Prewriting Q&A
We’ve come to the end of October, which means it’s time for you to submit your questions about prewriting. Of course, it’d be great if you shared some of your favorite prewriting tools, as well.
Also a question: Do you plan to compete in NANOWRIMO this year?
Let’s chat!
I figured out in last NaNoWriMo that I am not a pantser, so I need to figure out a plot. I normally write adventures for TTRPGs and take the "worldbuild until there's enough conflict to draw the player characters in" approach: come up with a Big Problem, put a layer of concealment around it and create a Medium-Sized Problem that turns out to be caused by the Big Problem, then do that again with the Medium-Sized Problem and a Small Problem that draws the characters in. Then the player characters can blunder around doing whatever bizarre things I could never predict in a million years, and eventually start pulling on the string of a plot thread. Trying to craft that for one particular character who starts out as a fairly ordinary person (rather than a group of people who are already adventurers) is an interesting challenge.
I am participating in NANOWRIMO this year. It really helps me to recommit and cement in a more regular writing routine. For prewriting, well, I'm thoroughly a pantser. I know basically what I want to write about and the main characters' names, but the details and supporting characters are filled in along the way. I do try to at least start on a playlist to set the mood (which I also add to throughout each project). I also set up the bones of a spreadsheet to track different aspects of story/setting/characters to help keep my sanity/consistency as nothing I do is ever linear. :D