To Plan or Not To Plan

 

This doesn't have to be a question you angst over. Every author has their own way of planning to write a book. Some might spend months researching and collating information before a single word is written, others might jump right into their draft then flesh it out with more stringent guidelines. There's no wrong way, or even best way to do this.

I've been asked if I'm a disciplined writer, and if I dedicate specific times in my day to writing. I'm not working to a schedule or a deadline, I might impose a deadline on myself in terms of a personal challenge, but I don't have an hour or time in my day in which I write. As I have a part time job, I tend to do my writing in the afternoons and on the weekend. I very rarely, if ever, write anything down while I'm at work, but I will make notes or scribble down passages if I'm waiting for the bus. I certainly admire people who are working full time and have busy family lives who can still get their creative work done and dusted. Even when I was studying in university, the amount of time spent in those three years creating new stories was minimal, as I was taken up with essays and other assignments associated with the degree, which was incredibly frustrating considering I was there to write.

I also don't set myself daily word count goals, but this is definitely one idea to help you get to your personal writing goals. And every day doesn't have to be about writing pure prose, it has been said “write something every day”, but that could still be some notes, or plotting, or building your character bible if that's your jam. That's still something, it's step in the right direction.

In terms of plotting, I've dedicated time to this but found it sort of limiting if I made a strict point A to B plot. A loose timeline for me is more flexible, and my stories never behave themselves. They'll meander and I go where they want me to. If there's a sudden turn I didn't plan on, I like to follow this thread rather than rein it in or tell it to stop. Characters are often the ones who will lead you astray if you're holding them back. They might even say something you didn't want them to because they're having a heated discussion with another character, and all of a sudden, they've blurted out a line you hadn't even thought of. Peter Beagle said the character of Molly Grue in the Last Unicorn and her impassioned speech seemed to come from another realm entirely, as he'd never identified with a woman who hadn't had a unicorn come to them as a maiden. He'd never felt that kind of anger, and yet there was Molly, speaking of a deep-seated pain and disappointment he hadn't anticipated.

I did do a plot outline for Into the Other I know I didn't stick to the script. Live to Tell started as a small scene but didn't take flight without outside inspiration. Another novel I worked on had a few rewrites and changes in plot, and even a major change in a character arc that was later discarded. Even now, I don't feel I dedicated enough time to the final product, and I was trying out non-linear storytelling, but my chopping and changing led to continuity errors. Sometimes, playing too much with scenes and swapping around chapters isn't worth damaging what you already have. It's best to give a story like that some air when you've finished your first draft, as you may return to it and see it's not as big a mess as you think.

From the outset, I recommend planning until you've found what works for you. Try different methods, and keep a notebook handy for when you're feeling inspired. Even cracking open your notebook app on your phone to get a quick idea down is totally fine, but try to avoid writing huge passages of text to later paste into your book, or if you do, make sure you thoroughly edit that passage.