What do you do when plotting your longer stories? Usually I start with an idea, and develop it into a summary. If my summary/prompt can't be put into at least 3 whole sentences then I almost always don't plot; it's always a smaller story and really doesn't help with a plot. If it is over 3 sentences, I start with an outline, and usually plot out the major points first, and then fill in the smaller things... If it's a sex scene I just write that, and then let my characters lead me around. If it's a major plot point, I'll go back after I think I have all the small plot points and elaborate on them...usually this gives me even more major points. By this time I'll have a full outline and am ready to write. As the characters dictate to me, I might also add in some smaller plot points.
Unfortunately, if I was using one of the prompts, my plot would be very short, if plotted at all. For Draco’s new neighbor keeps him awake late at night I might have written that and then Harry playing music/having sex...and then Draco interrupts and results in more sex. That would have been my plot and then I'd have written the story. I'm weird like that. I let my characters have quite a bit of say in where I go, especially in sex scenes.
Recently I came up with a prompt for a new big bang that I'm writing. The prompt was: Harry runs into Scorpius Malfoy at a BDSM club, and Harry thinking Scorpius is just having a little fun decides to push Scorpius' boundaries. Scorpius quickly disabuses him of the notion. Afterwards, knowing that I wanted to make this into at least 12k of a story, I wrote a proper summary, with a hint of a huge plot twist. This is what I came up with: Harry, a long time dominant, literally runs into Scorpius Malfoy at a bdsm club. Harry is not pleased to see the Malfoy scion and thinks he's just there for a little fun. Scorpius quickly convinces him that he's there for so much more than just one fun little time, and he finds so much more than he originally thought he would at the club, including a dark secret that Harry has kept to himself for quite a while!
(My comment is too long for just one, so I'm breaking it here and posting the second half as a reply below this.)
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What do you do when plotting your longer stories?
Usually I start with an idea, and develop it into a summary. If my summary/prompt can't be put into at least 3 whole sentences then I almost always don't plot; it's always a smaller story and really doesn't help with a plot. If it is over 3 sentences, I start with an outline, and usually plot out the major points first, and then fill in the smaller things... If it's a sex scene I just write that, and then let my characters lead me around. If it's a major plot point, I'll go back after I think I have all the small plot points and elaborate on them...usually this gives me even more major points. By this time I'll have a full outline and am ready to write. As the characters dictate to me, I might also add in some smaller plot points.
Unfortunately, if I was using one of the prompts, my plot would be very short, if plotted at all. For Draco’s new neighbor keeps him awake late at night I might have written that and then Harry playing music/having sex...and then Draco interrupts and results in more sex. That would have been my plot and then I'd have written the story. I'm weird like that. I let my characters have quite a bit of say in where I go, especially in sex scenes.
Recently I came up with a prompt for a new big bang that I'm writing. The prompt was: Harry runs into Scorpius Malfoy at a BDSM club, and Harry thinking Scorpius is just having a little fun decides to push Scorpius' boundaries. Scorpius quickly disabuses him of the notion. Afterwards, knowing that I wanted to make this into at least 12k of a story, I wrote a proper summary, with a hint of a huge plot twist. This is what I came up with: Harry, a long time dominant, literally runs into Scorpius Malfoy at a bdsm club. Harry is not pleased to see the Malfoy scion and thinks he's just there for a little fun. Scorpius quickly convinces him that he's there for so much more than just one fun little time, and he finds so much more than he originally thought he would at the club, including a dark secret that Harry has kept to himself for quite a while!
(My comment is too long for just one, so I'm breaking it here and posting the second half as a reply below this.)