Writer's Fallout Shelter

Obviously in writing, there is no right or wrong way--there's only what works and what doesn't. I know that authors like Terry Brooks think about the story for years, letting it ferment in their mind, outlining from the beginning to the end and all the important events in between. Then there are writers at the other extreme, like Jane Yolen, who plunge into a story with not a clue as to where it will go or who the characters will be.

I'm more of a plunger (ha ha), but I think I'm going to have to revise my technique, because when I don't have a destination in mind I tend to meander aimlessly, rarely stumbling on anything like a point. For example, I'm writing a fantasy series at the moment (or I have written 100 pages that seems, by no choice of mine, like it may be turning into the first installment of a fantasy series), and I have several important scenes, a vague, half-baked timeline, and a slew of characters that may or may not justify their existence later on, including a villain or two, but without an ending or an idea of the significance of certain objects (objects are always significant in fantasy), I'm pretty much just a rambler without a cause. I'm guessing that at least half of my completed writing probably won't wind up in the final draft; in retrospect, I realize it would have saved me a lot of time and heartache if I'd waited until I knew what the hell I was writing about before I just started ambling away, so everything could have become more focused and essential.

In response to the original question, I think one of the reasons I'm drawn to fantasy is because you can just make up a seemingly ridiculous plot element out of thin air and the reader will be inclined to accept it. For me, this makes the journey much more fun to write, because I'm surprised as often as I hope the reader will be, and also much easier, because I don't have to rely on the conventions and plausibilities of the real world to keep the story moving.