photo credit: portfolium

Before I start

today’s post I would like to explain how I get the lovely images like the one you can see just above these words. I use a WordPress plugin called ‘Photo Dropper’ that searches Flickr exclusively for CC licensed images. For each post I think of a word that generally describes what I’m talking about and then search for the ‘most interesting’ picture that uses that word as a tag. That word also becomes the name of each post. So now you can play a game along with each post, by trying to guess how the photographer tied the word to the image. In this one I’d say it’s because a baby is inevitably tied to a plan, whether that plan is meticulously penned in Copperplate Gothic, or smudged off by alcohol.

Right, onto the point (or at least the approximate area) of the post, which is the planning stage of creative writing. It’s more of a question than anything else, since the use of any technique  in the creative arts is likely to be a personal preference. So my questions are as follows:

1. Do you have a written plan when you start writing? This can be anything to a few sketched out lines to a full blown, formatted hierarchy of characters, plot developments, and possible endings.
2. Do you think that having a plan limits you to working within its framework, or do you find yourself altering it as you go? If the latter, then why do you have a plan in the first place if you’re just going to work outside it?
3. Do you think that planning is necessary for all disciplines? Do short-form pieces need plans, or do they rely more on having everything in your head and letting it swirl around?

I’ll respond in the comments, and I hope you do too! (:

Related posts:

1. The Die Hard Guide to Writing
2. A Small Guide to Software You Can Use to Write*
3. First sentences