Im talking big time, like lord of the rings. How much detail do they go into when creating the wrolds history and backstory and character developement and backstories? Do they plan in detail every single adventure that happens in the book. Do they plan out all the characters in the book? How much of everything is usually created during the writing process and how much is created pre-writing in the planning process? Plz help ive got inspiration and an idea but i dont know how much planning i should do

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It depends on the author. Some people go deep, and some people don't. It really fluctuates by personality and stuff.

Right now I'm working on a fantasy book. I had the basic story at least two years ago, and by the time I started writing about six months ago, it had evolved from the basic story into a much more complex story. Seeing as I had a knack for writing, I started it out, and as I wrote, even, I had to make changes because new ideas, more captivating than previous, had entered my mind. As I wrote, since it was my first attempt at writing a novel, my skill (creativity, detail, wording, structure) actually visibly enhanced... by the time I finished the book (set to be the first of two), I started rereading... once I read the entire book, I realized there was such a difference in quality from the beginning to the end, that in fact, I just started over the entire book, and the first one I wrote is being split into two by itself! Hence: it takes a TON of time and effort... as well as patience and acceptance of mistakes... keeping the beginning like it was and neglecting a rewrite isn't going to get you published. What will is the willingness to rewrite to better the overall experience of the novel for the future readers. My rewrite is doing so well, in fact, that I'm barely four single spaced microsoft word pages into it (mostly because of a ton of tests in school this week) in one week since I started over. Back with my old skill level, I wrote maybe 20 in a week! Looking at it, it's so incredibly thick and packed with detail that it's enjoyable to read; much more so than the previous beginning. In regards to planning: I started out with a basic story and it evolved the more I thought about it, like I said. I make a lot up as I go, but i wouldn't necessarily follow my technique, because my greatest skill is making up solid, creative, and captivating ideas on the spot. Good luck.

It actually varies, Stephen King claims he does no plot or character development, while other authors meticulously plot everything out in advance. You really have to find a method that works for you or you will never stick with it. What I personally do if I have a story idea is to write out a brief description of the climax, then the beginning scene and then the eight most important scenes in between on index cards. After making sure this scant outline sounds compelling and logical I do some character sketches of the main characters on index cards then either use the index cards to write the first draft or store them as a future project.

Many start with an idea and some characters. They take the idea and do a basic story outline. From there they usually expand things and some do so as they create the scenes and characters. Others do plan a lot before hand and weave the story and character actions together creating piles of notes as they do. It depends on the writer and their creative abilities and imagination. How much detail for scenes and character interaction and such which also comes from the perspective of the story line. An author I know wrote about a fictional character in an actual historical event. The author had a time frame, event, places and such and created a fictional character and all the interactions and actions of the characters. Since the story was about the person scene detail was kept low.

Generally speaking, writers fall into two different categories: outliners and non-outliners (or, as my critique partner has dubbed them, “seat-of-the-pantsters”). I’m an outliner. Mostly, I outline because I’m lazy. I hate rewriting; I hate watching my burst of pride and relief at the end of a novel dissipate in a realization of a hole-riddled plot. I’d much rather know where I’m going from the beginning, rather than trying to force my foreshadowing and plot twists into the text somewhere in my second draft. It’s much easier to spend a few weeks rewriting an outline than it is to spend a few months to a year rewriting an entire draft. Admittedly, many writers feel that outlining stifles their creativity. They feel that if they already know what happens in the story, why should they bother writing that first draft? In a way, however, an extensive outline is a first draft. It’s the “mistake” draft, the dry-eraser board where we all throw out our ideas and see how they line up on the page. Outliners and seat-of-the-pantsters alike go through this process. The only difference is that the outliner’s process takes maybe a quarter of the time. Outlines take many forms—some of them a few sentences scrawled on a Post-It Note, some of them notebooks full of ramblings. I’m probably one of the more in-depth outliners. I fill up at least a notebook or two up with my scrawlings, and over the years, I’ve developed a handful of steps. * Premise By the time, I sit down to begin work on a story, it’s usually been chasing around in my head for at least a year or two. I almost always have ideas for several main characters, a handful scenes, a general conflict, and at least a sense of what the ending will be. My first goal is to hammer all this down into a premise: a single sentence that conveys the plot and the theme. This premise may actually change several times throughout the outlining and first-draft stages, but, to begin with, it helps me focus my thoughts. * General Sketches This is probably the single most important stage. This is where I give myself leave to throw my every idea—no matter how ridiculous—onto the page. I write down what I already know about the story, crafting it into a synopsis of sorts and discovering the plot holes. I ask myself lots of “what if’s” and “why’s.” Why is the character behaving this way? Why is she bitter about her past? What is forcing him to make these particular decisions? In essence, the few scenes already in my brain are like dots on a connect-the-dot puzzle. It’s my job to figure how and why the lines follow this pattern, and that job is much easier when I can concentrate merely on answering the questions, rather than also trying to construct full-blown scenes, with characters, dialogue, and a consistent plot. * Character Sketches Once I have a pretty good idea of the story arc, and once I’ve filled in all the plot holes I can spot, I go to work on character sketches. I use a lengthy “interview” process that forces me to learn my characters’ backstories (which tend to be vital) and gives me the opportunity to figure out their every little quirk. You can read my list of interview questions in the post “Character Interviews.” Character interviews are a lengthy process, so I only focus on the POV characters, the antagonist, and maybe one or two important minor characters. This part of the outlining generally gets my brain juices foaming and brings up all kinds of interesting tangents and opportunities for deepening the plot. * Extended Outline This is where the plotting begins in earnest. Step by step, I plot out in as much detail as possible (though without dialogue or narrative) every road stop along my map. In places, this plotting goes pretty quickly; in other places, I have to stop to work my way through iffy plot points and implausible character motivations. This step, by itself, can take several months, but because of the active, full-throttle creativity demanded, it’s one of the most exciting and rewarding portions of my storytelling. * Abbreviated Outline Finally, once I have my entire plot mapped out, I condense all the pertinent info into an abbreviated outline—which keeps me from having to read my entire extended outline every time I sit down to write. In the past, I’ve always just typed the abbreviated outline up in Word and printed a copy for easy reference. But during my last novel, I discovered the outlining software yWriter, and I’ve found its superior organizational features invaluable. In a nutshell, that’s my process. If you ever feel yourself mired in the hazy middle of a novel that doesn’t really seem to know either where it’s coming from or where it’s going, I would recommend giving outlining a shot. Even just the simple tactic of scribbling down a handful of scene ideas can go a long way toward pulling a story into an organized whole. Plus, it’s about the easiest way possible to complete a first draft and ensure a cohesive second draft. -K.M. Weiland Historical and Speculative Novelist http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com