Are you an instinctual writer?

[Leverance]

She is ^.^ I don't how many more I will ask.

That's good though! The creative media is ever-changing.

I can't write my story before the summary is done. And it nails the head on the pin 98% of the time and it's only slight adjustments I've to do. I like to write summaries, they're like reminders for the whole plot to me that only I can see. I consider them small stories in one.

[DiegoPalacios]

I'm an instinctual writer too, i often break storytelling rules for the benefit of my story. My current comic breaks more than one rule about what a protagonist should be but it has been well received by my readers.....

Anyway, i still familiarize myself with the writing rules anyway and did some writing courses because i am interested in complementing my instinct with a solid technical knowledge.

That way i can fully know when a subversion helps a story and when playing a trope straight can work.

[therosesword]

Wow! I wish I could write a summary before the story. Half the time I don't know where the story is going so, nope, can't do it. Color me massively ENVIOUS! So... when I say it's foolish to do it first I obviously mean for people like me! For you it's a good thing... really envious about, wow

[Leverance]

Like I said, I generally have an idea where it's going xD some stories I've planned years ahead of time. Thanks! I tried the other option but graphic is really important for me to set the tone as well as summary, as you might've seen from the link.

[therosesword]

Yup, yup and yup. And really, who says a protagonist has to be Joe Hero? A totally fun and exceptional book is "Three Bags Full" where a flock of sheep try to figure out who murdered their shepherd. He used to read to them, particularly mysteries and that's how they know they have to look for something called a clue.

Whenever someone tells me "you can't do that" my usual response is "Really. I just did it."

Write hard, write true.

[therosesword]

Oh yes, with graphics for sure! with novel or story writing no big deal to dump a bunch of verbage but with graphics.... ouch!

[Leverance]

I'n picky with everything I consume, including works online. Like half of the books I read a year doesn't cut to my recommended list.

[therosesword]

If a book can keep me engaged for more than 10 pages I probably read it otherwise it ends up at a charity shop

[Leverance]

I give them ca five sentences lol.

[therosesword]

I have to admit, I've gotten pretty picky. The published hard paper is ten pages. Online stuff... if it reads like a bad 1950's valley girl attempt at anything... it's gone. Usually that's the first chapter. You're even harsher than me! whoa! good on ya.

[Leverance]

I've gotten harsher and harsher over the years, lol. Thats why I stick to classics.

[risingshards]

I love learning about writing craft, but I also try not to let the rules lock me into stuff enough to make me disinterested in writing. For example Blake Snyder's beat sheet is fantastic and a great tool to write a tight 3 act story, but if you're not trying to write a concise script that wraps up in a 2 hour time frame or whatever, it can feel incredibly limiting to be like "OK at this point it's the bad guys closing in so things HAVE to start to go wrong here" or something like that.

[therosesword]

Most of those beat sheet type things are good and informative and, in my opinion, slated more towards the experienced writer as an extra tool. Snyders is one of the best (but I'm biased toward that publisher) I think for newer writers (and that has nothing to do with age) those things can get pretty confining if they're taken as gospel. Guidelines, yes, wonderful, fabulous guidelines there to help and fall back on. But gospel? I find that iffy.

Everything you can read gives you more tools, of that there is no doubt in my mind, but the thing... again, in my mind... is that you use what is good for you and discard that which is not. Otherwise it's just formula and you can insert different names and countries and everything. It's just same ol same ol.

Besides, like the old adage says, rules are made to be broken. BUT, you need to know them to do the best job.

.

[Caro]

I’m aggressively instinctual even with my comics. One of my bigger comics was an experiment in writing, drawing, finishing, and posting 4 pages a day completely improvised and only my partner and some friends knew that it was completely improvised day to day (and still is as I’m working on the second book for a publisher). While I was posting it online, the readers all seemed to think that everything was all planned out and that I was a million steps ahead (its a sort of supernatural murder mystery-type comic) when in reality I was winging it and, honestly, rushing it everyday.

I think having done a weekly comic for a periodical that was basically a little vignette every week really helped with my ability to tell compact stories and draw them out very quickly and instinctually because there wasn’t any time to think about it and I would just dive into drawing the pages and thinking of dialogue as I went along.

I’m trying now to slow down with other projects and really try to get them to be more structured and succinct but my partner keeps telling me that my regular process comes across as structured already so I might just be procrastinating!

[therosesword]

Doing work on a schedule (your weekly comic) really hones those instincts (like my mention of a boss asking for a 25 minute audio script by Wednesday when Its Saturday).

I am taking it "easy" here on Tapas in that I'm not posting anything until it's done. That's only because as I work new things mean that changes have to be made to what came before. I'm on Vol. 2 of Bright Morn of Issareth and am at about chapter 60 with more to come and the "more" affects the first 60.. Some of it affected Volume 1 but because I had all those chapters scheduled I was able to go in and edit the day before they went live.

I think your partner is dead on, your work has structure already, your own particular brand of it. This is what works for you. I've tried sitting there and plotting and making plans etc. and... nope just can't do it. What keeps me writing is the fact I want to find out what happens next!

Write hard, write true.