I always plan essays - that was how I was taught to write essays at school and uni.

I never plan fics, I just make them up as I go along. The thinking and plotting has to happen at the same times as the writing otherwise I have sod all incentive to write it down - wanting to find out what happens is one of my few effective spurs to writing.

Brain-eating fic seems to be something a lot of writers go through at some stage. I think it's as a result of getting more skilled and thinking more about our fics so we want to cram in more and more layers. You see other authors complain about it all teh time. If you find a cure, can you let me know?