[DezoPenguin]

Originally Posted by DKN117

I don't like starting a fic without having my facts straight, only to receive a TORRENT of corrections and "actually"s and "this is wrong"s. I prefer to have everything sorted out and understood before fingers hit the keyboard.

I sympathize with this. At the very least, I like to have the factual setting details down just in case I have some important plot point that's going to turn into a complete wallbanger because the Nanohaverse (or whatever) Does Not Work That Way.

Likewise, when I write a story, I always like to know at the least how it ends and have at least some sense of how I'm going to get there. If it's more than a one or two-shot (and sometimes even then), an outline is a must; for a long fic, I need to write it down just so I don't forget what's coming next!

The #1 way to run into a dead fic or writer's block is to start a story with a general concept and try to work out what actually happens on the fly.

However, that doesn't mean not to write. This is especially true with this forum--you have a lot of people, many talented writers and people knowledgeable in the setting who can comment on what's working and what doesn't. There's a reason I post my draft chapters here before doing the "final" versions for fanfiction.net--to get the benefit of the community here's assistance.

Originally Posted by Kaijo

Gonna tell you this right now: no matter how well you plan, you're gonna mess up something. The good news is, writing really helps you nail down those points. For something like the cyborgs, writing them helps me understand them, their individual personalities, and how they relate to each other. having written all of them now (well, except for Sein who will get more screentime eventually) I pretty much know their personalities. Stuff like the Deed/Otto sister bond, or Dieci's more mellow outlook.

You write, you learn stuff. So get writing, and prepare to have people point things out. It's a good thing, because you'll learn!^^

This is definitely the comment I agree with most in the follow-up. The one thing that planning a story does not teach you is the fine details. Characterization is one of the things that you learn by writing the actual sentences, not the outline or plot sketch. You can only develop a comfort level with personalities by writing them out, expressing through dialogue and action, the line-by-line details that aren't shown in an outline.

Adding to that, writing is one of those things where practice is vital. You can only learn to write by writing, developing the skill of turning ideas into stories. It's always worth something to put words down on paper.

Originally Posted by TheShinySword

I can't really put it better but I'll throw in this. There's a reason people draft before calling something final.

Yep again.