In an interview in The Gleaner (a Canadian newspaper), novelist and writing teacher Biff Mitchell advises,"Do not write until you've done a storyboard and you know where the
story is going. It's the in-between part that's tough."The article says, "An entire wall of Mitchell's home is covered in white sheets of paper
with scribbled notes. When he wants to write a scene he will take one of these
cards down from the wall and use it as a guide." (Interview by Laverne Stewart)
Of course that's only one approach. I use a variation: starting with the general idea, then writing freely (without any detailed notes or ideas of where it's going beyond the general), then stopping at about the 1/4 point to plot the major steps of the rest of the story. I find having that freedom really helps and often unexpected characters and story points pop up at that stage.
There's no one right way to do this, but if what you're doing isn't working for you, why not try Biff's approach or mine?
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