Writing.Com General Discussion

The good news, Aleks, is you are already a writer.

I guess what you are aiming for is being a better writer than you are now, which every writer should be doing, even multi-million selling published authors (I'm not one of those by the way, just in case you were wondering).

Some people are pantsers - given a starting premise and a vague character they'll write and see where it goes (in the most extreme cases). Some, like me, are plotters, and need to know every scene and how they'll play out before writing the first scene. No matter whether you are a plotter or a pantser, there is one golden rule:
                   If you have an idea, write it down!

An idea forgotten, is an idea lost forever. Keeping a notebook or something that you can jot ideas down on - preferably something you can organise - is essential. If it's a scene that occurs later in your story, you have two options. The first is to write that scene in all its glory, the second is to write enough notes that you capture its essence for when you actually get round to writing it.

When you 'write-ahead', be prepared to make some serious changes to the scene if the preceding story has affected it.