StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Ok. So I have this story I want to write. I know the characters, I know the tech, I know the background and I know the plot. However, I need to sit down and work out the flow of the story beforehand, so I can get the pacing right, and so it doesn't become one of those Jordan-esque 'epic' romps that goes exactly nowhere.

However, I'm rather stuck. How do you plot out your stories? What methods do you use for pacing and figuring out what's going to happen down the line?

Most of the professional authors I've spoken with have said they use an outline of the story.

Personally, I can't do that. I just sit down and write.

Come up with a list of everything you want to have happen in the story. Determine a logical chronological order for it. Fill in how you logically get from scene to scene. Be general, but don't be afraid to throw in specific ideas or cool little snippets of dialogue to use later.
Lastly, don't feel bound to it. If something comes to you to make you change it for something better, do it! The advantage to it, though, is that it provides uniformity and direction. Plus if it's, say, Chapter 12, and I can't think of how to write it properly at the moment, I can work on Chapter 28 without having to worry about wasting my time. I've already written parts of the second story in a trilogy and I'm still finishing the first one.

The process of writing is as different for each person as their personalities. Meaning, everyone has their own best way of writing. You just have to find yours, that's all.

I find its easier if you divide the story into ersatz chapters, summarize each one, htne go through each of them one by one. It also helps you keep track of continuity I think.