's writing), I make a list of what happens in each chapter, so I can look up when he learned that skill or spell, or when they met that character, or if I really did kill off that person or not. Without that kind of list, I'd get lost in a three-book (so far!) series like Star Sons.

For myself, I think I'm somewhere in the middle. Mostly, I just need to have enough material to keep writing, planned or not.

But I also think it can vary from work to work. For my next WiP, I've been trying to decide how to do it: organic or planned. I think its one where organic might be good, so long as I know the characters life story and I know what the secrets are. I don't need to have events laid out before hand this time. The one after that might be different?

It's my opinion. May or may not hold true for you as well.

Kathleen said:

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I just finished reading Stephen King's ON WRITING, and in it he explains that he hates the idea of pre-plotting a story. He starts from a situation and a character and lets the story grow from there. He calls it uncovering the story the way an paleontologist uncovers a fossil.

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I started with plans, databases of characters and locations, outlines of plots, totally buried myself in mounds of material.

I've learned to blast a draft fast after absorbing relevant research and a minimum of planning, and letting the characters take it where they will. I think my writing's improving and I'm certainly having more fun with it. This is only shorts, mind, I'm not tackling novels yet.

I suspect I'll wind up organic yet planned, sorta like my favourite music--jazz, blending structure and improv.

And I'm with everyone who says we're all different. Thank goodness.

When I was much younger (is 30 old enough to say that? Sigh...) I used to write with NO plan at all sometimes. I'd sit in front of the computer with a blank document in front of me and just start typing whatever words came to mind.

It was fun, but I never got past page 5 and actually, I don't remember ever turning one of those starts into a full story, though I went back and started over on a few.

Now I do something different. I still type whatever comes to mind on a blank document but instead of trying to write a story, I do free-form brainstorming for story ideas. This works much better for me.

Plotting and characters - what a concept! I am probably mor organic than King. I start with a concept - "what if this could happen?" - then try to think of a setting for it to happen in. Then I just start writing. I have a vague feel for where I want the story to go, but then there are these characters who appear on the page and start doing their own thing. If I'm lucky, we all are headed in the same direction (although sometimes they drag me to a better place than I had thought of).

In my case it is important to keep writing until I'm done, then I go back and start cleaning up inconsistencies, and try to fill in gaps.