Do you have a specific set of steps you use to get ideas flowing? Do you have a structured process, or do you just word vomit until you have something cohesive? I'm interested to know for... reasons. |D But also because I think it's interesting to know how other people think and come to conclusions.

Most of the time I write spontaneous and after a while I'll read my story again and try to see a logical line. Than I change, add and remove some details.

I think it's good to seek for a logical unit. What is mentioned in the beginning, it should also come back later. If this is not the case, it is a choice for certain details in the beginning out to fit it to what it is more consistent with the rest of the story, or remove.

Many of my fanfics are still too inconsistent.

oh gee... i have no idea. xD

i guess it varies from piece to piece for me? i mean for some stories i literally just sit down and the writing thing happens and some hours later i'm done and it feels awesome. and then there are others (like the one i'm writing rn) where i just write bits and pieces and then string them all together. admittedly sometimes connecting the pieces is an absolute pain and i end up re-writing huge chunks haha. :V it depends on how much of the story i already have in my head. like if i only have a concept i just start writing and go with the flow, whereas if i have certain scenes/events i want to happen i write those first and then write everything else. because i learned the hard way that if i don't write it, i'm probably going to forget it. q w q

Inconsistent how? :( Plot holes, or in terms of your writing style?

Yeah the forgetting is a huge issue. Dx Do you carry small notepads on you to write things down if you're busy or not at home?

i do actually! c: i've been keeping diaries ever since i was a kid and if i get an idea i write it down there as soon as i can haha. though lately i've been using my ipad more than diary because it's much easier to transfer files rather than re-writing things.

I believe in both. It's just a matter of change the intention ant the target. Frist I just want to write and after a while I get more fun to make a logical line.

To an extent I will go with the flow. I often draw inspiration from people I see or events that happen in my life. I might use that as a base for a character or a plot twist to an extent. I've found if I try and stick to a certain direction the whole thing ends up flopping. There really is no magic formula, as different strategies work for different people.

Lately I've been really enjoying random blurbs of writing. What I do is, write a page as if I took said writing from a novel, the writing could start anywhere and be random but it's to feel like you just turned to a page in a book and found that section. It's been a lot of fun and has inspired me a lot.

well, i do enjoy writing and i do it a lot but it's virtually always essays, not short stories.

and it's usually triggered not by choice but by an ugly deadline...

i start by familiarizing myself with my mandate. then i start writing all these random ideas i like the sound of on a Word doc, while simultaneously writing out a structure by hand on white printer paper. the Word doc and the structure slowly meld together.

i skim through a bunch of papers on the topic.

i finish 75% of the project. print it out. correct it by hand. realize how incomprehensible a lot of it might be and ask myself how well it follows my mandate. rewrite much of it, referencing my old handwritten structure while i write a more specific one out on another sheet of printer paper. sometimes i use a whiteboard for notes. print my word doc out again to correct it by hand. and again, and again. hyperventilate. finally, it's getting to the point where i think i'm both kinda fucked and must sound like an uneducated, arrogant little shit rambling illogically, but also maybe a genius?

chill for a little while. have a friend read through it. sometimes my dad. print it out to review it one more time. add references. close all those damned tabs. catharsis.

Hm, I've tried using vertical, top-to-bottom diagrams to organise my stories a little, which I'll probably use a bit more. The main reason I came up with the idea was because I obviously haven't finalised the story itself, and I thought it would be a good idea since I can branch out from different events and try two versions, like one where this happens, one where that happens.