Novelists who write their story as they go along - how the heck do you do it?

[BlunderingAlbatross]

I guess I'm just thinking about it like all the time, running over what's happening in my head so that by the time I sit down to write I know what's going to happen. Making it good writing is a different matter, though

[LadyN]

“Let the characters and story find you!” -Some really smart person.

That’s a basic summary on how we do it.

[Aims]

You know when you're trying to fall asleep and your brain just goes "what if..." Yeah when that happens I get out of bed and just write the beta version of a chapter (sometimes I'll stay awake until 4 in the morning).
Then, when I'm actually awake enough to look at what I wrote and go "What the fu..", I make some changes, clean it a little bit and save the file.
Boom, one chapter.
So yeah, if you're ever struck with inspiration, don't ignore it just because it's 3 am in school night, write it down, even if it's just as bullet points, cause sometimes the only thing stoping you from knowing what to write is your critical thinking, and that's kinda turned off when you're tired.

[foxnflames]

Oh hi this was made for me! I write as I go but I constantly have a working knowledge of where I know my story is heading. I have several pages of notes about plot points and I know how I want my story to end I just don't have it completely ironed out.
I also got to like ch 5 and hit a wall. I knew where my story needed to go for the rising action but I didn't have the bridge to get there and I got hung up on some details and it derailed my motivation.
So what I usually do is refer to my notes and make an actual outline for a chapter then I go from there and make up dialogue as I go.
I also like that I didn't write it all out because I like the outside world to influence me and reading a lot of other stories and studying writing styles helps me grow so I'd rather showcase that in real time vs me having to go back and constantly edit.

[RainbowCat]

I have a very rough idea of where my story is going and what problems could come up in the story, but no real outline I tried to at least plan my characters but that just got too boring for me so I got right to writing
I guess it's just different for everyone, some writers want to plan everything and others don't. I'll never understand how people can plan their whole story before writing it!
If I get to the point where I don't know what I should write next, I just read the last two chapters and try to think about what I want to happen in that story if it wasn't mine but someone else's. If that doesn't work, I just send a few days just thinking about it and letting my brain find some new ideas

[surenlicious]

I am just so indulged at making scenarios for the, think about happenings of them 24/7...it just...it just happens. And then those scenes inspire new stuff and I really can't escape the cycle. XD

[drcharlotterodricks]

So this is my comic
https://tapas.io/series/You--Me

And I dont think I would count myself as a novelist though since they are just bite sized comics...I pay attention to my conversations with my friend, jot down points, sometimes I modify them to make them a bit more user friendly, but mostly they are in their original state

[SilverLugia456]

if its a story that I really like and have the motivation for the story usually finds me. Most of the time I use outlines as a means to write down ideas in some form but sometimes the ideas just come one after another and I roll with them. The Pirate's Chronicle the one I'm working on Tapas right now is one I actually have no outline for I'm just writing as I get the ideas of what will come next. I have had my fair share of writer block moments when it comes to the novel but at the same time its those challenges that make writing the novel worth it because of the sense of accomplishment I feel when I completed a new chapter after the writer's block.

[ISNEKO]

"Okay, so what happens next."

"No, that's dumb lets try something else."

That's literally my entire process for writing.

[CodeMonkeyArts]

I try to get into a buffer, although I definitely also have long hiatuses when I don't have a buffer of chapters which is...pretty damn bad. I really need to get better!

[Aykay]

I generally have a sense of what I want to do. Like I'll have milestones that I want to hit. And work from there.

[mcarrowolga]

I always have this blurry movie in my head that later becomes a novel/comic. I never know how it will end, it always changes and shifts. My job as a writer is deciphering it, reconstructing missing links between its episodes, and retelling it to my readers.

[WolfUnderTheMoon89]

I did that
I knew my start and my end and just started writing.
I managed a schedule of 2 chapters a week, meaning 4-5k words a week.

I finished the novel in 5 months and at 108k words.

Lessons learned: never do it again.
Now I write in advance and will post later on. After I made a good buffer.

[RyzaCobalion]

i usually make chapters up where the last one left off at and build it off of there. Not all of it was planned out.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

Have you ever been to the grocery store to buy leeks and tomatoes, but you came back with carrots and mushrooms and change your dinner plan entirely?

Impulsiveness it is.
Even if I had a plan, it will be altered.

[ScarletDemon]

The way I do it is that when I get the idea for a book or story, I make two different word documents: one is just the outline of the story and the other is the actual writing, so I can have them side by side on screen. It helps keep details and things in order as well as being quick to make sure everything you say is right and you're not changing anything you said previously.
As for writer's block, the way I avoid it is that I woke on multiple stories at a time, so that if I hit a block on one, I jump into the other, the different head-space of the different story-lines stops me from thinking about things other than what is blocking me so I can just return to the original after some time. Reading others also helps, seeing how other people worked through similar problems.
Check out my stories if you want, I write a lot of fantasy. Same name on Tapas. Sky-Garden, Shrouds and Stilettos, Rain and Deathblooded.

[Random_Guy]

Not a d#mned clue, but I'm making it work so far.

[sarahmassey998]

I la-de-da my way through it like I did with college. Have the most basic plot outline and let you brain vomit out whatever it wants.

[tfairbankssecond]

I just have major points I want to get to and write. It comes in spurts though so sometimes I'll get mild writer's block. I use my brother for some idea bouncing then hop back into it. It reminds me of how my friends and I DM

[Berserker]

Yeah me too. Even when I'm not writing a story down ideas pop into my head and I mentally organize the story. By the time I start writing I have the major plot beats in mind.

But that being said I write an outline next to organize the specifics of the plot threads and dialogue that needs to happen.