Time to write a story, how do you begin?

[malicous_monk_muppet]

Inspiration strikes you at noon and by three it's just festering in your mind ready to burst out. You want this one to turn out well so you decide that a bit of pre-writing is in order so that you can share your vision with everyone else. What do you do?

What pre-writing techniques do the people on this board use before they sit down and crank out a story (fanfic or otherwise)?

Personally, I write down my ideas while they are fresh and give them some time to cool so I can re-evaluate them later. However, I sometimes find that this is not enough because a story will run away from me. Yet, a rough outline of a story never ends the way you wish it to because you think up stuff as your writing (Personally, I roleplay when I write so I honestly have no idea what I am going to "say" ).

So, what have you found to be the best way to organize your thoughts before you write?

[InterNutter]

I never organise my thoughts. At all. This is possibly why I've had so much trouble finishing fanfics and none at all starting them. Heh.

Just jot them down as they happen in a notepad of some variety and then organise them according to how you *know* it should go.

Me? I just write as inspiration strikes... Can't you tell?

[Lauren]

I agree. I usually just start writing as soon as the idea hits, even if afterwards it turns out the story stunk completely. Just start writing and hope it comes out good in the end!

[Maelstrom]

I have a habit of mulling things over for a while. Generally, when I get an idea, I need to flesh it out a bit, and I do a lot of that by just sitting down somewhere and thinking.

Very often, I will have little "bits" floating around in my mind. Things like a snippet of important conversation, a specific sight gag, an action sequence, whatever. None of these things will go together, but as I write, I find a way to insert one or two of them. For instance, Behind Glass started out as a series of scenes I had in mind, completely unconnected. After having the scenes in place, I wrote the "mortar" of the story (Kurt's dire illness) around it to tie it all together. In another case, I had the plot points of explaining some Romani traditions, introducing Kurt's family, the death of a loved one, a Mexican mutant mistaken for a Chupacabras, and the introduction of Larry Trask's Sentinel program. I could take most of these points and find a way to tie them together, with the knowledge that the story was one of several in the continuity, but the death and the family introduction just didn't fit in with the rest, so I had to save that for another time.

If you have some trouble making sure the points relate, or getting everything you want across, it might help to actually list them down. In the case I just mentioned, that list would look something like:

1) Romani "cultural lesson"
2) Death in the family
3) Show off Kurt's family
4) "Chupacabras" mutant
5) Larry's Sentinel program

Then I'd add some stuff to see what could reasonably fit together:

1) Romani "cultural lesson": done thru a conversation. No need to go into depth.
2) Death in the family: ties directly to #3.
3) Show off Kurt's family: Requires going to Germany, which will take time.
4) "Chupacabras" mutant: Requires going to Mexico, which takes time. What would attract Xavier's attention in the first place?
5) Larry's Sentinel program: Information has to be seen by encountering Larry's operatives/devices.

As I look at this, I personally see that I could tie 4 and 5 together easily. Xavier sends them down to find the mutant, and Larry's Sentinels are going after her at the same time. Ponts 2 and 3 also tie together easily. There's a death in Kurt's circus family, and he goes home for a funeral. (I could have had the sentinels come after Kurt at the funeral, but I was planning for that to be a more quiet affair, with more emotional impact than action, so I immediately jettison that idea.) Point 1 can slip in with either scenario. However, since both scenarios require extensive travelling and scene time, and they're not related to each other in the least, they have to be told in two separate stories.

[Salinea]

I happen to exist halfway in the real world and the other half in my imagination. I'm constantly moving through a story in my head so when a situation comes up that could be intersting, i put in the characters I want and move them through an event or situation. This is also known as day dreaming but it works for me. I have a very active imagination...which helps if you want to write something. Happy writing.