Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Not Even the Illusion of Control

Easy Bake Coven (my work in progress) crossed the 70k word mark last night (yay!). But once again the story demonstrated the complete and utter lack of control I have over it as the writer.

I went for a run when I got home from work to clear my mind and refocus on the story. During the run I mapped out in my head what needs to happen to start wrapping this book up. I came back into the house with a clear vision of what I was going to do, even a little dialogue swimming around in there. 3000 words later not one of those things had taken place or even started to take place. Instead the story took its own unexpected turn completely surprising me. This is not the first time this has happened nor will it be the last (hopefully). I don’t mind just being along for the ride, a conduit for the story that wants to be told. I like to let my characters have their own voice, it is when I start to guide them heavy handedly that they stop speaking to me and no writer wants to get the silent treatment from their characters.


So what about my fellow writers, do you plan your stories or do your stories reveal themselves as you write?

2 comments:

Elizabeth Sharp said...

I plan, but it's more of a vague guide than a specific map. I have one idea, then I let the story tell itself ans see if that's where it goes.

V.K. Tremain said...

We plan, however the characters dictate weather we deviate from the plan. We've had to 'alter' the outline several times now! But, that's part of the fun!

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