Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > General > Writer's Corner > To the writers of original stories...

[Jon Thompson]

I have direction but it's slim. Knowing the ending takes away the fun of writing it. Characters and events can change under your hands without realizing it. If I knew the ending my story would have nowhere to grow, it would be constrained in an outline. I don't even think of a beginning or characters. I've had numerous premises I'd like to write. Whenever I get inspiration I lock it up in my mental desk drawer and save it for when I need it.

Characters are difficult for me. Sometimes it's a character I want to write about (several cases of this) but I've no plot to accompany it. It can be troublesome but it will all get better in time.

[Vivi22]

Originally Posted by Jon Thompson ^

I have direction but it's slim. Knowing the ending takes away the fun of writing it. Characters and events can change under your hands without realizing it. If I knew the ending my story would have nowhere to grow, it would be constrained in an outline.

I don't know, you'd be surprised how much a story can grow and change between a set beginning and ending. Of course, how every person writes is going to be different to how everyone else writes, but I know that when I think of my beginning and my ending, the two usually seem so incredibly unconnected that getting from one to the other can be a challenge. I guess I just like trying to connect the dots from point A to point Z in the most logical and plausible (at least within the confines of my story) way possible. But then again, I've written in more different ways than I can count, including starting with just a beginning and letting the story grow, or even a single idea that I want to convey while letting a story grow around that. I tend to change it up occasionally if only to push myself into unfamiliar territory.

[Polaris]

Originally Posted by Ouch! ^

I can't imagine not having an ending in mind. That'd be like the ultimate "you have no direction whatsoever, do you?"

No! ^^ Most times the best end come naturally flowing with the story! ^^ People may change the story during the time they're writting it! Not always the idea you begin with may be the one you end up with! ^^ That's why for me literature is so fascinating!

[[-Lady Hitokiri-]]

it's been a while since I've written an original story, but I usually have a defined beginning and end, and I just improv on the stuff in the middle to have it make sense. Usually the stuff I write comes from dreams I have so I'm at the mercy of my mind usually ^^

[Jon Thompson]

Originally Posted by Vivi22 ^

Originally Posted by Jon Thompson ^

I have direction but it's slim. Knowing the ending takes away the fun of writing it. Characters and events can change under your hands without realizing it. If I knew the ending my story would have nowhere to grow, it would be constrained in an outline.

I don't know, you'd be surprised how much a story can grow and change between a set beginning and ending. Of course, how every person writes is going to be different to how everyone else writes, but I know that when I think of my beginning and my ending, the two usually seem so incredibly unconnected that getting from one to the other can be a challenge. I guess I just like trying to connect the dots from point A to point Z in the most logical and plausible (at least within the confines of my story) way possible. But then again, I've written in more different ways than I can count, including starting with just a beginning and letting the story grow, or even a single idea that I want to convey while letting a story grow around that. I tend to change it up occasionally if only to push myself into unfamiliar territory.

I was writing my novel with a set ending in mind. Then around page 125 everything went fubar and everything changed. It just kind of happened.

[Dragon Mage]

I always know what I'm going to do in my story at least a few chapters ahead. At first I just had one idea and then I suddenly got a MUCH better idea and it just grew from there. Overall, I think it's much better then it would have been if I kept going with the first idea. I have an idea of what I want my ending to be, right down to the location and description. Other than that, I have 'waypoints' if you will, in the story: Milestones I work my way to. When I get to one, i start working towards the other. I find this helps immensely when writing a long piece. I've just reached page 200. I find I alway have plenty options to write with, so I have a lot of flexiblity with my story. You just have to let it grow.