Chaptered fic posting

For those who write fics with chapters in them - do you post a chapter the moment it is ready to go, or do you try a buffer of a few chapters before posting anything (or indeed get the whole fic written up before posting it)? On that note, how do you plan your story too - do you get the whole basis written up before writing or just write as you go and see where it takes you?

I usually just post when I have something done myself, although atm I'll actually have a buffer quite likely given I may be splitting up a chapter at the rate I'm going. As for plans, I went a good while without only a vague outline in my head of what will happen only to hit a hiatus (but not just because of the fic itself but various other reasons), and then last year wrote up a plan for the rest which I think has helped me continue my fic - certainly been more productive this year with it compared to last year! But what about you?

All of the chaptered fics I have posted so far I got the rough draft of the whole story done and then I would edit each chapter before posting them. I guess part of the reason is I tend to change things around a lot with my stories even after I get a few chapters written already and I can easily see which parts need total rework or just a bit of tweeking. To be honest I don't think I can imagine myself posting a chaptered fic without the whole fic finished. @_@

As for planning, I tend to think the beginning and end while the middle I leave it wide open and come up what will happen when I get to that point. Sometimes I would changes plans if I thought up better ideas over the execution of the scenes.

I don't share things until I have written at least 4 chapters, and I like to keep that 3-chapter buffer going if possible.

As for how I plan my writing: I think up 100 or so scenes in my head that I find interesting, and then try write in a way that all the scenes can happen in a logical order, filling in all the blanks with how my characters get to those events. Like connect-the-dots.

I get the whole fic written first before posting. That means a rough draft, and edited version, a typed version that gets a read-through, and then a pre-posting on a smaller site to get reviews that might point out something to change.

This is why I haven't posted anything in years. I'm stuck on the first phase for all my fics.

As for planning the story, I get a set of characters in my mind, and come up with an ending point I want them to reach. How they get there gets no prodding for me. I just observe them and write down what happens.

I tend to chuck things out as soon as they're done. If I go on a writing binge and write several chapters in a week or two, I'll hold them back in reserve for a bit, as I generally don't like to post more than one a week. It's nice to have a buffer then, but it never really lasts that long. Ah well, c'est la vie.

After writing up a basic chapter-by-chapter plot summary (e.g., "Chapter 1: They set out on their adventure. Chapter 2:..."), I often find that I'm inspired to write chapters out of order, so it's easier for me if I can maintain a fairly long buffer. However, sometimes I get impatient and post stuff too fast...