I'm writing a LitRPG book, I've restarted a few times, but my question is if I need a solid structure for the book, or if I can start if with a basic idea and let it flow from there? I want to create a saga (I know probably won't finish even the first book, but I still want to try) so it wouldn't really have an end. (I haven't posted it because I haven't yet found a start I liked, and also because I created an account 10 minutes ago).

A basic idea is fine.
However if you want people to read on, at least plan out the first few chapters.

My best advice would be to give yourself a goal. You don't need to know how you're going to get there, and you don't need to know what your characters will be like on the other side (although it helps), you just need an idea of where you're going to be. It can change as you go, but make sure you're happy with what your story is turning into.

It can be something as simple as "MC becomes op" or "MC dies in the real world to save the game", or it could be an elaborate plan depicting the downfall of a kingdom... it's up to you. Just have something, so that you can see what you're building towards and getting a better idea as you go.

Well here's the thing, if you've issues where you consonantly have to restart a story you probably need a little structure. I mean, if you really want to try writing a story, you need to do it in a way that will increase your chances of actually finishing it. Jumping in without an idea of what you want to do decreases that a whole lot.

I mean here's the thing, some people can write with very little planning done ahead of time. However, it's not something that everyone can do. You might benefit with have a little structure so you don't get to a point where the story doesn't comes to a screeching halt because you didn't think things through. Now that doesn't mean you have to plan every detail of your story out, in a full blown outline however, you just need to get it done to the point where you know where you're going with the story and what you want.

Hmm... Speaking from experience, I say you make a basic outline first.

Outline in the way that you place MC at point A and his/her goal at point Z. Now, there are point B-to-Y along the way. These points serve as major events or Arcs. You can do whatever you want in filling them as long as they are connected or having a two-way feedback. Keep it simple, though. As in, making a summary of each event/arc rather than detailed retelling of it. That way, vague elements or contrasting facts can be found and fixed easily.

After that, if you want to have even more fun, then you can add more sub-events in-between the letters.

For example, after C ended, MC goes to D but he/she decided to take the long way/different route which triggered small-scale event/arc. In litRPG, I guess you can call them sub-quests. Usually, the conflicts aren't as important in comparison to major Arcs but it can serve to expand the world, more characterization, or trivias about the story that have minor effects in the main plot.

Needless to say, if you want to make a shorter story then you can cut down the number of arcs or placing the goal point earlier. Like, starting at A and ending at E. You can also make a long story where the MC changes objective so that several points are compiled as a series of humonogous Arcs (ABCD-EFGH-IJKL...)

Either way, it's your call so do consider it carefully.

Thanks for all the advice, it will be useful :)

Another thought - make yourself a tracking file. The more you simply "let things flow", the greater the danger of losing a thread. It might be a minor continuity thing, like the main character loves something pink when four entries ago you'd mentioned that s/he hated that colour. But it might be a major thing, like someone having a pet cat - which mysteriously vanishes, never seen again, after the focus shifted elsewhere. Or someone who has to make a phone call/meeting that night, and yet by the time evening rolls around in the narrative, there's no call and no repercussions.

The alternative is to constantly re-read your own material. That's what I do, when I write "on the fly" serials based on audience votes (so there is literally no way to predict where I'm going). Thing is, I can usually steer things to a conclusion within a couple dozen parts. So going back and re-reading my 15 prior entries to make sure I use the item they found several parts ago (or, hey, to spin out something innocuous into a major plot point), isn't too arduous. If you're planning something more saga-like? I'd recommend a tracking file for key plot points and character traits.

Make a brief outline for sure. One of the stories I'm writing (not on RR) started out with, "I love robots! I'm gonna write a mecha story!" And so I began. As I went on, I'd add notes in the back of my notebook of ideas I had, and how I could implement them, and eventually thought up an ending I'd be satisfied with (for now!). Your outline doesn't have to be the best. Shit, it doesn't even have to be good. Just have some plot ideas. I write stuff down in my ideas section like, "character x like the color green", or "if this ever becomes a tv show this song would fit character y". Even if you don't think you'll ever use it just write it down. Just have something to be able to go back to and reference, especially if you want to make a bunch of books. I've woken up in the middle of the night and jotted down some things because I'll think of a really cool thing to put in my story eventually. I keep a list of neat sounding sentences I think of. Like, I'll be like, "wow, that's a cool simile, I'll be sure to include it in a later chapter." Stuff like this can really help you pull yourself out of a rut. I also write out of order sometimes. I'll listen to a song that really makes me a feel a certain emotion, and I'll write an emotion chapter I already had thought up. This way I'm just kind of connecting the dots. Worst comes to worse you can always just look at a future idea and change it. Your notes aren't set in stone. Plus, if you're ever famous you could sell the notes to your story as a collector's item or talk about some of the original ideas in interviews. :P

Just my 2c worth of experience as a first time writer XD

I do a sort of hybrid of the two - I knew the ending of my story before hand and most of the middle is improvised as I go, while having a few major "defining moments" I need to link up. This has actually lead to me re-writing about half of it, but the consistency was a LOT better and I even managed to improve the writing depth.

Having the most basic of basic plots already in mind GREATLY increased my writing speed, even though my "planning" is about 5 lines, handwritten in a notepad. I went from staring at a page blankly for a day, erasing anything I wrote, to hammering out 40+ pages in a day that I am mostly happy with. All I did was think - What is the goal here?

Ok, my end goal for the story is X. How does the MC roughly get there? Who tries to stop him and why? How does it affect the character's actions?

From there, everything snapped into place and I honestly found it hard to stop writing for the day XD

'zenihzwei' pid='821570' dateline='1487287474' Wrote: Hmm... Speaking from experience, I say you make a basic outline first.

Outline in the way that you place MC at point A and his/her goal at point Z. Now, there are point B-to-Y along the way. These points serve as major events or Arcs. You can do whatever you want in filling them as long as they are connected or having a two-way feedback. Keep it simple, though. As in, making a summary of each event/arc rather than detailed retelling of it. That way, vague elements or contrasting facts can be found and fixed easily.

After that, if you want to have even more fun, then you can add more sub-events in-between the letters.

For example, after C ended, MC goes to D but he/she decided to take the long way/different route which triggered small-scale event/arc. In litRPG, I guess you can call them sub-quests. Usually, the conflicts aren't as important in comparison to major Arcs but it can serve to expand the world, more characterization, or trivias about the story that have minor effects in the main plot.

Needless to say, if you want to make a shorter story then you can cut down the number of arcs or placing the goal point earlier. Like, starting at A and ending at E. You can also make a long story where the MC changes objective so that several points are compiled as a series of humonogous Arcs (ABCD-EFGH-IJKL...)

Either way, it's your call so do consider it carefully.

I'm writing a story where I just started with a concept. And while I'm stepping back, and planning out the story, I refuse to finalise the ending. 

Im not going to decide who will win, or how they'll win. 

I'll let my characters battle it out, and the stronger player win; even if he's the main antagonist. 

They may even come to a truce, team up, etc. 

I want to let my characters tell their story, and not the other way around.

I know the beginning and ending of each volume I write, everything else is just whatever lol but I do write slice of life's so I have a lot of material to draw from might not work well with more epic or adventurous stories.