My writing teacher told me to stop planning my stories

My creative writing teacher in college said, 'Just start writing the first sentence and see where it goes.' I tried it for a story set in a small town diner and got stuck after two pages because I had no idea who my characters were. I wasted a whole weekend before going back to my old outline method. What's the worst writing advice you've ever gotten that sounded good at first?

3 comments

3 Comments

jesse_harris20d ago

My high school creative writing teacher gave me that same advice about just writing without a plan. I spent three days staring at a blank page trying to start a mystery story, and I never got past describing the rain on a window. It sounds freeing, but for me it just creates panic (like, what is this story even about?). I need to know the ending before I can enjoy writing the middle. That advice set me back a whole semester.

sage5285d ago

Three days on rain?

ray21020d ago

Honestly that "just write" advice never worked for me either. Tbh I need a basic roadmap, like knowing the main character's problem and maybe the ending. Otherwise I just write myself into a corner and give up.