Lost the Plot

A fellow writer sent me a wonderful jumpstart she is working on. For those who might be wondering, a jumpstart is when an idea/dream/notion is tickling your brain and you just sit down and write until it runs out. Sometimes it ends up as a book. And sometimes a promising idea just sort of dies with a dreadful thud and you move on.

Anyway, when I encouraged her to keep working on this little bit she had, she said, "But I don't have a plot..."

Now for me, plot has never been an issue. I know! That's the wrong way to do it, but sometimes that's just the way it works. I keep writing, meandering in the woods, and suddenly it all starts coming together.

My critique partner once asked me, "Where are you going with this story?"

And my reply? "I have no idea."

My current story just hit the coming together stage...at 12K. I ran back through it to see how much I would have to change now that I sort of have a plot. And except for a name change and two sentences, I'm in good shape.

Now another writer friend cannot conceive of working this way. She's very organized with index cards and outlines and color coding. I admire her tenacity very much. It would make me insane to write with all that paraphernalia in my mental space, but that doesn't mean it's not right for her.

So what am I blathering on about? Well, we all have different working styles. And some of us don't start with a plot!

What's your writing style?

anny