I suppose every writer has a different method when it comes to planning or not planning a story. Some will map out their entire plot, and sub-plots, and sub-sub-plots. Others on the contrary, will not do that and let themselves be carried by the flow of words, discovering their story at the same time as their characters.
I’ve tested both those methods, with more or less success. When I first had the idea for As Winter Came and Went (which was not yet called that), I was very excited about it and couldn’t wait to write my novel. But actually, I think I was more excited about the plot, the action and so on, than in the characters and the prose. So I decided to write a sort of synopsis, which ended up being a dozen pages long. I just found it again, in the recesses of my computer and read it… It actually dates back from 2013, is very detailed, which means I have a good idea of what I was meaning to write at the time and… I cannot believe it is the same novel as the one I’m getting ready for publication. I really can’t. And actually, it’s not the same novel.
The one I would have written if I had followed the original plan would have been a swashbuckling romance, with murders, poison, elopements, duels, and a cast of characters who were for the most part lords and ladies… And it would probably have been very entertaining (I’m wondering if I shouldn’t write another novel based on this plan)! It has little in common with my manuscript, save the female lead character (she’s probably the one whose personality changed the least, though she did become more complex and interesting) and the mystery surrounding an expedition who disappeared on the way to Timbuktu. There are still lords and ladies and sirs (it’s 1820!) but the most important characters hail from a “middle-class” background.
The structure I had intended isn’t the one I used. Neither is the narration. And the main character changed so completely that he really gave a new direction to the story, which became less of a romance, and more literary. New characters made their apparition, including one who, I think, tends to steal the show in an almost infuriating manner, though beta readers seem to love him, and I have to say I have a soft spot for him too (oh, by the way, this character is a horse…). The setting, which was not so important in the initial idea, took on a new meaning.
So in spite of my synopsis, which I remember spending the summer holidays writing, my novel evolved organically as I was writing it. And I have the impression I created this plan to better not follow it. A similar starting point, and then I took another road from the one I had initially outlined. However, it did not mean that I stopped having any sort of plan: I had one, at first in my mind, which I then jotted down and which consisted of… the name of chapters, dates and roughly what happened, so nothing half as detailed as what I’d done before. So I sort of knew where I was going.
As Winter Came and Went has a sequel: I’m currently writing its first draft and have reached the fifth chapter. I started to write it with a good idea of where it was going (since it was not actually meant to be a different book), but no plan so to speak. But as the story evolved organically again, with new episodes weaving their way into it, new characters and new settings, I realized that I did need a plan of sorts. So I made a very rough, very quick one (it fits on one page), so I know where I’m going. I’m glad I did: it made me realise that there were some structural issues that needed fixing. It also helped to make the story more concrete and to see what was likely to work and what not.
There are other novels that I started, without an initial plan. I’m afraid that I’ve reached a blank page with them, for several reasons, whether almost half-way through the first draft, or after the first chapter. The main one is that I’ve decided to concentrate on As Winter Came and Went and its sequel (there will be two more books). Another is that, because I didn’t plan, I’m not quite sure where the story is going. Having an idea of the succession of events and episodes in a story can be a way to ward off the blank-page.
I suppose I will finish these novels, one day or another, or rework the original idea. But I think I’m one of these people who needs to have a plan of sorts. I will not follow a well-built, well-cemented road, but I need at least a signpost or two, to lead me along a winding path with many cross-roads. I guess that every writer has to find the method that works for them. I hope I did at last!
I’ve tested both those methods, with more or less success. When I first had the idea for As Winter Came and Went (which was not yet called that), I was very excited about it and couldn’t wait to write my novel. But actually, I think I was more excited about the plot, the action and so on, than in the characters and the prose. So I decided to write a sort of synopsis, which ended up being a dozen pages long. I just found it again, in the recesses of my computer and read it… It actually dates back from 2013, is very detailed, which means I have a good idea of what I was meaning to write at the time and… I cannot believe it is the same novel as the one I’m getting ready for publication. I really can’t. And actually, it’s not the same novel.
The one I would have written if I had followed the original plan would have been a swashbuckling romance, with murders, poison, elopements, duels, and a cast of characters who were for the most part lords and ladies… And it would probably have been very entertaining (I’m wondering if I shouldn’t write another novel based on this plan)! It has little in common with my manuscript, save the female lead character (she’s probably the one whose personality changed the least, though she did become more complex and interesting) and the mystery surrounding an expedition who disappeared on the way to Timbuktu. There are still lords and ladies and sirs (it’s 1820!) but the most important characters hail from a “middle-class” background.
The structure I had intended isn’t the one I used. Neither is the narration. And the main character changed so completely that he really gave a new direction to the story, which became less of a romance, and more literary. New characters made their apparition, including one who, I think, tends to steal the show in an almost infuriating manner, though beta readers seem to love him, and I have to say I have a soft spot for him too (oh, by the way, this character is a horse…). The setting, which was not so important in the initial idea, took on a new meaning.
So in spite of my synopsis, which I remember spending the summer holidays writing, my novel evolved organically as I was writing it. And I have the impression I created this plan to better not follow it. A similar starting point, and then I took another road from the one I had initially outlined. However, it did not mean that I stopped having any sort of plan: I had one, at first in my mind, which I then jotted down and which consisted of… the name of chapters, dates and roughly what happened, so nothing half as detailed as what I’d done before. So I sort of knew where I was going.
As Winter Came and Went has a sequel: I’m currently writing its first draft and have reached the fifth chapter. I started to write it with a good idea of where it was going (since it was not actually meant to be a different book), but no plan so to speak. But as the story evolved organically again, with new episodes weaving their way into it, new characters and new settings, I realized that I did need a plan of sorts. So I made a very rough, very quick one (it fits on one page), so I know where I’m going. I’m glad I did: it made me realise that there were some structural issues that needed fixing. It also helped to make the story more concrete and to see what was likely to work and what not.
There are other novels that I started, without an initial plan. I’m afraid that I’ve reached a blank page with them, for several reasons, whether almost half-way through the first draft, or after the first chapter. The main one is that I’ve decided to concentrate on As Winter Came and Went and its sequel (there will be two more books). Another is that, because I didn’t plan, I’m not quite sure where the story is going. Having an idea of the succession of events and episodes in a story can be a way to ward off the blank-page.
I suppose I will finish these novels, one day or another, or rework the original idea. But I think I’m one of these people who needs to have a plan of sorts. I will not follow a well-built, well-cemented road, but I need at least a signpost or two, to lead me along a winding path with many cross-roads. I guess that every writer has to find the method that works for them. I hope I did at last!
No comments:
Post a Comment