Open Thread: Oracle Hotline

[mithen]

Are you more of a drabble or a longfic kind of writer? Pantser or plotter? Do you wish you were the other?

Actually not really either? I'm not concise enough for drabbles a lot of the time, and I lack the stamina for novel-length, so I tend to clock in between 3,000-5,000 words--typical short story length, on the whole! I like the structure of a short story, usually. And I tend to be a plotter rather than winging it, usually (though trusting my instincts sometimes is important!) The fic I'm poking tentatively at I'm probably over-plotting right now (I'm doing too much research) and should probably dive right in...

What length is your current WiP looking to end up at?

Comments

[svgurl]

It is really easy to get caught up with research. Good luck with your fic!

Yeah, I'm somewhere in the middle. I usually stick to one shots and they might be anywhere between ~3k to a little over 10k, depending on how the plot unfolds. I do like reading oneshots that are less than 15k - the longer ones are great but I need to make sure I have time to really sit down and not only read it but leave a comment. I struggle with drabbles- I've signed up for a few rounds of seasonsofdrabbles, but I still end up doing either double or triple. I'm not concise enough to write a story in 100 words either.

I'm closer to pantser than a plotter; there are always scenes that I have in mind and I know how I want the story to end, but I also don't plot out and write an outline. I wish I could be more of a plotter; it would make it possible for me to write longer fics without worrying about abandoning them.

My current WIP is sitting at a little over 17k words posted. When I first started writing it, I really thought it would only be about 20k max, but there's only two chapters up and a lot of story to go so I'm guessing it will probably be closer to 60k.

[mithen]

Ooooh, 60K words is so good! That's really wonderful. It's true, as a reader I also tend to like my fic under about 10,000 words because time is tight!

[bradygirl_12]

Short stories are my usual thing, too, though sometimes I bestir myself to write longform. My current WIP will end up at least around 30,000 words.

I guess I could say I'm a pantser. I rarely write an outline. Usually I start with the beginning and ending and then try and piece together from Point A to Point B. I might have certain scenes and chapters in mind, but the journey is kind of pantsing. ;)

I do like to write drabbles and double drabbles on occasion. Great writing exercise! How do I take a strength like description and winnow it down to 100 or 200 words while still conveying what I want to say?

[mithen]

We're all short-story writers at heart here! A good long plotty fic can be fun, but on the whole I like something where I can have a conflict that's fairly simple and clear and get it sorted out in 5-6K words!