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Debra takes a look at the Happily Ever After...
Although I firmly assert that I am a pantster and not a plotter, even when I first start a story, I always have an idea of how the story will end. Obviously, since I write romance, the hero and heroine will overcome their issues and start their life together.
But I'm talking more specific than that. I usually have a vision of what the closing scene will look like. Sometimes I've been known to skip to that part and write it before I write other parts of the story. Which can get a bit confusing, but it does give me something concrete to aim for besides a general HEA.
Even for my latest project, tentatively titled "The Cowboy and the Princess", which I'm writing using my 'just add water' strategy a day at a time in a very linear fashion, I have an idea of how the story will end. Now I just have to get there!
(On a side note, that story - Which if you remember took me by surprise when it popped into my head last week - is going well...I'm up to 3,605 words in 8 days. My best day so far is 637 words. The least I've accomplished is 250. But every little bit adds up, right?
Anyway, I digress. I know, for me, sometimes the things my characters do in between chapter one and 'the end' sometimes surprise me. Sometimes my characters have a mind of their own and wind up doing things I never expected them to. But my endings always turn out pretty much how I envisioned them at the beginning.
How about you? Does the course of your story every change so much while you're writing it that the outcome is different than you intended/expected? Or are your HEAs firmly set?
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
I'd say for my stories, I have a general idea of what is going to happen when the hero and heroine get together at the end. But it's not firmly set and some of the details change as I approach the end.
ReplyDeleteSometimes smaller details change for me too, but my end always seems to stay firm for the most part.
DeleteMost times, all I know when I start a story is that the hero and heroine will get together at the end - but quite often I have no idea how that is gong to happen! I have a vague idea about the ending of my current WIP which is now over 18K words, but a lot could change before I reach 80K LOL!
ReplyDeleteBTW Congrats on your word count - keep it up! As you say, every little counts.
Thanks, Paula. I have a meeting later tonight, but I'm hoping to get some keyboard time in before that! :)
DeleteEven though I have the ending in mind, I often don't know exactly how I'm going to get my characters there either. A lot can happen on the way...
I find starting harder than ending. I've chopped two chapters from my WIP opening, and It's better for it.
ReplyDeleteI still think planning major turning points is helpful. That way, I have intermediate goals to aim for, which makes the writing easier for me but allows for lovely inspirations.
I agree Ana. I find my beginnings tend to wander as I get to know my characters. I always need to go back and do some tightening and spot-on character development after I've finished a first draft.
DeleteDebra, I find it amazing that you know your final scene before you have written the whole story. HEA is a foregone conclusion but how my characters get their and how they react very often takes me by surprise. Its the beauty of not plotting in any detail.
ReplyDelete