The Right Way to Write

...is the way that works for you.

Writers refer to their methods of writing as either being a pantster, meaning they write by the set of their pants with little planning--or a plotter, which means they use one or more of many methods to plot and plan the story first. There are a lot of gradients in between those two extremes.

I used to be a pantster, but have learned over the years to do more planning. I don't by any means outline chapters on note cards or anything (look at my eye twitchin'), but I write a synopsis that shows me I have the conflict and emotional depth to carry the story all the way through. My synopsis is for my own benefit, because I add dialogue and bits of things that excite me about the story so I can recapture them later on. I find I don't get bogged down in the middle if I've planned well enough in the beginning, noted plot points, etc.

For me, synopsis writing is part of my brainstorming and one of the most fun parts of writing a book. The rest is real work. I write the first couple of chapters along with the synopsis, and that's how I learn the characters and their motivation and conflict.