I agree that writing on the fly is probably not the way to go. Mainly because you get so far down the road and realize that something major has to change in the earlier stages...
I'm sure there are people who don't like that I serialize my works (nearly two years after I started doing it), but I also get a lot of great support (as I mentioned on my Steemiversary blog where you commented) - so, I must be doing something right.
I'm sure there are also some who grumble that I have NSFW chapters as well, but a couple of those NSFW chapters received Curies before my support from them stopped. (I'm doing too well now, I guess - since my writing has only grown.)
So, are you one of the Nanowrimo winners this year? I did. That one (Freyja's Fire) will be shared soon.
One thing that serializing has done - is force me to write more - a lot more! So, people can grumble, but it's a good thing overall because it makes me get the stories written - and will even force me to finally share some of my "fun writing" the more erotic pieces.
I hope you've had a great Christmas Day!
Writing on the fly is fun. :) I also wouldn't have so much more material to insert that wouldn't have manifested unless I was freewriting. This whole series is two-decades in the making and the most important plot devices weren't discovered until writing on the fly here for Steem when I created Skyswept.
Now everything has worked great! Characters I created for book one make more sense as I envision them further down in book three and can write their personalities better, a certain event was only really tacked on because it seemed right but now it has a purpose... it's all really important because I'm not writing chronologically but more in order of 3, 1, 2, 4.
Pantsing is often looked down upon over plotting, but sometimes it works. For me anyway. We all have our different writing styles. :D I think if I just wrote the books how I originally envisioned them, they would be no-where as good as I see them now.
I'm not a NaNo winner this year. I was last year. :) This November was a highly stressful month full of sickness and hyper-vigilance watching over an ADHD child and teaching him not to torment a 6-week-old kitten, so I'm re-doing NaNo on a clear mindset in January. Congratulations on your own NaNo win! It is a great achievement. :D
Merry Christmas!!
I don't like the pantsing v plotting thing out there. I think the best is to go somewhere down the middle. You need to have a fair idea of where you're going with it, but then it's best just to write.
The one I'm going to be sharing (hopefully) before Freyja's Fire is mostly a pantsing exercise, but I already knew where the characters had to end up, so again, there was a definite sense of direction. I think that's the main thing - to have a sense of direction.
I've watched several TV series die as a result of having no clear direction. They get caught in a groove because there was no plan of action.
Sounds like you've been busy.
I'm not sure if I will do Nano again - depends on whether something coincides with it like it did this year. November is a terrible time for it, in many ways... Too much stuff going on. If I have my Christmas and Thanksgiving stuff done in October (my goal for next year - as December finds me with low energy anyway), then maybe...
Hope you are having a great one and that your 2020 is even better.