Question for writers: when to move from outline to draft?

Game Development Writing and Content
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hi all, it’s ray :)) moderators, i don’t think i found a better thread to put this under, so i started a new one. if y’all find a spot to nest this question in though, of course move it as needed!

okay, so. as some of you may know, i have been returning to work on deux à deux for the past month or so. most of this time has been spent on the following:

  1. brainstorming/unstructured idea-scavenging (taking audio notes while i’m driving and get an idea, texting myself something to remember later, quickly scribbling down a thought i got looking at random pinterest pictures, etc.)
  2. researching writing, the history of IF, and storytelling techniques (lots of wikipedia and random forum/blog diving)
  3. fleshing out the characters and the world (what does the NYC of deux à deux look like, really? what are the different parts of the setting, and what’s the timeline? what are the characters’ traits and temperaments, but also—what are their hobbies? how do they dress, speak, and hold themselves? etc etc)
  4. and of course, piecing together an outline (spacing out plot beats, breaking things into chapters with their own loose beginning-middle-end arcs, roughly planning the MAJOR choice branches and the bottlenecks which will bring them back together again, etc).

ALL THAT SAID. i am starting to feel things click slightly more firmly into place, and plot details that i felt slightly convinced would never become clear in my mind have started to solidify into actual possible story bits. character details are feeling more nuanced, the things set up to be happening are starting to make sense within the context of each other, the PC is starting to become corporeal in my brain and feel driven and purposeful both in the context of their own goals AND within the scope of the game’s world. essentially, things are getting a little serious, and it’s sort of weirding me out. i keep wondering: what happens when it gets to a point that i don’t know what else to plan. possibly worse will i even KNOW when i hit that point?

my question of the evening is: those of you who are big-time plotters (like im learning i apparently am), when do you know it’s time to move past the scaffolding stages and start filling in the blanks with an actual draft? and i guess, when you DO start a draft, do you take time to check in with the initial plans/outline and revise it as you feel necessary, or “stick to the script” (as in, NOT deviate from the initial outline) entirely?

sorry if this is wordy. long day so i did not proofread my ramble here! but i wanted to ask and see what y’all have to say :))

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As soon as you know the general arcs and have the first scenes plotted, start writing. You can continue to outline as you write. It doesn’t have to be all one or the other.

As a plotter, there’s a trap that I’ve learned to avoid. It is the “feel ready” trap. If you wait to feel ready you’ll never start. You can continue outlining. You can revise. Writing isn’t a scrolling video game; you can go back.

The more you write, the better you’ll get at knowing how much planning you need to get started. Personally, I know I need to get rid of the “somehows” in my outline because each I ignore will turn into a slog and procrastination when writing.

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