Ben Westerham's Blog - Posts Tagged "plot"
Writing Without a Plan (or Losing the Plot)
It might seem mad to hear me say it, but I invariably write any new book without the ‘benefit’ of a plan in the shape of a fully formed plot. Is this because I’m too lazy to write one or haven’t a clue what I’m up to when I write, or is there really another way of doing things? In this article, I take a look at how you can happily write without a plan and explain why I’m one of those who chooses to make it up as I go along.
Almost all guides to writing go big on the need to draw up a decent story outline before you get on with writing your book and your first thought might well be to think that is eminently sensible; after all, how else can you set off on your way to writing a book when you don’t know where you are going?
However, it didn’t take me long to realise this approach doesn’t suit me. There are times when I quickly come up with the core elements of a story, such as I did with The Strawberry Girl, where the idea was quite simply to see how my private investigator, David Good, would respond to the emotional challenge of dealing with a woman who has managed to get herself married not once but twice.
On other occasions, I don’t even start out with as much as that. Both Good Investigations and the forthcoming Too Good started life as just a couple of sentences that popped in to my head. That was it. No idea at all as to what was going to follow next, let alone what the end point would look like. I just wrote down those first sentences and took things from there.
One of my favourite authors is Stephen King and in his excellent book, On Writing, he devotes several pages to this very subject. The following extract catches the core of what he says:
“I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren't compatible.”
Part of this is key to my own approach and that is allowing my characters to lead me through the story. It is essential they do so, after all, they are the story. I feel I shouldn’t be second guessing how an individual will react in any given situation by setting out a pre-determined plot, because to do so will mean it is no longer their story, it has become mine; this would be mad because the story is not about me.
So, I let the characters decide what is going to happen. I absolutely love this aspect of writing, since you don’t know what is going to happen next, what twists and turns will be introduced along the way. And doesn’t that kind of thing just make the whole writing experience so much more exciting?
So, perhaps writing a book without the ‘benefit’ of a plot isn’t so mad after all and, I hope I’ve shown you, it can even be a distinct advantage.
For the full version of this post please see http://www.benwesterham.com/a-writers....
Get your free copy of the Ben Westerham starter library here http://www.benwesterham.com/subscribe....
Crime fiction with attitude and humour from 1980s London.
Almost all guides to writing go big on the need to draw up a decent story outline before you get on with writing your book and your first thought might well be to think that is eminently sensible; after all, how else can you set off on your way to writing a book when you don’t know where you are going?
However, it didn’t take me long to realise this approach doesn’t suit me. There are times when I quickly come up with the core elements of a story, such as I did with The Strawberry Girl, where the idea was quite simply to see how my private investigator, David Good, would respond to the emotional challenge of dealing with a woman who has managed to get herself married not once but twice.
On other occasions, I don’t even start out with as much as that. Both Good Investigations and the forthcoming Too Good started life as just a couple of sentences that popped in to my head. That was it. No idea at all as to what was going to follow next, let alone what the end point would look like. I just wrote down those first sentences and took things from there.
One of my favourite authors is Stephen King and in his excellent book, On Writing, he devotes several pages to this very subject. The following extract catches the core of what he says:
“I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren't compatible.”
Part of this is key to my own approach and that is allowing my characters to lead me through the story. It is essential they do so, after all, they are the story. I feel I shouldn’t be second guessing how an individual will react in any given situation by setting out a pre-determined plot, because to do so will mean it is no longer their story, it has become mine; this would be mad because the story is not about me.
So, I let the characters decide what is going to happen. I absolutely love this aspect of writing, since you don’t know what is going to happen next, what twists and turns will be introduced along the way. And doesn’t that kind of thing just make the whole writing experience so much more exciting?
So, perhaps writing a book without the ‘benefit’ of a plot isn’t so mad after all and, I hope I’ve shown you, it can even be a distinct advantage.
For the full version of this post please see http://www.benwesterham.com/a-writers....
Get your free copy of the Ben Westerham starter library here http://www.benwesterham.com/subscribe....
Crime fiction with attitude and humour from 1980s London.
