Plotting and Tools of the Trade

In my last post on tools of the trade, I mentioned that I was trying out Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet for the new book I was working on.  The beats of course, are all the elements of story, beginning, middle, and ending, and obviously several more beyond that.  So by the fact that I'm using it, it might imply that I already know all these things about my story already.  Um. No.  In truth, the story I'm working on has already turned in directions that have nothing to do with the prescribed "beats."  And that's okay.  Writing out the beats certainly wasn't wasted time.  It gave me a chance to ponder my characters and the world they live in.

In terms of writing, I've always been more of a plunger than a plotter.  I find my way through a story, but that doesn't mean I don't do some planning too.  Usually after my initial plunge, I step back, regroup, and plan, at least loosely.  Then a bit more plunging.  Rinse and repeat.  Even though I try to plan, I know that Serendipity and the Muse could gang up on me at any moment and hijack the story in a way I hadn't expected.  Actually, I'm kind of counting on them to do just that.  The unexpected turn or revelation, even for the author--is one of the delights of writing.

And of course, since I've only planned "loosely" I'm hoping these wispy writing partners will also step up and fill in those gaps I couldn't quite figure out.  Usually they do by the time I reach the end.  I know it's only my subconscious working and trusting the process, but sometimes it does feel like some other being made all those unwieldy threads align.

It's funny because I sometimes hear authors firmly say they're in one camp or the other, plotter or plunger, but very often when they start describing the details of their process, they seem to be a bit of both: Trusting the characters and story to lead them where the story needs to go, but not afraid to wield a tool from their writing tool chest when the story requires it. What kind of writer are you?

Off to plunge and plot . . .