Not planning on planning.

Every tip I see from every successful writer says the key to it is plan your script. Plan it meticulously, know every beat and breath of the story before you start.

Problem is, the most successful writing I've done has been doing the exact opposite. Get a vague idea and start writing to see where it goes.

Doing this has always led to more fun, interesting and surprising stories than the ones I plan out. Ultimately these leads to lifetimes of rewrites but I can live with that.

So my question is this. Are there any successful writers out there who don't subscribe to the 'plan everything' plan?

Note: This isn't me saying that planning is a load of old balls and anyone who does it is a massive square. Just that it hasn't worked for me.

If you aren't doing a commission then you have no constraints on your writing.
You are right - you think of a vague idea and start writing. The fun and enjoyment is in the 'writing' part.

It's a bit like when you walk out of your front door this morning. You don't know what is going to happen today. You have plans - but they might go awry.

You don't have to plan 'every breath', I think that's an exaggeration. If you have you characters and story well explored and set out before you start, then you're probably going to end up with a stronger end product. It doesn't mean you have to stick to it rigidly once you start writing.

If you put the work in first, you will more than likely end up with a more interesting plot, for one thing.

But then, do whatever works for you.

Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ May 31 2013, 8:59 AM BST

The fun and enjoyment is in the 'writing' part.

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Oh, I find the planning and exploring just as fun.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ May 31 2013, 9:23 AM BST

Oh, I find the planning and exploring just as fun.

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Does that chat up line ever work?

Quote: Trinder @ May 31 2013, 8:33 AM BST

the most successful writing I've done has been doing the exact opposite. Get a vague idea and start writing to see where it goes.
/.../ these leads to lifetimes of rewrites../

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Arguably, you do make a plan of sorts, when you write and see where it goes. You then use this 'plan' as the basis of the rewrite.

Quote: Nogget @ May 31 2013, 9:38 AM BST

Arguably, you do make a plan of sorts, when you write and see where it goes. You then use this 'plan' as the basis of the rewrite.

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Yup,that's a fair point. Infact the last thing I wrote was exactly that. I wrote the whole thing to find the story then binned it and started it again to make it good.

Maybe it's just unconventional planning.

The secret of writing is planning rewriting.

I tend to write with a basic outline in my head but I move away from it if I find a funnier tangent.

I also keep notes on little bits of paper that I keep on my window ledge whilst ensuring the window is open.

I did use to work on the premise that the wind would leave the funny stuff and blow the craps ones away.

But after what I instinctively knew to be a particularly funny piece of A4 blew away and landed across a car windscreen forcing the driver to mount the kerb and kill a milkman and two pensioners I tend now to write with the windows closed

With sitcoms I used to plan them quite thoroughly with scene breakdowns so that I knew what I had to get in. With sketches I was a bit more relaxed, but liked to have a vague beginning, middle and end in mind. Otherwise I'd end up hitting a dead end and get frustrated.

I never plan to begin with, but then I don't commit to 'pages' to begin with either.
(Stephen Goodlad is right, commissioned work is another matter as you usually have some set framework/timeline to work within and you need be quite tight with your planning)
I write it like a story - but am happy to let that go off at a tangent along the way - often as not forcing you to retro-fit ideas into what you've already written.
But , because writing for the screen is actually technically quite difficult - i.e. you've got to make sure stuff doesn't take to long, stuff takes place when it has to, not before, character traits have to reveal themselves early on, things need 'seeding' into the story to be realised later on etc etc - I don't usually start writing scenes 'till I've got the outline pretty well nailed.
If nice scenes come to mind there's nothing to stop you drafting them then sticking them to the side 'till you need them.
I do think you need to know how somethings going to end, however.
Setting off without a destination is one sure way of ending up lost.

The idea comes and I then start writing and see what comes out, but that's just sketches and jokes, I'd imagine with longer pieces like sitcom writing the planning is more important and necessary.

I plan on writing a lot of days. A lot of days it doesn't happen.

Maybe planning is the wrong word. Planning implies you know where you're going and just working details of how to get there. That sounds kind of boring. It's better to think of it as exploring. Exploring is fun. Exploring can be changed if you don't like what happened. Exploring doesn't mean you have to do it that way.

Doing work before you start writing dialogue and scenes is (imho) really important. Otherwise I get stuck really easily. But if I call it planning I get stuck because it feels like I'm setting things in stone. Much better to explore and see what happens. Cos you're gonna change it anyway.

Do you write on a Pith Helmet holding a Butterfly net?
I heard the people who put the A to Z maps together start at P strange that.