Prewriting? What Prewriting?

I really hate planning.

Whenever I start to write something, I just go for it.  The ideas in my head are always enough to go on.  There’s never any need to actually put something to paper before the first sentence.

Or at least that’s how my life’s been so far.  And I haven’t really had much experience in the Real World.

But lately I’ve been thinking about really writing, novels and such.  And I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe people outline their stories for a reason.  It’s hard to keep track of all the characters, foreshadowings, subplots and loopholes that go into writing an actual book.

???

Without a good outline to show you where your story needs to go, your chances of getting stuck are infinitely higher, as are the chances of your novel being the most boring, predictable excuse for a narrative in the universe.

So, I’m going to have to learn how to do that.  Which is going to be harder than it looks.  There isn’t just one standard type of prewriting that works for everyone.  Some people like summaries and free thinking.  Others are more the charts-and-graphs type.

It’s different for everyone.

But, of course, I’ll have to figure it out if The Author Dream is going to be realized.  No story can hope to be written on a pen and a prayer.

I think this is my first lesson on how writing isn’t all kittens and rainbows.  It takes actual work.

Alas, no.

Oh, well.  Wish me luck with that.

Happy reading!