I ask because this seems to happen too often to me. I will start with a rough outline of the plot, but sometimes a character strays from the plan and the story goes off in a new direction, and it seems all I am doing is describing what is happening like I am describing a film for somebody who has not seen it. And the film is running in my mind, and I can see it there, so I just tell you what I am seeing, or what the character is thinking or feeling.
Oh God yes. Many of my stories have been written that way. My series Wedding Interrupted (see sig for a link to the list of stories in the series), for instance, has largely had no plan, just going where the story and characters wanted to go. I originally only intended to write the first two, but then the story just demanded to be taken further.
Many of mine have taken different paths.
As a new writer, I find it hard to stay with in my outline. Halfway through it I have stopped and restarted it.... so right now it's in limbo..... and that is hard for me to swallow..... I want to write a good story that is interesting and some what arousing.... like most of the ones I have read.... I will not give up on it... I have never been a quiter and I am not going to start now...
I know writers who meticulously plan, with great results, but my feeling has always been that a good story will "get away" from you at some point, because it is developing a life of its own. As Scott the Ape above me points out, abandoning plot can leave you painted into a corner with no ending, and that has happened to me. But generally I think its a good sign if your story grows more complex and takes unexpected turns over the course of writing it.
i very rarely write a story where it ends like i expected it to. it's just something i've grown used to.
You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
My stories are written a couple of different ways, but I have literally never used an outline, or at least not one that is written down somewhere. Sometimes I wake up with a story in my head, sit down and write it out in a few hours, pretty much knowing how it starts, progresses and ends. Sometimes I jut have a vague concept, and let the story and characters go where they may. Some, like my bookish comp entry, I decided pretty much on the last week of the comp to enter it. I had no clue what it was going to end up as, and just started writing with a back story for the main character. When I got to the part to tie it into the theme, my original concept was not working, and I made a few substantial changes to that part of the story. I was nearly 2700 words in and still had no end in mind. I wrote just under 300 more words, wrapping it all up neatly. I finished it in about 4 hours, spent another hour tweaking it, then submitted it late that night.
I rarely start out to write multi chapter stories, but unless I am writing a story for a comp, or a specific category and there is a word limit, or I have the entire story already in my head, I just write until the story is done. Then I divide it into chapters if it turns out to be long enough. The reason I try to do that is so that as the characters develop and maybe take a different direction then they started out, or some new sub-story occurs to me, and I need to go back and retrofit an earlier part of the story to make it make more sense, I can do that easily. If I write it chapter by chapter and post each as I complete, then retro fitting is impossible, and you somehow have to explain the change in direction or timeline. That is not to say I always do it that way, and sometimes the chapters start as a one-off story. Then after posting it, I get an idea for additional chapters, they essentially become a standalone or loose continuation of the original story with the same characters.
Yes, this sometimes happens to me. I blame the characters. Once I've given them life on the page, they develop minds of their own, and start trying to influence the way the story's going.
Sometimes I'm strict, and make them do what I want. Other times, it's easier to let them have their own way. Ungrateful bastards lol.
22 February 2024 - How about a quick plug for one of my filthiest recent stories? It's all in the title - Naked Pool Party Swingers | Lush Stories Please read, comment and maybe give it a ❤️ - or even a⭐ if you really enjoy it! Thank you! Annie xxx
I usually start with a rough idea in my head, a kind of foggy outline that sort of materializes out of the mist. As the story takes shape it often develops in a direction that was not anticipated as the characters become more complete. About 90% of the time the characters get ahead of me so I tend to 'scribble' a note at the bottom of the page and fill it in later. This probably makes no sense but it seems as though the characters have a better idea what should come next than I do. If I do write an outline it tends to run about 15 words or more often just phrases or thoughts that pop into my head. I have one story on the go that took a 180 degree turn and that one definitely got away on me. If I can pull it together it may just yet turn out halfway readable. I'm a rather eclectic person whose thoughts scatter about like kittens on amphetamines. It probably shows in the quality (or lack therof) in my stories. LOL
There has virtually never been a plan 0r 0utline f0r my st0ries. Quite 0ften I see a picture and it causes a st0ry t0 begin in my mind. If I can c0me up with the first line I am 0n my way. Then "it writes itself." I kn0w what s0me f0lks d0, 0bsessing with kn0win wh0 d0es what and h0w it all happens, but that has never been my way. I accept the resp0nsibilty f0r my brain t0 d0 the j0b. And it d0es. 0ften en0ugh that I have the 3rd highest number 0f st0ries 0n red, and the m0st 0n blue. N0w, I have t0 admit, my final st0ry t0 regain the 0mnium will be a steam punk and I am d0ing research f0r it. I kn0w I will have t0 c0me up with s0me inventi0ns that w0uld n0t be f0und in 0ur present day. It's a special case. It will need clear planning t0 be the best steam punk ever.
Those are usually the most fun to write and often turn into my best stories.
I've had success both ways, strictly by my outline and deviating wildly on a tangent.
some of my best stories wrote themselves
I have three famous stories, 2 recommended reads and have come in the top ten in two competitions~ Come in and make yourself at home.
I often start out with one idea and as you mention, things develop in a different way to that I envisaged. So my answer is it's not normal but it does happen.
If I begin to think I am one of the characters it certainly does.
Marie, I worry when mine DON'T! For example, I am working on a Sci-Fi story now that started out as a simple one or two chapter story about a guy who lands on a strange planet in women. It should have been simple but I'm on Chapter 8 with no end in sight! LOL! Another time I was collaborating with Poppet on a simple story and we had to stop at 14 chapters just cause we were sick of seeing the damn thing!
On occasion, my story will start out with one idea, and it will take a hard left turn and the next thing I know it's doing something completely different! Then I have to figure out what category to put it in!
My writing style is to come up with an idea, find a good cover pic, and let it take over from there!
I usually have an outline but as I strengthen the characters, I might deviate slightly. As an architect I learned to stay within the plan but tweak the design to accomplish the goal. Writing is an art and the artist has creative license.
When I create a character, they have an age, a location in time and a situation/predicament.
I have discovered that my character will then begin to tell their own story as they look around at what they see and experience. Yes, I try a nudge here and there, but the moment I feel something is not in keeping with that character, I back off, find a place of truth, and then allow that character to resume their adventure.
I think I was heavily influenced by early years on stage. I may practice the spoken lines while sitting in the green room but when standing in the wings I was steeping myself in my character’s back-story. Am I wet, cold, hungry, tired, exhilarated, distressed etc? Then I left my own self in the wings and stepped onstage in character. It had its own life.
I know – Perhaps not a disciplined way to write, but I have faith the character will tell their own story if I allow them to breathe.
Earlier I posted that I've had success doing a story both ways. On 2 recent stories, I actually wrote the ending first and on one I split the ending in two, using the first part of the ending as the beginning then went back in story time and built the main character. Then had fun connecting it all together with the action leading up to the second half of the ending.
But with those stories, I found it great fun to write the ending first and find out through writing how to get there.
The way I was taught to write was to know the ending before writing. When developing characters both big and small, I give them very detailed personalities with traits, habits, and a background of which the reader will more than likely never know. But I will know. As I am writing towards the ending, knowing so much about my characters, I know how they would behave or react to certain situations or other characters and that does lead to some changes from my original outline in the beginning.
Oh hell yes, Marie! This happens to me all the time. I begin with an idea of a story arc and start to gently flesh out the characters (never with a "laundry list" type description, however) and as soon as I blow breath into them they grab the story and run with it. Probably a good thing, or I'd never get past the first few paragraphs; it's far too lonely writing alone, but with a cast of new-found "friends" helping me, it becomes fun!
I have not written any stories for a long while but this has happened to me as well. Apart from one I posted just for a laugh last year, the last erotic story I wrote for this site was 7 years ago and it started out as a story about a guy revenge-fucking a bitchy girl from his high school year at their 20 year reunion, but it morphed itself into more of a love story as I wrote it. It seemed to work better that way. I didn't realise that wort of thing was so common until I saw this topic.
Just thought of this thread. Started a story that I thought I knew exactly where it was going. I like what I've written so far but I'm not sure I still want to go the same way with it. However, I also don't know where else to go with it. As it stands, it's just two people meet at a conference and fuck each other's brains out, which isn't much of a story in my books. There was going to be a plot twist after the initial bout of fucking but the twist I originally intended doesn't feel right now so I'm kind of left hanging. So, yeah, it's getting away from the planned outline and I'm not sure where it wants to go now. Maybe it will end up back at my original plot but right now, it's kind of hanging there.
I just read this after I posted. Its just like this, I give them life and they repay me with rebellion. 
