History Main / WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants

* Most {{Tabletop RPG}}s isolate one player from the rest to fill the role of the GameMaster, who has four major "hats" to wear. One of these hats is the Author. The [=GM=] plans ([[SchrodingersGun in the loosest sense of the word]]) the plot of the story with which the PlayerCharacters will interact; creating, adapting, or choosing the setting, populating that region with villains and other [[{{NPC}} Non-Player Characters]], and assigning them any necessary backgrounds, motivations, plans, and resources. As such, writing by the seat of your pants is a necessity to prevent the story from going OffTheRails if you're the GM. Beware, as overdoing the Author aspect of the GM role can lead to [[{{Railroading}} preventing players from affecting the game with their choices]].

* A podcast with Creator/InsomniacGames developer Mike Stout said that the original [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 Ratchet and Clank game]] had no real writer on board for it. The game was written by animation director Oliver Wade and lead rigger John Lally and there was no long term plan for the story or lore--they just made up the story and characters as they went and carefully streamlined the story to make it ''seem'' like they were planned out from the start, even if they really weren't. For example, the opening cutscene was one of the ''last'' made for the game, and it was put in so late in development that they didn't even have time to record new dialogue for it.
-->'''Mike Stout''': The stories on the first two games were very loose, yeah. We usually knew pretty early on what all our levels would be, and we’d have a general idea of the plot. By that point, though, we’ve usually made 6 or so levels — the level design team works ahead. So the levels that are already made get retrofitted into the story as best we can. The script itself usually got written pretty late, and we didn’t have a dedicated writer on staff until [=RC3=] — so the scripts were written by people who were also doing other jobs In the case of [=RC1=] and 2, they were done by our animation lead Oliver (Wade) and one of the senior riggers, John (Lally). Starting in [=RC3=], we had a writer on staff and the planning and writing could happen earlier and faster. But the real fruits of this first paid off on R&C Future. And now, all these years later, the terrific story work they did on Spider Man (UsefulNotes/PlayStation4) is a testament to how much the studio has grown in that area. That’s almost certainly true (the original story plan for R&C2 being very different from the final product). The stories got rewritten a lot. Since the cinematic didn’t come until later in the project there is some wiggle room there. Storyboards were done for every animated scene in those games — but I don’t remember doing storyboards for story development. A lot of games do that these days, but it was rare back then. We did a lot of animatics also, now that I think about it. Sliding around T-pose stuff. So maybe not every scene was storyboarded. It was nice because once you nail the blocking you can just add details on. Usually the faces and mouth sync would get done first, then the rest. But it’d all build on the animatic."

* Creator/TetsuyaNomura has admitted to simply making up the story of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' on the fly, which is probably the most logical explanation for ''Kingdom Hearts'' being one of the most notorious instances of KudzuPlot in modern gaming.
** One notable example is the secret ending of [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first game]], titled “AnotherSideAnotherStory”, showing a confrontation between two mysterious figures in a dark city with lots of quotes without context being shown onscreen. This video was explicitly meant to be a concept trailer, more to show Nomura’s ideas for a sequel that wasn’t guaranteed at the time he was making the first game. Once the game became a hit and a franchise was sure to ensue, the Final Mix edition had more foreshadowing to the future Nomura was now free to start planning out. The scene from “Another Side, Another Story”, as well as its Final Mix addition “Deep Dive”, would later be adapted into the climax of ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', and much of the quotes were given context and incorporated into ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. Notably, when the next secret ending at the end of ''II'' came around, it wasn’t abstract like “Another Side” and depicted legitimate events from [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep a future game]].
* Amazingly enough, even ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' qualifies as this. One may expect otherwise considering the entire backbone of the series' overarching plot is all about literary themes and how worlds are literally written into existence and have to be very delicately crafted, but the designers of the game took much more of a "design first, write second" approach. When developing the first game, they would design worlds that they thought [[RuleOfCool looked cool]], and then slowly crafted a story around them. Its sequel, ''VideoGame/{{Riven}}'' was the only one that had solid planning for its story, but all other games in the series were basically thought up out of whole cloth without much of a plan in place for where the story would go as the series progressed.

* ''Videogame/XenobladeChronicles1'' was never intended to be connected to ''Videogame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and instead be a completely new story, titled ''Monado: Beginning of the World'', but Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata asked director Tetsuya Takahashi to rename the game and use the Xeno- prefix as a homage to the series Takahashi had wanted to succeed but failed. But when ''Xenoblade'' turned out to be the success he had sought for so long, and since the Xeno- was already in the name, Takahashi started rewriting the story to add connections to ''Xenosaga'', culminating in a large {{Retcon}} in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' that directly links it to a key component of his old series.

* ''YoutubePoop'' is the prime victim to this trope. In a nutshell, you download a video, import it into a video editor like Sony Vegas, and then you go from there, thinking of joke ideas.

* Parodied in ''ComicBook/SergioAragonesDestroysDC'', where [[Creator/SergioAragones Sergio]], InUniverse, doesn't decide on who the BigBad is until Batman is about to reveal his identity (pictured above). He then goes on an ArchiveBinge to find the "most disgusting, loathsome villain of all DC history".
* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': The original writers of ''Impulse'' admitted they were writing by the seat of their pants in the first trade. Given the character, this is quite appropriate.

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' creator John Wagner has said this is the way he prefers to write. Case in point: the reappearance of [[spoiler:the Dark Judges]] in "Day of Chaos" wasn't originally planned, but with all that was going on in Mega-City One at the time, bringing them back was the perfect way to make things even worse.
* The revelation in ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' that the Ronin was [[spoiler: Maya Lopez]] in disguise was a last-minute change after the original plan (where Ronin would have been revealed to be [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]) [[AbortedArc fell through]].

* ''Franchise/XMen'':

** Creator/ScottLobdell famously began hinting at ComicBook/{{Onslaught}} without any real idea who the character would turn out to be. He just thought [[TheWorfEffect it'd be cool to hint at a new villain who was powerful enough to kick the shit out of the Juggernaut]]. With TheReveal of it being ComicBook/ProfessorX's dark side, it suddenly makes sense why Onslaught felt the need to beat the crap out of his abusive step-brother. Though this did lead to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness such as ''X-Men'', Vol. 2, #50 seeing Onslaught trying to kidnap Professor X, which ultimately means Onslaught nonsensically tried to kidnap himself.
** The X-Traitor tape was a major part of [[ComicBook/{{Xmen}} Bishop's]] backstory, [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/12/31/comic-book-legends-revealed-293/2/ but Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio eventually confirmed]] they had no set suspect when they started. Fan speculation pointed to either Gambit, as an older man called "the Witness" who supposedly looked and talked like an older Gambit was the SoleSurvivor of the X-Traitor's attack on the X-Men, or Bishop himself, as part of a StableTimeLoop. However, after a while, not much was done with it--until it got {{Arc Weld|ing}}ed into the aforementioned ''Onslaught'' with the title villain (and hence, by extension, an unwitting Professor Xavier himself) being the traitor.
* ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' started off as a simple story, but when it became an unexpected success and ExecutiveMeddling required it to be drawn out, it's clear the writers lost any of idea of where it was going. As detailed in [[http://lifeofreillyarchives.blogspot.com/2008/03/introduction-and-update.html The Life of Reilly]], particular areas of contention were the identity of the "real" Peter Parker, the mastermind behind the clone plan, and pretty much everything about Judas Traveller.
-->'''Glenn Greenberg:''' No one — not the writers, not the editors — seemed to know who or what the hell Judas Traveller was.
* ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' has an InUniverse example: in a 1990s story, she was hired to steal the script of a movie that was being filmed on an island. She found out, however, that the filmmaker ''didn't'' have a script or a screenplay: he was improvising the whole thing without telling anyone about it. The guy was also AxCrazy and tried to kill the crew. Thanks to Catwoman, who saved the crew, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the only one to die was himself]]. In order to not lose the contract's payment, Catwoman wrote a script herself and signed as the dead filmmaker. The movie made with her script became a blockbuster.
* In the Chilean comic ''Zombies en la Moneda'' this happened a lot, especially in the first volume (each volume involved several independent stories written and drawn by different artists), at first there was no clear idea where the story would go, just one couple of basic ideas: The zombies invade the presidential palace of Chile (known as La Moneda) and a lot of politicians and people of the show are forced to fight against them or die. That caused multiple changes and even a story (''Camino a la Moneda'') was completely changed even when it was almost finished drawing. The following volumes were planned with some more anticipation.

Others just sit down at their word processor and type "stream of consciousness"
-style, putting down whatever comes into their head. This article is dedicated to them.

* Creator/TomSka's original script for "Time Trouble" was rejected, but Tom wasn't informed of this until the evening before filming had to take place.

So you're writing a hardboiled crime fiction novel: Remember that diner you thought up on the spot to give your sleuth somewhere to eat his lunch? That would be perfect as a [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub front business]] for the BigBad's drug-dealing business. Making a movie? That actor's take on that character is [[ThrowItIn way better than what you originally had in mind]]. Why not rewrite half his part to take advantage of that vision? Penning a ScienceFiction story? Even though you're partway into writing, incorporating some plot points from today's newspaper headline about the SleazyPolitician into your story would be a great way to amp up the unpleasantness of antagonist, the evil governor of the space station.

* Herge said that this was how he worked on ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' at the beginning of its life. He needed a new installment each Thursday and said that he often found himself working on it on Wednesday, not knowing how he'd get Tintin out of the mess he left him in last Thursday. He stopped doing this with The Blue Lotus and started plotting things out more fully.

'''AltText''': [[AC:Ha ha, honestly I haven't figured that out yet. Good luck.]]

* Most {{Tabletop RPG}}s isolate one player from the rest to fill the role of the GameMaster, who has four major "hats" to wear. One of these hats is the Author. The [=GM=] plans ([[SchrodingersGun in the loosest sense of the word]]) the plot of the story of which the PlayerCharacters will interact; creating, adapting, or choosing the setting, populating that region with villains and other [[{{NPC}} Non-Player Characters]], and assigning them any necessary backgrounds, motivations, plans, and resources. As such, writing by the seat of your pants is a necessity to prevent the story from going OffTheRails if you're the GM. Beware, as overdoing the Author aspect of the GM role can lead to [[{{Railroading}} preventing players from affecting the game with their choices]].

* Larry Hama, famous for writing the Marvel GI Joe comics (and currently the IDW continuation), once stated that when writing he only thinks ahead about three pages, and has no idea how an issue ends until he realizes he reached the last page.

Some authors plan meticulously. Before they even start to write, they have a detailed plot synopsis, character biographies, pages on the setting, and a detailed backstory to the main tale... at the least.

Others just sit down at their word processor and type whatever comes into their head. This article is dedicated to them.

This is not necessarily a trope about authors who simply write without a speck of planning at all (although it can be), but rather those who, overall, are improvising as they write. They may already have invented their characters, perhaps they have a vague plot bubbling in their head, even a few notes on {{backstory}} or setting. What separates this kind of writing from planned writing is that these writers are prepared to throw those notes in the trash the moment they come up with an idea that they prefer. So you're writing a hardboiled crime fiction novel: Remember that takeaway place you thought up on the spot to give your sleuth somewhere to eat his lunch? That would be perfect as a front for the BigBad's drug-dealing business. Making a movie? That actor's take on that character is [[ThrowItIn way better than what you originally had in mind]]. Why not rewrite half his part to take advantage of that vision?

* Creator/{{Wildbow}}, author of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', makes a point of this as one way of making the writing process more interesting for himself. Virtually every chapter of Worm is written just the day before publishing, often finishing shortly before the midnight deadline, and he has set himself a minimum length of 6000 words. He has missed an update only twice-both by mere minutes, and both times due to technical issues.
** Despite this, much of the plot itself was planned out prior to writing; [[WhamEpisode Interlude 26]] had been planned for since the very beginning, according to WordOfGod.

* Music/BenFolds is prone to improvising an entire song in concert whenever a fan tells him to ''[[CreatorInJoke ROCK THIS BITCH!]]'' Awesome enough, but then the new tour has Y Music, a classical group, accompanying him, taking it to a whole 'nother level of awesomeness.

* ''WebAnimation/YoutubePoop'' is the prime victim to this trope. In a nutshell, you download a video, import it into a video editor like Sony Vegas, and then you go from there, thinking of joke ideas.

Please only add examples where the author ''admitted'' to doing this. This is not a page for speculation.

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' had no formal script written for it. Chris Seavor improvised the game's entire story and cast as he went along. This was also the reason why he did [[TalkingToHimself almost all the voices in the game himself]].

This does not always happen voluntarily, mind you. In some cases, the writer did indeed have a carefully planned storyline in mind until it was suddenly struck down by either ExecutiveMeddling, an ExecutiveVeto, or some other case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, and the writer had to scramble against the deadline to come with a replacement story.

* Music/DavidBowie's preferred method of songwriting. Tony Visconti, his long-time producer, confirmed that Bowie would often come to the studio with just a few chord changes and write the lyrics and vocal melodies on the hoof.
** Notably, his #1 hit collaboration with Music/{{Queen|Band}}, [[Music/HotSpace "Under Pressure"]], was the result of a single night spent jamming with them -- which was very different from the usual manner in which Queen made music.

** Notably, his #1 hit collaboration with Music/{{Queen}}, "''Under Pressure''" was the result of a single night spent jamming with them - which was very different from the usual manner in which Queen made music.

* Music/KurtCobain felt lyrics were less important, and would often write or change the lyrics for {{Music/Nirvana}}'s songs at the last minute. On the other hand, he spent a long time on the music itself, especially the melodies.

* ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' creator John Wagner has said this is the way he prefers to write. Case in point: the reappearance of [[spoiler:the Dark Judges]] in "Day of Chaos" wasn't originally planned, but with all that was going on in Mega-City One at the time, bringing them back was the perfect way to make things even worse.
* The revelation in ''Comicbook/NewAvengers'' that the Ronin was [[spoiler: Maya Lopez]] in disguise was a last-minute change after the original plan (where Ronin would have been revealed to be [[Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]]) [[AbortedArc fell through]].

** Creator/ScottLobdell famously began hinting at Comicbook/{{Onslaught}} without any real idea who the character would turn out to be. He just thought [[TheWorfEffect it'd be cool to hint at a new villain who was powerful enough to kick the shit out of the Juggernaut]]. With TheReveal of it being ComicBook/ProfessorX's dark side, it suddenly makes sense why Onslaught felt the need to beat the crap out of his abusive step-brother. Though this did lead to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness such as ''X-Men'', Vol. 2, #50 seeing Onslaught trying to kidnap Professor X, which ultimately means Onslaught nonsensically tried to kidnap himself.
** The X-Traitor tape was a major part of [[Comicbook/{{Xmen}} Bishop's]] backstory, [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/12/31/comic-book-legends-revealed-293/2/ but Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio eventually confirmed]] they had no set suspect when they started. Fan speculation pointed to either Gambit, as an older man called "the Witness" who supposedly looked and talked like an older Gambit was the SoleSurvivor of the X-Traitor's attack on the X-Men, or Bishop himself, as part of a StableTimeLoop. However, after a while, not much was done with it--until it got {{Arc Weld|ing}}ed into the aforementioned ''Onslaught'' with the title villain (and hence, by extension, an unwitting Professor Xavier himself) being the traitor.

* This is how Creator/DouglasAdams wrote the original radio scripts for ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy''. Apparently, he'd often still be rewriting the ends of episodes as the cast was recording the beginning. According to a making-of feature, the actor who was supposed to play the Ruler of the Universe (who appears in the final minutes of the last episode of season two) actually ''went home'' because it took Adams so long to finish the script. The role was cast by handing the pages to the one actor still in the studio who didn't have another part in that scene. In fact, the second series' deadlines for the scripts were so tight that his producers essentially locked him in a hotel room to force him to hit them.

* ''Videogame/XenobladeChronicles1'' was never intended to be connected to ''Videogame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and instead be a completely new story, titled ''Monado: Beginning of the World'', but Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata asked director Tetsuya Takahashi to rename the game and use the Xeno- prefix as a homage to the series Takahashi had wanted to succeed but failed. But when ''Xenoblade'' turned out to be the success he had sought for so long, and since the Xeno- was already in the name, Takahashi started rewriting the story to add connections to ''Xenosaga'', culminating in a large {{Retcon}} in ''Videogame/XenobladeChronicles2'' that directly links it to a key component of his old series.

* ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' [[ZigzaggedTrope may or may not be this]]. [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/31p05/ Observe...]]