Recently, while being interviewed by The Write Approach I was asked how much outlining and planning I do before I begin writing. I thought about it for a few seconds and then went with the truth:
“Almost none.”
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That probably sounds weird, particularly for an author who often writes mysteries. And believe me, I’ve tried planning things out before I first sit down to write but those attempts have always been unsuccessful.
But saying I don’t plot before I begin writing is not the same as saying I don’t plot out my storylines. I do. Eventually.
For me, starting a new manuscript is kind of like going solo to a party where you don’t know anyone. At this theoretical party I make myself accessible and welcoming so that everyone there introduces themselves to me. I make some small talk then ease into asking a bunch of leading questions to get the other guests to reveal things about themselves. As I interact, I observe them, I let them do the lion’s share of the talking. I get on the dance floor with them so I can see the way they move.
And as the minutes tick by I begin to figure out which of these people are impulsive and which are strategic, who’s judgmental and who’s open-minded, who is go-lucky and who’s tortured. I tease out their history and how it has affected them. I get them to share their ambitions, their dreams.
Most importantly I get a sense of what they would do, where they would go and what kind of messes they might get themselves entangled in, purposely or inadvertently.
The party is the first 10-20 pages of my manuscript. The guests are my characters. Once I know them I can plot out a story for them. The story may not even include that party a.k.a. those first pages. I might have to delete them all. But it will include those characters. In my writing, there is nothing more important than them. Every story beat, plot point and twist stems from their weaknesses, strengths and proclivities. I don’t feel like I invent them. They are not my '“children.” They are fully formed individuals who happened to introduce themselves to me when I put myself in a mental space that invited them to do so. And then, once they’ve agreed to nestle inside my head I can escort them to the page and introduce them to you.
That’s my process.
Fellow writers, I would love to know what your process is. Do you plot first and then write? Do you think up a wonderful story, a journey you would like to take readers on, and then invent characters who fit it?
Or are you like me, at the mercy of party guests only you can see?
This description is so helpful. I just got to know my characters when I finished the first draft. Better said I laid out loosely the story I wanted to say and place it on the framework of an ancient book. But you are so right at the end of the day it is the characters and how they change that matters. I appreciate your words. Thank you!
That's fascinating. So if there is a murder, you don't know who the murderer is ahead of time? Or who might be murdered? I'm a terrible plotter, it sometimes feels like I have too many plots, too many roads that I could go down and I get frustrated and lost. Biographical fiction, at least there is a throughline for the character.